There's a bookstore in Celina

CELINA - For Brian Whiting, opening a used bookstore started a new chapter in his life.

In a completely hypothetical series of events, Whiting, 39, owns The Druid's Library, a cozy, hidden gem, nestled on West Market Street in Celina. On a whim, Whiting decided to rent an office space inside the Marketplace and stock it with 100-200 used books.

"So many people have walked in here and said either, 'I can't believe there's a bookstore in Celina' or 'This is what Celina has needed,' or a combination of both," Whiting said. "It's been really encouraging. Like I said, 99% of the books here have been donated. Everyone has been amazingly supportive. I mean without the donations, the charity of them, I wouldn't have been able to do this. I wouldn't have had the money. It sounds so cheesy when I say this bookstore was built by the community but it really, like literally was."

In the span of a month, the space is complete with several shelves stocked with a variety of books, a majority being fiction, a seating area, several tables and an electric fireplace.

"I feel like The Druid's Library has had a lot of growth in the past week," Whiting said in a Facebook post. "Not only has our number of shelves and inventory grown, but we have reached a point where I can start focusing on specific genres and types of books that I want to keep in stock. This means I can grow certain parts of the store like the children's books and other genres. [I]t dawned on me that Celina is just as much a part of my store as the store is part of Celina. (About) 75% of all the furniture and books in the store has come from the community. It's the community's support and generosity that has made this store possible and I could never thank you all enough."

About 99% of the books have been donated and all of the furniture is either second-hand or gifted, he said.

"Like I said, I started with no expectations of this actually happening," Whiting said. "I couldn't be disappointed because I'm surprised it's happening at all. I always have days where I'll be like, 'What am I doing? This is crazy. I can't keep this up.'''

He said when he feels overwhelmed, his fiancé supports and encourages him.

Although the business is for profit, Whiting said he opened the store because he wanted to see a bookstore in town and now seeks out the books he would like to read or finds interesting.

The namesake originates from Whiting identifying as a druid "and I call it my library because that's kind of how I use it," he said. "When I have the money, I'm buying books not based on what is the best seller right now (or) what is the newest release. I'm not that worried about that, although if I could afford it, I would get those as well. I'm getting the books that I want to have in my collection, I want to have in my library."

"I hate to say this because it sounds like it's bad business practice, but I don't care about making money," Whiting continued. "I want to have a store, I want the store to exist, I want to hang out in the store, I want to work and build the store and all of that costs money so you need the money, but the money is not my driving force. My driving force is (that) I love books. I love bookstores. Celina doesn't have a bookstore - everyone I talked to says Celina needs a bookstore. I want to do it."

Druidism is a pagan region that has a direct connection to Earth, Whiting said. Druids believe that trees aren't just sacred, but they are beings who are "our brothers and sisters. Druidry…says anything that is alive is related."

The Druid's Library, located at 210 W. Market St., Celina, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It is accepting donations.