Elisha Bidwell is the owner and chief book huntress of Lonely Hunter Books.
Lonely Hunter Books is an independent, pop-up bookseller serving Elgin, Texas, and surrounding communities offering a highly curated selection of new and used books. They specialize in literary fiction that is diverse, inclusive, and a little bit weird.
Elisha’s favorite reads are the stories that walk us through the dark and disquieting parts of being human and accompany us on the deeply personal search for meaning and beauty.
1. Why did you move to Elgin?
After many years in Austin, my husband, son, and I were longing for something a little slower, quieter, and with more space to explore. In 2022, we started searching for homes on wooded lots in Bastrop, but this was when the housing market was surging at record highs. About to give up, my husband asked if I’d like to see this one listing in Elgin. Knowing absolutely nothing about the town, we fell in love with the wooded, spacious neighborhood. I insisted we drive through the downtown area after touring the house to make sure Elgin was a place we could really settle. The Main St. area was so cute–it was undeniably a major deciding factor. Another night, I made my husband drive out after dark to see how starry the sky appeared, and that pretty much sealed the deal.
2. What compelled you to create Lonely Hunter Books?
By day, I am a mom to a multiply-disabled little boy and a mental health therapist for parents of similarly medically vulnerable and complex children. I burned out while my musician husband was doing a lot of long touring stretches, and I needed a creative project that had nothing to do with caregiving and everything to do with my passions and sense of identity. I am a voracious reader and love having a reason to curate and recommend books.
3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.
1. I’ve learned to listen to what a “yes” feels like in my body. And more and more, I’m learning to make choices that honor what feels aligned with whatever excites that sense of joy or rest–even when things are hard and I want to do what feels “safe.”
2. Boundaries! I’ve learned that boundaries are about what I’m going to do, not about what another person can and cannot do. It’s been a relief to release any illusion that I have control over anyone else’s behavior.
3. I am made for small-town life—I appreciate both the pace and the people. I truly love the people I’ve met here and am so grateful for the sense of community.
4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?
I am listening to The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh which was Longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018. It’s a haunting, dystopian, fable-like tale that definitely fits the Weird Girl Lit vibe toward which I am generally drawn.
I just started reading a physical copy of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1981. It’s about an eccentric, sometimes-hotdog-vendor, and I actually picked this up after Erin, co-owner of Lightnin’ Bar suggested doing a hotdog and champagne event in conjunction with one of my bookshop pop-ups. I love a good theme.
5. Cake or Pie?
I come from a long line of pie lovers where family gatherings were marked by the sound of clicking dominoes and tables of piled-high meringue. There is some serious competition in my family when it comes to pie making (and dominoes). I’ve been gluten-free for a couple of decades now, so although gluten-free cake is easier to find, I’ll always choose pie over cake, even if I have to leave the crust behind.
Follow @lonelyhunterbooks
Buy books online bookshop.org
Bean & Noodle 