On Jan. 6, Beatriz Quiroz García started graduate school for library science. “The day before the fires broke out. So it’s been a whirlwind,” she says.
Along with her education, Quiroz García works as a bookseller and subscription coordinator at Skylight Books. Even with a full schedule, she’s committed to volunteering and supporting causes in the community, including spearheading a recent donation drive that teamed Skylight and SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition to aid the local unhoused community affected by the wildfires.
Somehow, Quiroz García also made time to read James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” “I can see how he changed the literary game – essentially how the novel changed from that point on,” she says, laughing as she adds that her sisters weren’t impressed. “‘You finished the big book? OK.’ I was like, You guys, you don’t get it!”
A San Gabriel Valley resident, Quiroz García spent a recent day volunteering at the Pasadena Community Job Center to help those affected by the Eaton Fire and returned home exhausted.
“My friend and I were so tired from volunteering that we were like, We’re doing a double feature of ‘Paddington,’ because she’s never seen it,” says Quiroz García. “And then ‘Paddington 2,’ because neither of us had seen it. Phenomenal movie, I love it so much.”
As she was watching the film, her Skylight coworker Elizabeth McKenzie texted that the Altadena Seed Library needed donations – and Quiroz García got to work again.
She messaged Nina Raj, founder of the Altadena Seed Library, with an offer to help the group’s drive to reseed Altadena yards and greenspaces that were lost in the fire. “I literally reached out while I was on the sofa being catatonic because I had gone to go volunteer at the Pasadena Job Center that day.
“I was like, ‘I would love to collaborate with you and do a donation drive since a lot of people who live in the area are very passionate about the environment, about hiking, about the local ecology. So she reached out and was like, I would love that.”
Raj, says Quiroz García, was already familiar with the bookstore.
“She mentioned that she was a huge patron of the store. She bought a lot of gardening books and art books from the arts annex.”
After working up a flyer in between her classwork, Quiroz García got started. “We launched it and people started dropping off seeds that same day. We got a bunch of donations” – including a large sack of soil – “and we’re going to keep this going for as long as we can, as long as Nina needs us to.”
“Some people went out and bought a bunch,” she says. “They even wrote notes to her, which is so beautiful and lovely to see. It’s like our community showing up and just trying to communicate how grateful they are for the work that she’s doing.”
Raj told Pasadena Star-News reporter David Wilson that she’s encouraging people to spread seeds within the developed area of Altadena – not its wildlands. She said she anticipated that it would take a year to determine which areas were naturally rebounding and which might need help.
“We really won’t know anything until we can just wait and observe how the Earth is responding to this crisis,” Raj told Wilson.
As the situation is changeable, those interested in donating should consult the Instagram handles for Skylight Books and Altadena Seed Library for updates. There is also a GoFundMe campaign connected to the effort.
And for those in need of a little self-care? You might try spending some time with a certain marmalade-loving bear from Peru, Paddington.
“I would do anything for that bear,” says Quiroz García.
For more information, explore the Altadena Seed Library and Skylight Books websites.
More bookstore relief efforts
Black Cat Fables: The Monrovia bookstore is teaming with author Veronica Bane for a book fair open to those affected or displaced by the fires in the greater L.A. area. The event will be today, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 25 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Underdog Bookstore: Go to its Wildfire Relief page for information about the shop’s distribution center, available supplies and upcoming charity auction.
Vroman’s: The store has been partnering with Children’s Books for Altadena to provide new or gently-used books for communities impacted by the fire.
Zibby’s Bookshop: The store is giving books to families who have lost homes in the LA fires, and also providing clothes from 30+ brands. (more details here, and signup required).
Check in with your nearest local independent bookstore with our Southern California Independent Bookstore map.
Backing a bookseller
A Pasadena bookstore owner lost his Altadena home in the Eaton fire. His staff responded. READ MORE
The week’s bestsellers
The top-selling books at your local independent bookstores. READ MORE
Butler’s vision
Octavia Butler imagined an LA ravaged by fires. Her Altadena cemetery survived. READ MORE
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Next on ‘Bookish’
The next virtual event, which was rescheduled from last week, will be today, Jan. 24, with Abigail Thomas and Amy Wilson.
Want to watch previous Bookish shows? Catch up on virtual events and more!