I recently took an hour to browse through Birdie Books in Westerville.  I had been there before, but it was a quick trip.  They recently expanded and I thought it was worth checking out again.

Birdie Books is owned by Shari Russell.  She decided to open an independent bookstore in 2021, but it ended up happening in stages rather than all at once.  Shari believed that Westerville needed a good bookstore and played around with the idea during Covid.  Birdie Books started as a small, pop-up shop while Shari looked for a more permanent location to buy.

Through the friend of a friend, she bought an old Victorian house on the north side of Uptown Westerville.  She stayed in the temporary location during the permitting and initial renovations.  Late in 2022 she moved into the back part of the Victorian house.  This was an addition to the original house and has been beautifully painted on the outside to invite people in.  This smaller bookstore is the one I previously visited.

The newly renovated bookstore opened in December of 2025.  A bar and bakery are still in the process of being built.  The day I recently visited, they were having a trial and training run.  They expect the cafe part of the bookstore to be open by April.

Birdie Books has an eclectic and highly curated selection of books.  I picked up a “map” at the front desk because the sections are not clearly marked – or delineated.  The map lists 51 different sections, but they blend seamlessly from one to another.  There is a large Young Adult section and a large selection of graphic novels.  They are known for their Pride collection.  But there are also bestsellers, mysteries, romance, and a big section of cookbooks.  I was impressed by their selection of knitting books.  They even had “Knitting the National Parks,” which is my favorite knitting book.

As I browsed from one section to another, I found several books that I wanted to read.  The chidren’s section is particularly inviting.  I know a little girl who is turning four soon and I found a couple of books that I think she will enjoy.  I also found the coming events board, which has a club for readers of mysteries and a craft group that meets once a month.  Those might be worth checking out.

Birdie Books primary audience seems to be the college crowd from Otterbein University.  It is exactly the kind of place I would have enjoyed as a college student.  But they carry enough variety to make it an interesting place for anyone to browse and shop.