 "Photo: All photos Monica Pedraja")
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It’s not extravagant, it’s not a large bookstore chain; no, it’s a not-so-average local bookstore selling used books. Located at 6753 N. Sheridan Rd., the Armadillo’s Pillow is a familiar name around campus and throughout Rogers Park. It is hard to say what it is about this quaint bookstore that makes it so compelling to walk into. Maybe it’s the unique name, or the “rarified atmosphere” it possesses, but whatever the reason, it is a hot spot that has been around for 15 years. Customers range from Loyola students and professors to community members of Rogers’ Park, to tourists coming to visit the Chicago area.
The Armadillo’s Pillow is more than just a used bookstore. With over 100,000 books in stock, customers can easily become overwhelmed. The endless series of choices range from literary criticisms to psychology and even cookbooks. The only choices one will not find on the bookshelves are romance novels and sports books. “There has to be a line drawn somewhere … this way it covers both the ultra feminine and masculine books,” said Betsey Boemmel, one of the co-owners, to explain the omission.
“The armadillo is a symbol for a book: there is a hard cover, but on the inside there is something soft and comforting in the content the book possesses … A book can take you inside a new world, outside of the ‘hard shelled’ world you live day in and day out,” Boemmel said. The store’s name originally came from the John Irving novel A Prayer for Owen Meany, in which an armadillo serves as a leitmotif.
Although Betsey and husband Matt Boemmel do not have a large space available to put their books, they use the space wisely and with great precision. In fact, the current amount of space is a great improvement for what used to be available. For the first six to seven years of business, they had only half the storefront space as they do now.
Boemmel, who affectionately calls the shop her “folly,” demonstrates her enthusiasm for both the store and her customers: Both Boemmels almost always man the store, working to ensure prices are fair and the books are in order.
“It seemed like a natural decision to start a used bookstore. I was never one for going to libraries because I am rough on my books: I practically chew them up. So it was a kind of spur of the moment idea: my husband and I just decided to go with the idea of starting a bookstore … that would be outside of the normal realm and scheme of the surrounding stores and of book stores in general,” Boemmel said.
This eccentrically charming store provides a comforting atmosphere for one to sit, read and lose oneself in a book. The music playing in the background is soft yet adds to the eccentricity to the store. The store is somewhat dark, but in a comforting and relaxing way. There are stuffed armadillos around the store and numerous outlandish designs and paintings decorate the walls.
The slight smell of incense along with the aroma of old books fills the cozy and welcoming environment. They even sell jewelry, journals and “lucky dice!” These decorations all add to the “specialness” (as Boemmel describes it) of the store.
Although some books available are out of the ordinary, like a Disney Cookbook filled with cute Disney character recipes, it is exactly this kind of quirky environment that draws customers into the Armadillo’s Pillow and keeps customers coming back. “My customers are like my family … I see kids grow up,” Boemmel said. We all have to grow up some time, Amy March from Little Women once said, but, with a book in hand, we don’t have to do it alone.
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