Meet the Team

Leah, Co-Owner

co-owner, bookseller

What are your favorite things to do at Pearl’s?
I love to rearrange the store. Keeping it feeling fresh and homey is important to me. I also love our monthly staff meetings! It’s so nice to get our entire staff together to chat through what we’re planning for the upcoming month.

Favorite book as a child: I’m a lifelong lover of Frog and Toad are Friends, but my most vivid memories of a childhood book center around Castaways on Heron Island by John Patience. I still have my original copy of this book from the Tales from Fern Hollow series and get to read it to my kids now.

What are your current reading “wheelhouses”?
Books with Cuban or Nigerian characters or settings, Civil War Era, An element of art involved

Favorite recent reads?
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Awkaeke Emezi
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

Local spots you recommend?
Leverett Lounge and Pizzeria Ruby are my go-to restaurants, Vault for cocktails, Naturals baseball games, Theatre Squared for the rare date night, and of course the Fayetteville Farmer’s Market!

Daniel

Co-Owner, bookseller

Quick description of what you do here: A little of everything! Select & sell books, clean the toilets, pay the taxes.

Favorite book as a child: If by Sarah Perry

When I’m not at Pearl’s, I’m… probably playing an elaborate game of make-believe with my oldest daughter Lillian.

Lunch spot you recommend in Fayetteville? Taste of Thai

Books you recommend the most:
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Easy Tiki by Chloe Frechette
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

Hallee

operations Manager

Quick description of what you do here: Gush about my favorite reads and recommend those reads to customers!

Favorite book as a child: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

When I’m not at Pearl’s, I’m… writing, reading, playing music, or spending time with my dog, Izzy!

Lunch spot you recommend in Fayetteville? Hammontrees

Books you recommend the most:
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
Everyone in this Room will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
The People We Keep by Alison Larkin
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Darinda

Events manager

Quick description of what you do here: Support customers, recommend books, and other duties as assigned

Favorite book as a child: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

When I’m not at Pearl’s, I’m… hanging out with my dog and cats, reading, listening to podcasts.

Lunch spot you recommend in Fayetteville? Hugo’s

Books you recommend the most:
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
All things C.S. Lewis
Anything related to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Amanda

Bookseller

Quick description of what you do here: Connect people with books they will love!

Favorite book as a child: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

When I’m not at Pearl’s, I’m… watching movies and playing board games with my kids… or reading a good book!

Lunch spot you recommend in Fayetteville? Arsaga’s Mill

Books you recommend the most:
The Disaster Days by Rebecca Behrens
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip by Kevin Brockmeier
The Vapors by David Hill

Julia

Bookseller

Quick description of what you do here: Recommending the🔥hot new books🔥and putting new poetry collections on the shelves

Favorite book as a child: Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

When I’m not at Pearl’s, I’m… teaching community poetry workshops with Bee Balm Arkansas, whipping up a new recipe in my kitchen, or trying to find a way to make sure the deer don’t eat my garden. (Deer, if you’re reading this, please have mercy!)

Lunch spot you recommend in Fayetteville? Xuma! Especially that chorizo queso. 

Books you recommend the most: 
The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón
Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz
Severance by Ling Ma
The Secret History  by Donna Tartt
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Alison
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Emma

Bookseller

Quick description of what you do here:
Place special orders, make recommendations, and stamp & sticker sidelines
Favorite book as a child:
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
When I’m not at Pearl’s, I’m…
Writing, reading graphic novels, or walking my beloved pitbull
Lunch spot you recommend in Fayetteville?
Hammontrees or Thai Diner
Books you recommend the most:
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, Quiet by Susan Cain, & The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Pearl

our namesake

Pearl was our first dog. Grumpy, quirky, aloof; personality more like a cat’s, really. She loved going on walks, having her back scratched, chasing flies, and snuggling with her humans. She passed away in October of 2020, around the same time the idea for this store took root.

Life is full of love and grief and hope and worry and care. It’s been our experience that the companionship of a beloved pet is much like that of a beloved book: without shame, unconditional, helping us get through tough times and thrive in the easy.

If the last year and a half has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected, let go of what you can’t control, and open a bookstore because “why the hell not”. We experience a little risky business every day, and as we open this store in the community we love, we are comforted by Pearl’s memory living on in its name. It is our hope that she may bring you a little bit of companionship and light, too.