Running a Bookstore with Maura Cheeks

Bad On Paper

Becca Freeman

Skincare, Beauty, Society & Culture, Comedy, Advice, Books, Arts, Careers

4.9 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you ever wondered how a bookstore runs? We think about it all the time, and we are so thrilled to get the scoop from the owner of Liz’s Book Bar in Brooklyn, and author of Acts of Forgiveness, Maura Cheeks!

We chat with Maura about her dreams of opening a bookstore, what the opening process entails, how Liz’s Book Bar stands out, the book selection process, and how she published her first novel and opened Liz’s Book Bar in the same year.

A book frequently purchased at Liz’s Book Bar is Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakopoulos.

Obsessions

Becca - Ken Leung being miles on Lost and Eric in Industry. (anti-obsession of Fruit Riot Sour Candy Grapes)

Olivia - The Severance Season 2 Finale

What we read this week

Olivia - The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Becca - Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan (out 5/13)

This Month’s Book Club Pick - Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (have thoughts about this book you want to share? Call in at 843-405-3157 or email us a voice memo at [email protected])

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, everyone back to Bad on Paper podcast. I'm Becca Freeman. And I'm Olivia Mentor.
0:23.4	And today, I cannot believe that it has taken seven years. Oh, by the way, it was the seven year anniversary of the podcast on March 28th, which I will have been on vacation then. So we didn't really do anything to celebrate. But that's a big milestone. It is. It's very fitting because I am currently wearing bat on paper hat,
0:42.5	bat on paper sweatshirt. I'm merged out. What a fan girl. But I can't believe that it's taken
0:48.0	a seven years to do an episode about the day-to-day operations of a bookstore.
0:55.4	I can't either, especially because this conversation, I was like locked in the entire time.
1:01.9	I was like, okay, I could sit here and ask you questions for a year.
1:05.5	Absolutely.
1:06.2	It was so great.
1:07.2	Absolutely.
1:07.8	So we're joined later in the episode by Mora Cheeks, who runs Liz's book bar in Brooklyn, and I learned a ton.
1:15.6	Me too.
1:16.6	But before we get into that, this episode is sponsored by Newley.
1:20.0	We'll tell you more about how much we love this clothing rental subscription later in the episode, but you can take $28 off your first month, making it just $70
1:29.4	when you head to newly.com. That's n-u-u-u-l-com, newly with two-us, and use code B-O-P.
1:40.6	Olivia. Becca. What is your high this week?
1:56.2	My high is I had this moment earlier this week where do you know that feeling when you're revising and you have kind of like multiple problems in your head.
1:57.8	Like I kind of want to fix this.
1:59.2	I kind of need to fix that.
2:02.2	And then you come up with something that solves both of them. Stop it. Oh my God. What a feeling. So I came up with this kind of
2:08.5	like a little bit wacky idea. And it immediately felt right to me. I was so excited about it.
2:17.3	I am like terrified. My editor's not going to like it.
2:20.7	But I'm going to bask in the joy of feeling inspiration hit and it's solving multiple
	...

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