Valley Reads

Valley Reads fills a critical gap in the literary landscape of the Rio Grande Valley, one of the fastest-growing and most culturally distinct regions in Texas. The store was founded in 2016 by a UTRGV professor of English and Mexican American studies who saw that the Valley's nearly two million residents, the majority of whom are bilingual, had almost no access to independent bookstores. The bilingual inventory is the store's foundation, with fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in both Spanish and English serving a community that moves fluidly between languages. The migration stories section addresses the reality of life along the busiest stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, with personal narratives, policy analyses, and literary fiction that humanize the immigration experience. The Valley agriculture section honors the citrus orchards and vegetable farms that have defined the regional economy for generations. The children's section is designed to serve bilingual families, with dual-language picture books and early readers that celebrate the Valley's cultural heritage. The cafe serves agua de jamaica and pan dulce from a local panaderia.