Lexington’s small, independent bookstore scene just got a little bigger | Opinion
Americans love to read, or at least that’s what we say.
But according to a recent study, just 50% of us had read a book in the past month, while 80% consumed some kind of streaming services.
People want to read, and they definitely want their children to read. It just doesn’t always work out that way. Like taking a walk in nature, reading a book is so obviously good for us in so many ways that it should be central to our lives instead of something aspirational.
So meet Jill Bastin, a commercial interior designer in Lexington who chucked that career to enter the perilous world of independent booksellers with a tiny little nook of a bookstore inside Wilson’s Grocery on Cramer Avenue. Opened in August, Wildings Bookshop is set up where the beer coolers used to stand.
“A lot of the conversations I have are around how we wish there were more spaces FOR kids,” Bastin said, who along with Wilson’s proprietor Matt Bastin, has two kids aged 5 and 7. “It became really obvious what we needed to do.”
She opened in August with an inventory that’s grown to about 1,600 books for all ages and abilities, along with some bookshelves in the back of regular, grown-up books. Plus, she can order any kind of books for any age. She’s also stocked the space with plenty of puzzles, crayons, notebooks, cards, and ornaments that are required fare in bookstores these days.
She loves the ever evolving quality of children’s books, particularly the hand-illustrated ones. Some of her top sellers include “Little Witch Hazel” by Phoebe Wall and “Don’t Trust Fish” by Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat, which is funny enough for kids and the adults who read to them.
The Christmas display is full of new and old favorites, like “Madeline’s Christmas,” with the latest Jan Brett, “The Christmas Sweater.” Board books and illustrated stories give way to early chapter and graphic novels to YA and actual grown-up choices, plus a small selection of cookbooks.
“We focus on books for kids and getting kids to read,” Bastin said. “It doesn’t matter what you read. Everything is good. The more kids read anything, the more likely they are to be readers.”
Bastin thinks audiobooks are a great way to start getting back to books. It gives you the same escape, the same enlightenment, the same ability to imagine and learn. Get hooked however possible, and then one day, the fix is not a dopamine hit from your phone, but the glee of cracking a brand-new book spine.
The siren’s call of electronic devices is hard to ignore for both adults and kids, along with the way that Amazon and other mass sellers have crushed independent booksellers. But we can all celebrate when some brave soul decides to enter the scene.
“It requires all of us to keep focus on not letting these things take over,” Bastin said. “Libraries and book stores are a great way to do that.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
