Day Trips: Curio Mrvosa Books and More, Taylor

Curio Mrvosa Books and More in Taylor has moved into a new, bright storefront. The independent bookstore opens a world of words to the Williamson County town and contributes to the cool vibe of the downtown area.

Alyse Mervosh and Alex “Cuervo” Sargent moved to Taylor from Austin in 2016. The couple opened the shop in 2021 a few blocks from the new location. The shelves are filled with an eclectic mix of reading material from bestsellers to vintage paperbacks, with some novelty gifts, stationery, and local artwork thrown in.

“We curate our selection to our interests,” Alex says. Being an old punk-rock skateboarder, that means Alex has an eye for a good selection of sci-fi and fantasy fiction.

A few months ago when an out-of-state group petitioned the town’s library board to remove several titles from the library’s shelves, Alyse added a section of the banned books. The proposed banned titles were mostly on young adult LGBTQ topics. The board ultimately voted not to remove any of the books.

“The book ban effort got a lot of Taylorites riled up,” Alyse said. “They had Judy Blume on the list, for god’s sake.”

Alyse and Alex have fallen in love with Taylor and think it's got a lot going for it. There are lots of new restaurants, a thriving farmers’ market on Saturday, Texas Beer Company's taproom on weekends, and even ghost tours of downtown.

Curio Mrvosa Books and More is at 114 N. Main at the southeast corner of Second Street. The shop is kind of hidden by the Main Street Bridge, but don’t let that fool you; there is plenty of free parking. You can even park in the shade under the bridge. The shop is open Wednesday through Sunday. Give them a call at 512/595-2366.

1,700th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.