Main Street Business

I love talking to people who love what they do. Their energy is infectious.

When I sat down to talk to Eve Yohalum and Julie Sternberg at their newly opened store in Hillsdale, Books & Cake, even though they were coming off a grand opening the day before that, “exceeded our wildest expectations” and might have had them quite wrung out, they were grinning ear to ear with enthusiasm. 

“Who doesn’t love books?” Eve asked.

“Who doesn’t love cake?” Linda echoed.

Indeed, who doesn’t like books … and cake? No one that I know. And if you love books and cake, you will find yourself enchanted and happy in this slice of a store that offers both in an abundance of deliciousness. 

What’s the story behind Books & Cake?

In 2007, Eve and Julie were in New York, riding the same elevator. They caught each other’s eyes and thought they might know each other, so they started chatting. They hit it off immediately, and agreed to be in touch. That’s not always easy in New York for people who have busy lives, but the two would regularly meet for breakfast and chat about writing and reading.

“We met one time in 2019,” Eve says, “and we started kicking around the idea that we had to do something to bring us joy.”

“Since we love to talk about books,” Julie adds, “I proposed we do a podcast in which we talk about books.”

“I said ‘Yes,’” Eve says, “even though I’d never listened to a podcast before!”

Book Dreams sets the stage

The two started a podcast called Book Dreams in the spring of 2020. Enter COVID. “Although we couldn’t be together, we were recording from anywhere we could – even our cars!,” Eve says. Through Book Dreams, the pair explored everything from books they themselves were enjoying to interviews with authors on all kinds of topics. They did the podcast regularly into early 2024, finishing with a bonus episode titled “I’m Sorry I Did This to You, with Eve and Julie,” in which they explore the concept of free will, referencing books, of course. That was Episode 142. In Episode 143, which turned into Episode 1 of their new podcast, named after the store, Eve and Julie announced, “we’re opening a bookstore!” 

In a podcast with the new title of Books & Cake, on September 25, 2025, they went live with the announcement of the store’s grand opening. They were so excited they suggested listeners might want to pull over to the side of the road. “It’s October 25!” they exclaimed. 

The store of their dreams

Once the seed of the idea to open a bookstore was planted, they started searching for a place. Julie and her family have had a home in Copake for decades; now Eve and her family do, as well. While their time is split between these places and Brooklyn and Manhattan, they have gotten to know the upper Hudson Valley and Berkshires. As all of us who live here can vouch for, we’re lucky to live somewhere where bookstores in small towns are not uncommon. Even though there are some book-y places around Hillsdale, there wasn’t a bookstore in the town itself. They chose Hillsdale.

In the same way that their meeting in the elevator morphed into a solid friendship like the moment was just waiting to happen, so this decision seemed to line up the dominoes that were the puzzle pieces to their next dream, and they began to fall into place.

“When we were planning all of this,” Linda says, “we anticipated unexpected challenges. Amazingly,” she continues, “they never happened.”

“This is an unbelievably welcoming community,” Eve says, “and the outpouring of support has been beyond our dreams.”

See what I mean about infectious enthusiasm?

Their curiosity and passion infuse the store, too. It’s a small space, so how would they decide what books they’d bring in? How would they present the books? How would the space work with their desire to get people talking about and enjoying books the way they do? 

“First,” Julie says, “we created a spreadsheet of all the books we’ve read that we love, and we added from there.” 

A great way to find a book

With title selection falling into place, the next question was how to present the books in the store. How could they engage readers with the titles beyond putting them in the traditional categories, like fiction, non-fiction, history, and poetry? 

They thought back to an interview they did with the writer James Mustich about his book, 1000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List. Published in 2018, the book is still a best seller, with the Washington Post noting, “984 pages later, you still want more.” (You can find this book in the store.) At the back of the book, Mustich included a “Miscellany of Special Lists,” in which he creatively cross-referenced books based on topics readers might be interested in. 

They decided – and this is really the icing on the cake (pun intended) – that they would arrange the books by what the reader might need from that book. How fun is that?! 

There are 36 categories, ranging from a need as elemental as “To Be Scared,” to one as intimately comedic as “To Remember That Feeling of Falling in Love, and Possibly Being Disastrously Misguided,” to as practical as “To Understand the Science.” 

Eve and Julie’s original selection list included 3,300 books. That might sound like a lot until you consider that the average independent bookstore typically stocks between 7,000 and 20,000 books, depending on its size. Is that a concern for either of them? “We know we can’t be all things to all people,” Eve says, “but we also know that we’re selling books we can really get behind.” Another category? “A Book By One of Our Favorite Authors.” Rather than feel like there isn’t enough of a choice, the selection and quirky categorization make you feel like you’re in someone’s well-curated personal library, where every book says something about who that person is and what you have in common with them. 

Linger and mingle

So that you have a comfortable place to eat cake, with or without coffee or tea or another beverage, Eve and Julie placed tables down the center of the main part of the store. They’re like little oases where you can perch and explore. “We hope people will feel comfortable here settling in with a book, talking to others about books, and getting excited about books,” they share.

Asked about books becoming less a part of our digital, distracted world, Eve and Julie look like the thought hadn’t occurred to them. “Actually,” Julie notes, “for ourselves and for the people we talk to who love books, they’re a way to get away from screen time.” Eve agrees, adding that books are a great escape, as they’ve always been.

The cake cannot be overlooked. When I visited on a Sunday morning, the offerings were a chocolate fudge cake and a carrot cake. They were made by a baker in Sheffield, though Eve and Julie share that their current baker may not be available too much longer and they were lining up another one. Stay tuned, and bring your appetite. Good cake – really good cake – will be there for you.

Behind the scenes

Any creative venture takes a village. They heaped praise upon their contractor, Rick Reinhardt. Their engaging social media is overseen by Gianfranco Lentini, who was their producer for the Book Dreams podcast. Both were quick to acknowledge the contributions of their families. For Julie, that’s her husband, Paul Schoeman, and their daughters, Emily and Isabel, both in their 20s. For Eve, it’s her husband, Nick Polsky, and their son, Joe, and daughter, Maya, also in their 20s. They share that their families are big readers, too, along with their other talents. “Maya is a musician,” Eve says, “and put the playlist for the store together. Joe lives in Germany now,” Eve adds, “but he helped a lot with the selection for fantasy titles.” Julie’s daughters Emily (a medical student) and Isabel (a consultant for nonprofit organizations) have recommended books, alphabetized books along with Maya, helped with design choices, and been avid cheerleaders every step of the way. 

Knowing they would need help managing the store, they put the word out that they were looking for booksellers. They were shocked and delighted by the response. “Opening the bookstore was worth it solely for the opportunity to meet the incredible people” who applied, Julie says. Lauren Letellier and Laura Vogel were there when I visited. Lauren is the Hillsdale town historian, and shared that the building the store is in dates to 1920, when it was a filling station. There’ve been many iterations through the years, as there are in all towns, but she also pointed out with pleasure and pride that the three businesses in the building now – Books & Cake, Trudy’s Beauty & Hillsdale Barber Shop, and Hillsdale Fine Wine & Spirits – are all woman-owned, and that Anthony Street is named after Susan B. Anthony, the abolitionist who helped secure a woman’s right to vote. 

Books & Cake is the kind of place you’ll find yourself wanting to return to again and again any time of year, but with the holidays upon us, it’s a must-visit this month if you want to give the gift of a special book to a special someone. In addition to books, the store has a beautiful selection of “sidelines,” as these insiders call them – puzzles, stuffed animals, games, note cards, and other gifts. Best of all, it has Eve and Julie, as irresistible as, well, curling up with a good book. • 

Books & Cake is at 8 Anthony Street in Hillsdale, NY. The hours are Thursday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. (518) 691-2483. Follow the store on Instagram. Support it online through bookshop.org/shop/booksandcake, or with an audiobook on libro.fm/booksandcake/about.