Literary Tourism: Joy and Matt's Books in Cincinnati, Ohio
A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf and I decided to go to a Reds game in Cincinnati. There’s no major league baseball in Columbus and we’ve been to a couple of Guardians games before, so we thought we’d try something new.
So we popped down for a day trip and arrived with just enough time before the afternoon game to hit up one bookstore. A google search led us to Joy and Matt’s Books.
[image description: The storefront of Joy and Matt’s Books. There’s a big picture window with books on display and a sandwich board that reads “books give a soul to the universe, wings to the wind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
As soon as I saw that sandwich board, which reads “books give a soul to the universe, wings to the wind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything,” I knew Joy and Matt were my kind of people.
[image description: another view of the storefront where there are posters that say “snack, nap, read” and “turn off, tune out, drop in” and a couple of Chinese decorations since Joy and Matt’s is AAPI-owned. Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf is reflected in the glass on the door.]
I wasn’t necessarily trying to conceal Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf’s identity in this picture, but it’s funny to me that it happened by accident. His face is totally obscured by the sign on the door, so you’ll have to trust me that he’s a handsome fella.
I also appreciate that some of the decor in the window let’s me know the store is AAPI-owned because I love supporting bookstores owned by BIPOC folks!
[image description: Inside Joy and Matt’s books there are white shelves, sunflower yellow walls, and lots of plants on top of the shelves.]
The first thing I noticed walking into Joy and Matt’s Books was how cozy it is! The bright yellow walls really brighten up the space and captures the sunlight coming in from the large front window. I love all the plants too.
Though the shop is small, only about the size of the average living room, you can immediately tell it’s got a lot of heart.
It didn’t take long at all to find books we wanted. Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf picked out The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story by Ramzy Baroud for me and I chose Made in China: A Memoir of Love and Labor by Anna Qu for myself. Both books came off the back shelves in the photo above.
[image description: a display table with discount books and the window display books, which are on what looks like tiny swings, but are planks of wood tied with rope to make a shelf.
How nifty is the rope and plank shelf in the window?! It was giving me all kinds of ideas for ways I might get more shelf space in the house––because you know we’re always running out.
[image description: Another of the front store windows where there’s a cool display. This one is a wooden display shelf in the shape of a lighthouse.]
I was a big fan of the lighthouse book display too. Between it and the plank and rope shelf it made me wonder if Joy and Matt were woodworkers. I mean, it’s a good skill to have when you own a bookstore. I’ve been searching for used solid wood bookshelves my entire life and they’re hard to find.
[image description: Mr. Off the Beaten Shelf, a white man wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue baseball cap, gesturing as he talks to Joy and Matt, who aren’t pictured.]
One of the perks of going to a small, indie bookstore on a Sunday afternoon is that we pretty much had the place to ourselves, so we got to chat with Joy and Matt, who both happened to be there. I didn’t ask to take their picture because I didn’t want to be awkward, but they were delightful! We got into a conversation about bookstores in Columbus and my book tattoo. They’re good folks and super knowledgeable about a wide variety of books.
[image description: on the wall by the register at Joy and Matt’s. There’s a clock that looks like a giraffe bending over and looking through its legs, as well as a whiteboard that says what Joy and Matt are reading.]
As evidence of how widely they read, the whiteboard where they share what they’re reading includes A Thousand Ways to Pay Attention by Rebecca Schiller, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, and The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber. Also, their clock is delightful.
Since we only had about 40 minutes before we had to leave for the baseball game, Joy and Matt’s was the perfect place to go. It was super cute, well-curated with both new and used titles, and had a wide enough selection to keep Mr. OTBS and I both interested. Plus, the company was excellent! I highly recommend talking to booksellers because you’ll inevitably learn about more books you need in your life. If you’re in Cincy, check out Joy and Matt’s Books!
