Behind the bookstore, shining light on Lincoln’s indie booksellers
- izzylewismedia8
- Dec 5, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: May 30, 2025
Lincoln is home to six independent bookstores: A Novel Idea, Francie & Finch, Sower Books, Elleinad Books, Bluestem Books and Badger Books. While many may know the names of these stores, there are individuals behind these stores whose names may go unnoticed.
Take a look at some of the people who work diligently behind the scenes to run these stores. Each of their journeys are unique and were essential in creating the bookstores they have today.
‘People need community’ — Cinnamon Dokken at A Novel Idea
A Novel Idea is a secondhand bookstore that specializes in rare and out-of-print books.
After amassing a collection of books, college seniors Cinnamon Dokken and Bryan Peterson decided to start a bookstore. They found a consignment store, Bargain Barn, and took up a stall to start their bookselling journey.
“I love books,” Dokken said. “I love that they can increase our sense of compassion. They're both a mirror and a window to the world. Your perspective expands phenomenally through reading, and especially secondhand books which have been read by other people and sometimes contain little mementos like ticket stubs or press flowers. They give you that extra sense of human connectedness and that we're part of a continuum.”
Dokken put the store’s name up for vote in the Daily Nebraskan’s newsroom when she worked there. One contender for the store’s name was the Inkblot, inspired by Dokken’s interest in psychology at the time, but A Novel Idea ultimately triumphed.
In 1991, the store found its own home in the basement of an old warehouse, where there was no heating. They built their own shelves from discarded wood from Greek Row. In 1992, the store relocated to its current location on 14th Street.
“Something that people don't consider is how having a small business and a bookstore, in particular, requires great strength of will, because being in control of your own thing means that no one is going to tell you ‘good job’ or give you a bonus at the end of the day, or send you home with a paycheck,” Dokken said. “It's very empowering. It also takes a lot of energy, it's kind of a gamble every day, and in the last 30 years, most of my gambles have paid off.”
Dokken has always wanted to have her own business, taking inspiration from her self-employed parents. Her father had his own dental practice, and her mother had her own flower shop and greenhouse. Between her parents and her lifelong love of books, Dokken had the energy needed to start her own business.
“What people see is something that looks very idyllic and very relaxing, very easy, because that's the customer experience that we provide, and I'm glad that they think that,” Dokken said. “But, it's like ducks, their legs are going crazy underneath the water, paddling themselves along. So it's a lot more work than people think.”
Dokken said that A Novel Idea is an opportunity based business. As a secondhand bookstore, they have to be selective with the books they buy. The process of stocking the shelves includes visiting people’s collections, evaluating the books based on condition and collectible value and then offering a price for the books.
From there, they have to find a place for the books before they can be placed in the store; some books find temporary homes in Dokken’s garage. A Novel Idea has a custom inventory system that they created with the help of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students. They then upload their new arrivals to their website where customers can put “dibs” on certain books.
“(We) have to think that we've built something that people will support,” Dokken said. “We provide a great product. We provide good prices, we provide a place where you can learn and laugh and feel at home. We're betting on ourselves being able to do that. We're also betting on the community that that's something they'll value and that they will choose to shop small and local for those reasons.”
A Novel Idea seeks to provide a variety of books to their customers. The two levels of the store are stocked to the brim with books old and new. Various bookish gifts and items are available throughout the shop as well.
“It's an enhanced level of discovery and a much more tailored customer service experience,” Dokken said. “Your money spent in an independent store will stay in your community. Independent small bookstores, in particular, are much more likely to contribute to your local charities, these small, artsy things that otherwise don't necessarily get a lot of funding. Your money goes to support the ecosystem in the greater sense that is rooted in your community and develops that culture that we all love.”
The store has also been home to many feline friends throughout its tenure. Currently, it houses two cats named Charlie and Cricket.
Dokken has joined forces with other women-owned local businesses in Lincoln. Each participating business has donated gift certificates to shoppers who participate in their shop small report card program.
“The business owners that I know who are women, we're not delicate women. Everybody is doing what I'm doing, in terms of stealing their willpower, leaning in, really working hard and taking a gamble on the community,” Dokken said. "We feel like it's a pretty good bet, the community will shop small and support local, and then we all can win.”
‘Shop early, shop often, shop local’ — Leslie Huerta at Francie & Finch
Franice & Finch opened its doors in downtown Lincoln on Nov. 4, 2016. That Friday represented the energy the store continues to have, featuring a UNL musician and local art.
Leslie Huerta spent over 30 years in the corporate world before she decided to open her own bookstore. She named her store after two of her favorite literary girls, Francie Nolan from “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” and Scout Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
“I realized that bookstores are my favorite thing in the whole world,” Huerta said. “Every business trip that I had to take, I would look for a bookstore near the hotel, or I would book a hotel in a part of town where there were bookstores. So I thought, well, that's what I would really like to do, but I didn't think I was capable.”
During her year and a half of preparation, Huerta attended a bookselling school in Florida where she learned the ins-and-outs of running a bookstore. She was taught the financial responsibilities, how to organize the shop and how to order books.
From there, Huerta joined the trade association, the American Booksellers Association. She attended conferences and networked within the industry, equipped with her temporary business cards that read: “Leslie Huerta, eventual bookseller.”
“I wanted to do something where I would spend my days meeting and talking with interesting people and learning more and more about the world, rather than this corporate path that I had been on,” Huerta said. “We have that hashtag, ‘you meet the coolest people in bookstores’ and it absolutely is true, so I still pinch myself every day for that.”
Huerta signed the lease for the shop in July 2016 in a historical building. To prepare for the opening of the store, she had to do various renovations including tearing out a wall and redoing the floor. Four months later, the store opened.
“I always joke that I'm the chief bottle washer,” Huerta said. “Nobody knows what that means. But I just did everything as a one woman show for the first couple of years I was there. Seven days a week, nine in the morning until seven or eight at night, doing everything from cleaning and ordering books and arranging them and the marketing.”
Franice & Finch is no longer a one woman show. Beyond Huerta, the store has one full-time and four part-time employees.
“Every dollar that is spent at Francie & Finch goes to pay my rent, which is to a local independent businessman who owns the building,” Huerta said. “It goes to pay the salaries of my staff. And I pay taxes on all of those things so that all of that money stays in the community.”
Francie & Finch has more than books to offer. They also function as an art gallery, displaying and selling local artists’ work in the shop. In addition, they host many events from First Fridays to author signings to poetry readings.
“I'm very proud of (the shop). I'm also proud of the connections and the camaraderie that I have with other independent bookstores in town,” Huerta said. “It's a very collegiate group, and that's heartwarming and fun, that makes me feel really good.”
‘I’ve always been a book nerd’ — Tory Hall at Sower Books
Sower Books is the newest addition to the Lincoln independent bookstore circle. Opened on Sept. 2, 2024, Sower Books is focused on providing a space for marginalized voices and local artists within the community.
The store’s name was inspired by the Sower statue on Nebraska’s capitol building and from “Parable of the Sower,” a book by Octavia E. Butler that discusses building a better world.
Tory Hall is the owner of Sower Books. While her store may be fresh, Hall is no stranger to the art of indie bookselling.
At first, Hall thought she wanted to be a librarian, following in her mother’s footsteps. However, she realized on the first day of graduate school that it was not the path for her. Instead, she found a job at now-closed Lincoln independent bookstore, Indigo Bridge, in 2016.
“I started working (at Indigo Bridge) and was like, ‘Oh, well, this is all I want to do. This is perfect.’ It's all of the fun librarian stuff of reading and talking about books, but without an extra degree and having gone to school,” Hall said.
In 2019, she journeyed to another indie bookstore, Chapters Books & Gifts in Seward. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Hall assisted Carla Ketner, the owner of Chapters Books & Gifts, with the website, digital outreach and social media. Hall went viral on TikTok for the store’s mystery book boxes, which brought in significant online sales when the store couldn’t be physically open.
“I grew up in a military family, so I'm used to moving around. Lincoln being my chosen hometown, in a cheesy way, it's important to me. I like that I can say now, ‘I'm from Lincoln,’” Hall said. “We went back and forth a couple different times and I was finally like, ‘I think I could do my own thing and do my own vision from the ground up.’ Because that's the amazing thing about independent bookstores is that every single one of them has its own flavor, has its own style.”
Hall filed the paperwork to incorporate her LLC on Sept. 1, 2023. 366 days later, she opened the doors to Sower Books.
“Unlike the big box retailers, myself and the people in this store, whether customers or like my friends and support team, we are the people ordering every single thing that is in this shop. There is not a single thing in this store that was not hand-selected by someone that I know and trust,” Hall said. “There is no corporate Overlord, Mr. Barnes & Noble, saying, ‘Thou shalt have 20 of the new James Patterson and hardcover.’”
Hall makes an effort to know her customers deeply. She keeps a spreadsheet of her regulars, tracking their favorite authors, favorite genres and other preferences so she can make the best recommendations and order the books her customers want to read.
“I am not a billionaire, I am not even a millionaire or a thousandaire. I am just a dork hanging out with a bunch of books and some cats,” Hall said. “When you come to independent bookstores, you see the personality behind them, and support local authors and artists.”
Along with its wide selection of books from children’s to non-fiction to fantasy, Sower Books provides a space for local creators to sell their wares. Hall said a family recently came in with earrings, greeting cards, coasters and even bookmarks painted with the help of their dog that she now sells in her store.
Sower Books also works closely with Guardians for Felines, a local feline rescue organization. The store has a room that customers can enter and interact with foster cats who need owners. So far, Sower Books has helped three kitties find their forever homes.
The independent bookstores in Lincoln are dedicated to providing welcoming spaces for everyone. Each store has booksellers who work behind the scenes to supply special experiences to their customers. Every bookseller is supportive of the indie bookstore scene, so much so that they don’t view each other as competition.
“Pretty much every independent store, we do not see each other as competition. So if you're supporting one of us, it's very much a rising tide lifts all ships,” Hall said. “We really want to see all of us succeed. I want to buy things from other small people who are just out there living their dream. These are all people who are passionate about the thing that they're doing, and I want to support that passion.”
Published in the Daily Nebraskan, read here.
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