Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda is known for making the rounds of her city and dropping in on locally-owned small businesses.

In mid-January, she made such a visit to The Reading Turtle. In the mayor’s words, it’s “a cozy bookstore” and where she made a pact with her young son.

“I’ve made a deal with my son,” Sepulveda wrote on her Harlingen mayor Facebook page. “Every time he completes a book, we’ll visit The Reading Turtle to choose the next adventure.”

For Isabel and Gabriel Torres, the mayor’s support of their business along with social media mentions by the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation, are huge boosts to their goal to bring a new and used bookstore presence to their city. The world is now cluttered with Kindles, Nooks and the tablets where millions now read their books.

Isabel Torres is one of those Kindle readers, but she believes there should be a place in a community like Harlingen where adults and kids find solace and comfort in sitting down in a shop and holding a book in their hands.

“There comes a time when you need to get away from screens and get a break from all of that,” Isabel said. “You can come to a shop like this one and pick up a book, hold it and feed your imagination with a story.”

‘Getaway Place’

The Torres couple had been involved in running other small businesses in recent years but none brought any particular joy. 

Isabel Torres has long been an avid reader. The closest new bookstore to Harlingen was 40 miles-plus away in McAllen and required getting through heavy Pharr Interchange construction to get there. The thought of opening a small bookstore in Harlingen was her idea and won the quick support of her husband. Gabriel could add his love of collectibles to the mix of a Harlingen bookstore.

Their goal became a reality last September when they opened their shop in a small plaza on the northern side of the Business 77 Sunshine Strip. The bookstore is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a two-hour midday break each day. 

“This is our getaway place,” Gabriel Torres said. “We can’t wait to get shipments in and interact with our customers.”

The Reading Turtles’ collection is a mix of new and used books with requests by customers met. Searches for first-edition books signed by their authors is a niche the Harlingen bookstore is trying to fill locally. Book collecting is a time-tested hobby, and ownership of special editions or rare books become important objects for their owners. 

“It’s like a trophy,” Isabel Torres said of a collector getting a desired book. “Writers make such an impact in the lives of their readers.”

Bookshops Growing

The long-range plan is to eventually move The Reading Turtle to downtown Harlingen – likely on Jackson Street – and add a coffee bar to the mix. 

The Harlingen couple is hardly alone in having an aspiration to own a bookshop. The Associated Press reported in 2023 that there were 300 more members of an independent bookseller’s association than there were in 2019. Analysts in the AP story said teens and customers in their 20s are seeking books and rediscovering bookstores. Mayor Sepulveda’s young son is one example of that trend and his mother is likewise a fan of the written word in book form.

“I’m a huge advocate for the tangible joy of holding an actual physical book,” the mayor said on her Facebook page after visiting The Reading Turtle. “While e-books definitely have a place in my life, there’s something irreplaceable about turning the pages of a book.”

And now thanks to The Reading Turtle on 1046 N. 77 Sunshine Strip, there’s a place in Harlingen which meets that need.