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Moreno Valley bookstore Get Lit Books & Things reopens in new location

March 14, 2026

After a year at the Moreno Valley Mall, Danielle and Ruth Myers-Porter, owners of Get Lit Books & Things in Moreno Valley, decided to find a new location.

So they took a trip in search of information and inspiration.

“We went to bookstores in New England,” says Danielle, recalling a valuable visit to All She Wrote Books as well as enriching conversations with booksellers in San Francisco and local store owners at Cellar Door Books, Rep Club and Salt Eaters.

“We definitely made it a point to try and talk to other booksellers in different areas,” says Ruth. “Booksellers, it’s just such a loving community to be in.”

Now, the couple’s hard work is paying off: Get Lit is hosting its grand reopening at its new location at Canyon Springs Plaza in Moreno Valley tomorrow, Saturday, March 14, from noon to 6 p.m. There will be raffles, prizes and discounts all day.

Both booksellers, who laugh and finish each other’s sentences during our phone conversation, are thrilled with the new site.

“It’s great; it’s a huge center – there are three levels of parking spaces,” says Danielle. “Our customers can drive right up to the door.”

The new locale will allow them to do even more than sell books, they agree.

“Everything we do, we try to make community-based,” says Danielle. “We want to give back to the community we’re in, so we work with a lot of organizations, nonprofits and different groups to host events.”

“While we’re open, we can also host workshops and classes,” says Ruth, who explained that they’d long wanted to have enough room to host events during store hours. “Now we’re able to do both comfortably.”

(L-R) Ruth and Danielle Myers-Porter are the owners of Get Lit Books & Things, which is reopening at a new location in Moreno Valley. (Photo courtesy of Get Lit Books & Things)

The inventory at Get Lit, which stocks new and used books and other items, not only reflects what they like to read, but both agree that running the store has expanded their reading choices.

“I am a fantasy girlie myself; I love fantasy, and I read a lot of it,” says Danielle. “The good thing about owning a bookstore is that now I read outside of my genre a lot more, because I read whatever the book clubs are reading.”

“That’s another thing about the store, it’s helping me build my nonfiction muscle,” says Ruth, also a fantasy reader, who says she gets a lot of suggestions from Danielle. “My wife loves to talk about books, so she’s like, ‘Read this!’”

“In our new books, we prioritize women, people of color, and LGBTQ authors,” says Ruth, pointing to their involvement with Riverside Pride and Black Lesbians United. “We feel like, if it’s a section in another store, it’s front and center in our store.”

Opening a bookstore had long been a dream for Danielle, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2022, just seven months after the pair’s wedding.

After a year of treatment, she’s been cancer-free; the experience led the couple, who’d both been working long hours at demanding jobs, to make a decision.

“Danielle was like, ‘I did not survive cancer to work someone else’s dream,’” says Ruth. “And that was it for us.”

The couple says that the community has also supported their dreams, whether through a GoFundMe campaign to help with moving expenses or by pitching in to get the new space ready.

“Our love is what carries us daily through this, but the community has shown up,” says Ruth. “We did not know how we were going to get reopened and move, and customers who have become family have come in and said, ‘Let me help put books on the shelves, let me carry things, let me clean things.’

“It’s not just a bookstore,” she says. “People come, and they tell us their story. … They release the heaviness that is the world in this space, and there’s a lot of hugs and lots of laughter. People have told us that they feel safe in the space … and that’s the best gift.”

“It doesn’t feel like retail because our customers are never angry,” says Danielle. “It’s a special kind of clientele.”

And what’s been the biggest surprise about opening a store?

“You think you’re going to be reading books all day,” says Danielle as they both burst into laughter.

“That’s not it at all.”

For more information, go to the store’s website or GoFundMe page.

Sierra Madre’s Fables & Fancies is celebrating its first anniversary

Ana Buckley, seen here on Dec. 21, 2024, is the owner of the bookstore Fables & Fancies in Sierra Madre. (Photo by Erik Pedersen/SCNG)

Fables & Fancies in Sierra Madre will be celebrating its first anniversary on Sunday, March 15, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., with snacks, games, a raffle and live music from Rocko Wheeler. (It’s also close to the birthday of store owner, Ana.)

For more info, go to the store’s website or Instagram account.

Moreno Valley bookstore Get Lit Books & Things reopens in new location Orange County Register

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Moreno Valley bookstore Get Lit Books & Things reopens in new location

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