{"id":409367,"date":"2026-08-18T01:28:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/409367\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T01:28:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:28:26","slug":"reverie-books-creates-opportunities-for-students-in-south-austin-southwest-austin-dripping-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/409367\/","title":{"rendered":"Reverie Books creates opportunities for students in South Austin | Southwest Austin – Dripping Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether patrons are seeking a new fantasy read, funky stationery, or a furry friend, Reverie Books<\/a> in Southwest Austin has it all.<\/p>\n

The independent bookstore is dedicated to social justice, community building, and youth empowerment, selling a mixture of new and used books across a variety of genres. Stormy, the shop cat, welcomes customers by the front door, and the team highlights Stormy’s recommendations, including titles like “Mystical Cat Shelter” by Heather Fawcett.<\/p>\n

Meet the owner<\/p>\n

Local Thais Perkins took over the space that would become Reverie Books in 2021<\/a> after her friend David closed his bookstore at the same location.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a special place in my heart from being a [misfit] kid in the 90s who didn\u2019t have anywhere to go, and independent bookstores were a refuge,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cI wanted to recreate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the pandemic, Perkins had an extensive career in education, biology and environmental science. Opening Reverie represented a synthesis of her interests and goals, from connecting over books to non-profit giving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a huge pay cut to do this, but it\u2019s worth every minute,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cIt\u2019s the happiest I\u2019ve ever been in my life … I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever get tired of doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in a name<\/p>\n

\u201cReverie\u201d means the state of being lost in dream-like thoughts, or an abstracted state of absorption. That\u2019s what Perkins wants to evoke in her store.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word reverie describes what I personally feel when I walk into a bookstore, which is an expansion of the mind,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cIt broadens my internal landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they offer<\/p>\n

Shoppers can purchase all things books<\/a> and baubles at Reverie, from graphic novels to knick-knacks.<\/p>\n

Merchandise includes:<\/p>\n

Literary-themed candlesBoard games and puzzlesJewelryStationeryStickers\"cards<\/p>\n

What\u2019s special about it?<\/p>\n

Reverie offers a high school internship program, where local students can learn workforce skills while earning some extra cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of my greatest sources of joy is watching these incredibly accomplished young people build their skill set and feel confident in their ability to work in a bookstore,\u201d Perkins said.<\/p>\n

Perkins said she has hired almost 10 different interns over the past few years, though the store is too small to have more than one intern at a time. Beyond providing internship opportunities, Perkins hopes Reverie is a space where kids and teenagers can feel safe to be themselves.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/p>\n

Reverie Books will open a second, larger location<\/a> off Brodie Lane in October, with enough space for three to four interns and a stage for events.<\/p>\n

The business is currently running a fundraising campaign to help with opening costs. For those who want to lend a hand, Perkins said she plans to host a community painting day at the new location.<\/p>\n

Looking back<\/p>\n

One of Perkins\u2019 favorite memories over the past five years running Reverie happened around Christmas a few years ago. She recalled two LGBTQ+ kids coming into the store, gushing over books they couldn\u2019t buy because of their family situations.<\/p>\n

She posted on Twitter, asking if anyone was feeling \u201cChristmas-y\u201d and wanting to help gift some books to the kids. Overnight, the community donated over $1,400. Using the additional money, Perkins tasked the intern at the time with creating a program to provide free books for teenagers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clear to me that they didn\u2019t have a grown-up in their lives who would buy these books for them,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cI waited for them to come back around and gave them the book boxes for Christmas … I remember they went out into the parking lot and jumped up and down and screamed.\u201d<\/p>\n

One more thing<\/p>\n

Perkins thinks that everyone should read \u201cThe Overstory\u201d by Richard Powers. The novel spans several centuries and tells the story of ancient American trees and the people connected to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very compassionate,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cIt\u2019s transcendent, even, and I think that everybody could use a little bit of that upliftingness. Especially right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether patrons are seeking a new fantasy read, funky stationery, or a furry friend, Reverie Books in Southwest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,143071,143070,143069,4522,29981,143068],"class_list":["post-409367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-crockett-center","tag-menchaca-road","tag-reverie-books","tag-south-austin","tag-southwest-austin","tag-thais-perkins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}