Rainy Day Books, a Legacy of Literacy for Kansas City

Rainy Day Books is a full-line, full-service bookstore, carrying an array of carefully selected new books for adults and children alike.  We produce 300+ Author Events each year.  We make accurate personal reading recommendations for individuals and their families & friends.  We also carry a wide selection of boxed and individual greeting cards.  Among our other personal services:  We special order books daily, provide complimentary high quality gift wrapping, and we carefully pack and ship books all over the world. 

Our Author Events Calendar is one of the best and the busiest in America.  Each year we welcome a diverse array of authors to Kansas City, from debut novelists destined for greatness, to prize-winners, bestseller, and the biggest names in the news.  Most of our Author Events are held at off-site venues that comfortably seat the large crowds that we draw.

Rainy Day Books is a longtime Senior Member of the American Booksellers AssociationIndieBound.org, the National Community of Independent Booksellers. 

Vivien Jennings is the Founder, and Rainy Day Books is Kansas City's Community Bookseller, and the oldest Independent Bookstore in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.  Since November 04, 1975, Rainy Day Books has promoted a Legacy of Literacy throughout Kansas City.  In the early 1990s, Rainy Day Books began placing a greater emphasis on Author Events as a form of community outreach.  Through community partnerships and innovative Author Event planning, the bookstore quickly became known nationally for the new strategy.  Authors and publishers alike began to solicit appearances at Rainy Day Books.

Today, serving third-generation customers and anchoring the same shopping center where it started in 450 square feet, the business is internationally famous for its knowledgeable staff, exceptional customer service, and commitment to the Kansas City community.  Rainy Day Books also helps provide support for dozens of metro area book clubs. Store employees assist book club members with suggested reading, tips and suggestions for developing engaging discussions, and occasionally lead discussions for both newly formed and long-term groups.

Rainy Day Books is considered one of the leading Independent Booksellers in America, profiled in the National Publishers Weekly (PW) for having "set the Gold Standard" for the industry for Author Events.  Rainy Day Books has been nominated for National Bookseller of the Year by the American Booksellers Association, on whose Advisory Council, Vivien has served.  Rainy Day Books has also been recognized by Fortune Small Business as a Winning Workplace.

Rainy Day Books has served as a Case Study for the Entrepreneurial Program at the Block School of Business at University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), which included students from UMKC, University of Kansas (KU), and Rockhurst University.  The Case Study was subsequently published in a textbook which is used nationwide in business curricula at many leading colleges and universities.  The study focuses on how independent businesses have adapted and compete with national and online competitors.

Rainy Day Books is a regular source for stories on books and publishing for trade publications, and mainstream media, notably including The New York TimesThe Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

Since Vivien opened the doors on November 04, 1975, Rainy Day Books has provided the Greater Kansas City community with a gathering place, a wellspring for ideas and creative thought, and an ongoing voice for literacy and awareness.  Rainy Day Books supports many local charitable and civic organizations in raising both funds and awareness through many of the community Author Events.  Their philosophy is: "Bigger isn't better. Better is better."  They are interested not so much in what they have done, but more in what they still want to do.  They find it thrilling to watch people leave their events with the knowledge that authors and their books can expand the attendees' awareness, improve health, make them laugh, touch hearts, and encourage people to achieve a better life in a better World.  This is truly the spirit of the 'Legacy of Literacy' that Rainy Day Books hopes to contribute to the community.

All Special Orders, Author Events Admission Packages and Author Autographed Book Sales are final and nonrefundable at time of purchase, all other Sales are exchangeable / refundable within 30 Days with Receipt.