Mobile bookstore Title Wave Books launches on Long Island

Kate Scotti launched Title Wave Books, her independent mobile store, in May. Like many novels, the business begins with a prologue.

“I read all the time as a kid. It was one of my favorite things,” says Scotti, 37. “In high school and college, my reading fell off.”

She reconnected with books as she juggled being a mom of two and working part-time as a speech and language pathologist at a private practice in Hauppauge.

“I started slow with audio books while I was commuting to and from my job,” says Scotti, who lives in Lynbrook. “I quickly fell back in love, and I started reading again. I felt inspired to bring it to other people like me.”

Next stop: Trailer City in Hempstead, where she bought a new 7-by-7-by-12-foot towable unit that became her cozy shop on wheels. With help from her husband and father, she gave the trailer a makeover with wave-patterned wallpaper, white shelves and more personal touches.

“I hook it up to my truck and pull it wherever it needs to be,” Scotti says. “Then we disconnect and open the door.”

Title Wave Books typically operates on weekends at local fairs, markets, festivals, private events and ventures with other area businesses. A collaboration with South Shore Craft Brewery in Oceanside marked her shop’s opening. In October at Obscura studio in Long Beach, she celebrated the release of new books by popular romantasy authors Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas. Scotti posts her upcoming schedule on her Instagram account.

The store’s inventory of around 300 titles centers on contemporary popular fiction, mystery, fantasy, romance, young adult and children’s books. Paperbacks run around $15-$20 and hardcovers $25-$35.

Scotti is revved up about being in the driver’s seat of the mobile store, particularly right now. “All things analog are coming back,” she says. “Reading is cool again.”

The business has built-in flexibility. “I don’t have to be a parent that misses things that matter,” she adds. “But I can also teach my kids about what it means to own a business and have something that’s important to you.”

She envisions another chapter for her business down the road. “I have a dream,” she says, “of being a brick-and-mortar store in our community at some point.”

Title Wave Books, Instagram: @titlewavebooksli, titlewavebooksli.com