SALEM — Every night after her three children are tucked into their beds and the last picture book is closed, Vanessa Plowman is reminded of the dream she’s been chasing for years.
Not one bound between book covers, but the one she’s thought of building herself. For a long time, the idea of opening her own independent bookstore in Salem has lingered, amid fears that if she didn’t, someone else would.
“It was constantly in my head,” she said. “Like, if you don’t take this idea on, someone else will.”
That idea is now taking shape as Leaf & Lantern Bookshop, a mobile bookstore Plowman hopes will create something she says Salem has been missing — a place where readers can gather, linger and connect.
It won’t be housed in a sprawling storefront with tall windows or lined with velvet chairs as she first envisioned. Instead, it’s unfolding inside a 14-foot trailer, where shelves, soft lighting and the sale of loose-leaf tea and apothecary offerings aim to recreate the feeling of a bookstore as a destination, not just a transaction.
Plowman, 35, moved to Salem nine years ago after growing up in Malden, Massachusetts. She draws inspiration from nostalgia, with an idea rooted as much in memory as it is in passion and ambition.
“I used to love going to Barnes & Noble with my mom,” Plowman said. “It was a whole thing. Getting a drink at Starbucks, walking around, sitting and reading. It felt like a community space.”
That feeling has faded in recent years, she said.
Like many bookstores, Barnes & Noble scaled back seating and communal areas following the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting toward a more transactional experience. For Plowman, the change underscored what she felt was already lacking locally — a dedicated, accessible book community.
While independent bookstores dot nearby towns, Plowman said Salem itself has few such opportunities for connection, like book clubs or casual spaces to read and gather.
That absence became a catalyst.
Leaf & Lantern Bookshop, she said, is her answer to a simple question. If you love books, where do you go to find people who love them, too?
“I want people to come in and feel something,” she said. “Not just grab a book and leave.”
Her vision extends beyond bookshelves. She plans to sell both new and used titles alongside loose-leaf tea, candles and body products sourced from women-owned businesses in New Hampshire, creating what she describes as a cozy, multi-sensory experience.
As the business grows, she hopes to add outdoor seating and partner with local businesses and organized book clubs.
Plowman traces her love for books back to fifth grade, when a teacher caught her faking a book report and gave her a second chance to pick a novel from her own personal library. Plowman selected “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe .”
“That was it, I was hooked,” she said.
Books later became an escape during a difficult period in high school, when she immersed herself in novels like “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and developed a taste for psychological thrillers. Today, her reading spans genres from fantasy and science fiction to horror, dark academia and mystery, all of which will be reflected in her curated section.
Unlike most bookstores, hers won’t offer nonfiction, memoir, autobiographical or romance novels.
For a time, she considered opening a traditional storefront. But with a full-time job as a user experience designer and three young children, that wasn’t realistic.
Instead, she and her husband, Brett, compromised with the mobile version of her vision, which would allow her to act on her idea now rather than wait for the right moment, she said.
A used utility trailer, found on Facebook Marketplace, is being transformed into what Plowman calls a “miniature version” of her dream shop. It’s being outfitted with shelving, wood paneled flooring, seating and electrical work, including a built-in bench, and electrical fireplace and space for a screen to display ambient visuals that will enhance the atmosphere.
“I want it to feel as close as possible to a real bookstore,” she said. “Even if it’s small.”
A soft launch is scheduled for April 16, with a grand opening planned for later in the month, possible timed to coincide with Independent Bookstore Day on April 25. Early events are planned near the Tuscan Village area in Salem, along with vendor fairs and markets across southern New Hampshire.
In retirement, Plowman hopes she and her husband will open a brick-and-mortar bookstore that the family will run together. In the meantime, the trailer is enough, she said.
“For now, this is how I bring that vision into the world.”