COLUMBUS, Ohio — For many, staying at home more often due to the pandemic has meant picking up a new hobby or expanding on an old one like — reading.

What You Need To Know

  • Book Loft in German Village has been open since 1977

  • The book store offers 32 rooms of books, 125,000 titles

  • Customers who traveled from Cincinnati share experience at the book store

The Book Loft in German Village has become the place to go for people in the Columbus-area and beyond, said Gary Lovely, a Book Loft employee. 

“Like right before we were forced to close, we closed down, but we found new ways to sell books and since then the community has really lifted us up and we’re doing really well again,” Lovely said.

The Book Loft has been open since 1977 and now offers 32 rooms of books.

It's something right up Lovely's ally.

“I’ve always just kind of worked in books so when I moved here this is sort of the be all end all perfect job.”

Hana Chemaly said she and her friend traveled from Cincinnati to check out the Columbus spot.

“We always love to adventure and find new bookstores to see and we found this place online and we were just shocked by how many rooms there are,” Chemaly said.

The Book Loft offers around 125,000 different titles, all overstock from publishers and authors.

“Typically, in any given day, we get between 40 to 50 boxes of UPS orders, we get large semi-trucks full of books every two weeks, it’s a lot,” Lovely said.

And if you’re worried about getting lost, don’t be. The Book Loft has its own map.