Ariel Censor once told her mother her passion for bookselling came from the thrill of getting to know someone’s reading taste and matching them with the right books. Her mother responded that Ariel was a yenta — Yiddish for busybody, often used to describe a matchmaker — and the name stuck.
Ariel and her husband Simon Censor opened used bookshop Little Yenta Books on East Passyunk Avenue in February in the back of a children’s dressmaking shop, cramming over 1,500 titles into a lofted 150-square-foot space. When a 700-square-foot storefront became available next door, the Censors gave Little Yenta Books a bigger, more permanent space in June.
“We still have to think very carefully about what books would be a fit for our store and our customers versus what would work better for another shop,” Ariel said, adding that Little Yenta Books has a wide variety of books covering most genres, with a special focus on contemporary and classic literary fiction, science fiction, and philosophy. Most of the books are under $10.
“We source inventory from all over, all the time. We buy books from our customers for cash or store credit, we do house calls for big collections, we attend library fundraisers, we go to estate sales — pretty much wherever you can find books, we'll be there,“ she said.
A tiny room in the shop — which used to be a shower — is now known as the Museum of Bookmarks, where the Censors have bulletin boards covered with things people used as bookmarks. “We've found very sweet handwritten notes, pressed flowers, recipes, newspaper clippings, Pokemon cards, family photos, the list goes on,” Ariel said.
Ariel is now truly a book yenta, offering a matchmaking service where for $35, you’ll get three hand-picked books based on your preferences, plus a bookmark, a sticker, and a note explaining Ariel’s picks.
Pro tip for the Aug. 22 bookstore crawl: Little Yenta is the southernmost bookstore in the city, so Ariel suggests starting there (the shop opens at 10 am for the crawl) and making your way north.
