Lending a helping hand—literally

When beloved Michigan bookstore Serendipity Books announced it was moving to a larger space, owner Michelle Tuplin had to figure out how to transfer 9,000+ books safely down the street to the new building.

After putting out a call for volunteers, Michelle was astonished when 300+ people showed up to help with the big move. 

• Rather than loading up cars to bring books just around the corner, however, the volunteers decided to make a human chain stretching 350 feet from the old store’s stockroom to the new location.

Whoa: The entire inventory of books made it to the new store in less than two hours—and in alphabetical order, no less.

+Note: This story previously appeared in an April 2025 edition.