Elicia Graciela Estrada imported a truck from Japan just so she could sell books.  

She painted it pink, installed bookshelves, procured all kinds of volumes, named it Graciela’s Mobile Books and hit the road.  

Inspired by an East Coast bookmobile, Graciela’s is Estrada’s answer to the lack of bookstores in Maricopa. 

The Desert Passage resident carries new and used English, Spanish and bilingual books sourced from publishing houses, Facebook marketplace and indie authors. It also has a little free book box for those who can’t afford to purchase anything. 

Originally from Washington, she and her family moved to Maricopa for a change of scenery. What she wasn’t expecting was the lack of local bookstores. 

When she grew tired of traveling miles away to the nearest Barnes & Noble bookstore, she decided to fill the gap. 

Graciela’s bookmobile has participated in local events like Copa Farmers Market and Maricopa Night Market since its opening in May.  

Next weekend, she will be hosting Bingo, Bedazzling, and Sunset Brewa collaboration between Estrada and home–based coffee bar, Sunset Brew. The event involves, bingo, bookish prizes, a bedazzling station and coffee. 

The partnership happened because the owner is a customer of Estrada’s.  

“It’s important to me to have vendors that also read,” she said. 

On Oct. 18, Graciela’s Booktober is a bibliophile’s chance to connect with fellow literary community, involving local vendors and a collection of local authors for those 18 and older. 

Estrada hopes to expand to a storefront with a bookstore and café in the next couple years. 

“We should have more spaces where people can come and connect and just get together,” Estrada said. “In a world that’s full of AI, it’s important to have those discussions.” 

Celebrating her heritage 

The bookmobile is named after Estrada’s abuela, her grandmother, who she said was “the sweetest, kindest, most loving soul.” It’s also Estrada’s middle name. 

“I love our name. I love our culture. I want to own it,” she said. 

When she was younger, Estrada said she hated her name because no one could pronounce it correctly and it caused her to feel like she lost touch with her heritage. 

However, naming her business after her grandmother has been one way to reconnect with her Mexican roots. So has been the hunt for Latino and Spanish-language books. 

When she first moved to Maricopa, she found a Barnes & Noble in a nearby city and asked where their Spanish-language section was. 

She was told to come back during Hispanic Heritage Month when there was a higher likelihood of those kinds of items being in stock. 

That struck a chord in Estrada. 

“Representation shouldn’t be seasonal,” Estrada said. “It’s important to me that we have different and diverse representation.” 

That desire for diversity and representation extends beyond books and into the community Estrada hopes to build. 

“It’s important to me to build a shared community over the love of reading,” Estrada said. “I just want to continue bringing whimsy and joy — there’s not enough of that in life.”