When Jenny Ferrara and Michael Bourke started dating, she asked him what he would do if he won the lottery. Bourke said he’d “open a bookstore that sells beer and wine, and I’d hang out there all day.” “That was a dream I could get on board with,” Ferrara recalls.
Turns out, the co-owners of Philosophers & Fools (opens in a new tab) didn’t need to win the lottery to turn their fantasy into nonfiction. Since opening the bookstore-meets-bar in Cannonborough-Elliotborough in March 2024, they’ve seen that dream take off. This month, the independent shop—which was named one of “10 Best Indie Bookstores” in the country by USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Awards this summer—is serving as the official bookseller for the Charleston Literary Festival, selling books on-site and coordinating more than 40 author signings during the 10-day event.
In the cozy, corner shop, the couple offers a curated selection of books across genres that pair well with a glass of wine or local beer. Customers are encouraged to linger, not just purchase a volume and leave. “We want to be a clubhouse of sorts where people can come and hang out, either by themselves to get out of the house, or meet up with their friends or neighbors,” Bourke says.
The name Philosophers & Fools comes from a quote in William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. “It’s dichotomous; it represents the books versus the bar, but it also represents the types of people you would meet in a bar,” Bourke notes.
The concept goes beyond literature and libations. The shop hosts a monthly book club designed to introduce members to different genres and authors, as well as its popular Extra Credit lecture series that invites college professors to discuss topics ranging from astrophysics and neurobiology to the history of witches. And every Sunday brings Crosswords & Croissants, when all levels of The New York Times puzzles are provided, and strangers are encouraged to ask each other for help when they get stumped.
This month, Philosophers & Fools will be stocking the titles being discussed during the 10th annual Charleston Literary Festival (including Kin, The Correspondent, Angel Down, and How to Be Heard) and selling books on-site at the Dock Street Theatre. It’s another aspiration-turned-reality for Ferrara and Bourke, who often attended the festival before they owned the bookshop. “We jumped at the chance to be part of it,” Ferrara says.
For the couple, the community support validates the long hours and hard work. “It’s this dream we had, but to see that people really embrace it and then meet other people in their community through it, it’s been really fulfilling,” Ferrara says. “And I’ve gotten so much better at crosswords.”
By the Numbers
- 4,000: Titles on their shelves
- 24: Extra Credit professors hosted
- 48: Charleston Literary Festival author signings this year
- 63: Copies sold of Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory (their most purchased title)