Parthenon Books aims to help students rediscover their passion for reading
Book store helps ignite passion for reading
Downtown Syracuse shop offers a much-needed escape from academic pressure with book clubs and recommendations.
During Sarah Piraino’s first years at Syracuse University as an early modern European history student, she fell out of love with reading.
After long days of intense Maxwell school courses and heavy papers on European monarchs, the last thing she wanted to do was come home and stare at more words. Then, after walking the Commencement stage, she remembered her lost love for literature.
“Post graduation, I rediscovered the incredible work of fantasy,” Piraino said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God that’s right, I did love reading fantasy when I was younger.’”
Now, three years later, she’s the general manager of downtown Syracuse’s only independent bookstore, Parthenon Books. The shop on 333 South Salina St. offers curated collections, seasonal lattes and monthly book clubs, one of which, Piraino moderates herself: the Enchanted Stories Society. The others include It Really Happened, Lattes and Literature, Here and Queer and Unhappy Hour.
The groups range from non fiction focuses like in It Really Happened to acclaimed narrative pieces like in Lattes and Literature, but all the clubs operate with a similar format. Each group picks a monthly book (Piraino occasionally picks two) and meets once to discuss it with a different moderator leading each. Though, in Piraino’s eyes, all five have the same enriching effect on a reader’s experience with a book.
“I think that when you go in knowing that you’re gonna have to discuss it, you think much differently about it,” Piraino said.
She loves the clubs’ discourse aspect, which she credits to a class she took with her favorite professor, Dr. Patricia Burak. Two semesters of Russian literature opened her eyes to how conversations can impact content.
“In our book club, it’s so interesting,” Piraino said. “Because, yes, we’re reading fantasies and romances, but everyone can pull from individual experiences.”
One of the clubs relies on the diverse backgrounds that each member brings to enrich the group. Here and Queer, another book club run through Parthenon, meets a little down the street at Salt City Market. While the club is open to all, it strives to focus on works with LGBTQ+ narratives. Here and Queer was started by two local women, Anne Montreal and Michelle Horton, who moderate the group themselves; they came to Parthenon intending to help the queer community in Syracuse.
“We were very excited when they were able to come in here and use this space,” Piraino said. “I think just having the accessibility to spaces and to book clubs and to like seeing our pride display and having the [flag in the] window, it can help somebody just feel more comfortable.”
There are even more opportunities for identity-based groups in the future. Recently, Fayetteville-Manlius High School’s assistant principal Alyssa Haymore came to Parthenon with the hopes of hosting a Black women’s literature club. Parthenon didn’t hesitate to offer them the space.
Piraino grew up in Syracuse, just like her parents and grandparents before her, and she has watched the downtown area struggle her whole life. She sees gathering centers like Parthenon Books, Onondaga County Public Library and Salt City Market as being imperative to supporting the community. She stresses that downtown isn’t just for Syracuse residents either; it’s for students too.
“The divide between SU and the city is quite interesting, because they both rely on each other,” Piraino said. “I almost feel like ‘Syracusians’ just are like, ‘Well, they’re gonna be gone in four years anyways’, but why not, utilize that time? Why not join a book club and make friends with people outside of the university.”
Parthenon didn’t exist until June 2022, which obviously means that its book clubs didn’t either. If they had, though, or if there had been options like it during Piraino’s years on the hill, she thinks she might never have lost that love for reading.
Book clubs like the Enchanted Stories Society can offer students a unique chance to escape required readings and remind them literature has a place outside the classroom.
“I think it’s a great way to kind of step away from the stresses of life, especially in school when there’s just so much going on,” Piraino said.
She adds that contrary to how it might seem, the clubs are not just another discussion section. For example, her club has a secondary meeting called ‘book club after dark,’ where the group heads to a members house for the evening to have some drinks and play games.
Each group is filled with a wide range of people with differing life experiences, from aerospace engineers to city attorneys and from newly graduated to newly parents.The clubs are come as you are, with no sign-up necessary. While it’s preferential to have read the book before the monthly meeting, Piraino says even that’s not a hard line. There’s a place, and a 20% off book club beverage, for everyone.
“Come on down, see what we have to offer,” Piraino said. “Leave the hill and don’t think about academics for an hour and a half and meet new people outside of Syracuse.”