Bookmarx opened in May 2014, which makes Bookmarx a Taurus. I am uncertain if this is a positive or a negative, since, despite steadily selling copies of A Complete Guide to the Tarot, Guided Tarot for Teens, and Jane Austen tarot decks, I know nothing about the mystical from tarot to hoodoo to astrology. Not a single clue. Without looking it up, I’m going to imagine that Tauruses are messy and love drama.

Bookmarx was started by Joshua Arnett and Aubrey Prugger, and on opening day we had exactly ZERO cats. We now have two cats. Read more about them in our CATS section!

Prior to starting BookMarx, Joshua worked for 8 years at Book Castle in its two incarnations (the first of which BLEW UP!) and taught English as a second language for close to a decade before becoming a full-time Cormac McCarthy pusher when Aubrey moved to Columbia to complete her graduate work.

In 2023, our most beloved cat Googey won the Springfield News-Leader’s Captain Springfield contest, restoring honor and dignity to the cape! During his time as captain, Googey used his platform to raise money for many of his favorite causes-literacy, animal welfare and live theatre!
For our 10 year anniversary party in 2024, we threw a Black and White Ball fashioned on Truman Capote’s famous party. We had puppets, a tattoo pop-up, and a presentation of the SECRET PLAN TO SAVE SPRINGFIELD!

Googey passed away in early 2025, and we had a standing room only funeral that would have caused any fire marshal to panic and shut it down (if the marshall HAD NO SOUL!). You can read more about Googey’s life and legacy soon when I make a page for that.

In 2025, Joshua got married to Harvey Day-Arnett in the bookstore in our big BOOKSTORE WEDDING, so now we are officially a mom and (step)pop business!

In 2026, we are opening a VIDEO RENTAL STORE (why??? More on that soon!) and who knows what else.

I know I’m biased, but I think we have a pretty good store!