Photo: Beth Orsini/ Hygge House Books
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Former middle school teacher Beth Orsini first waged war against book deserts during the pandemic with pop-up book sales.
Her movement soon grew, so she quit her job to open a brick and mortar store in Westborough called Hygge House Books.
Orsini said her next move will be to spread "Hygge Book Nooks," shops where children can "take a book, read it, share it [and] come back for more" free of charge and without returning it, around the state.
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Worcester, some parts of which Unite for Literacy has deemed book deserts, already has a book nook of its own.
According to Unite for Literacy, children who grow up in households with fewer than 100 books tend to score relatively low in reading proficiency.
Orsini noted overall quality of life has also been linked to the number of books young children are exposed to.
WBZ NewsRadio's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports.
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