For those who enjoy the feeling of a book in one hand and a glass of fine merlot in the other, a bookstore-cum-wine lounge just landed in Berkeley.
Book Society opened earlier in December at 2945 College Ave. in the tony Elmwood district, adding to the block’s already-rich stock of books (Mrs. Dalloway’s) and wine (Vintage Berkeley). The Art Deco-style lounge serves wine by the glass, on tap and in tastings and features a curated selection of books for sale, which customers can peruse while enjoying their vino. And a warning to work squatters: A sign states it’s a “Laptop Free Zone.”
The lounge offers a menu of savory “nibbles” to enjoy while sitting on comfy furniture or at a diminutive bar in the back. There are local gifts for sale, including bundled book collections by authors like Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway, which are divided into the categories of Classy Classic (“elegant, timeless and so very pretty”) and Edgy Classic (“bold, modern and full of sassy attitude”). There’s also a $99 yearly membership program that opens up discounts on wine and food and perks like private book discussions and meet-and-greets with authors.
Book Society has a sort-of (ahem) novel thing where it pairs featured books with featured wines. “This isn’t just about books or wine — it’s about the stories they tell together,” the society writes on Instagram. “We pair eight handpicked books with wines that complement their stories, making wine tasting fun, approachable and a total conversation starter. This changes every month, so there’s always something new to discover.”
Though new, the lounge has already devised a thick schedule of special events such as hosted book clubs and literature-inspired yoga and meditation. On the billet for December, for example, was a sound-healing session with a yogini and mimosas and a food-and-wine demonstration with cookbook author Bebe Black Carminito. Early in 2025, there are planned talks with Kim Scott, author of “Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity,” and Alison Fragale, an organizational psychologist who penned this year’s “Likeable Badass: How Women Get The Success They Deserve.”
The founder of Book Society is Laura Guzman, who has a background in marketing and communications and who conceived of the lounge during the social isolation of the pandemic.
“Emerging from the tumultuous years of Covid, I had a real desire to create a new kind of community space — a nurturing, comfortable environment where people could connect and rediscover the magic of learning something new,” Guzman says in a press statement. “Book Society is more than a bookstore and wine lounge. It’s a place where community is celebrated, stories are shared and local artists and craftspeople are valued.”
Details: Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday (closed Monday) at 2945 College Ave., Berkeley; booksociety.social/.