Community Highlights: Meet Raine De Leon of Sons and Daughters Books

Today we’d like to introduce you to Raine De Leon.

Hi Raine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
When it came time to decide what I was going to build for myself, I knew it had to be books. I’m a lifelong reader and writer; have a huge passion for education and literacy, and bookstores have always been my favorite places, and I realized that opening my own store was a way for me to bring all my skills and interested into one mission. So I founded Sons and Daughters Books.

Having never run a business, I was fueled by pure bookish passion, slinging book recommendations to anyone who wanted them, while teaching myself the ropes of business management. My plan was always in two phases: the online phase and the physical phase. I started the S&D website in January of 2024 and have funneled everything I’ve done since then to that site, including community events, flea markets, social media content creation, and more. I’ve connected with fellow booksellers, received pointers from those who have succeeded on this path before, and visited countless bookstores for “research” purposes.

It’s been an exciting and tumultuous journey so far, with many successes and many setbacks, but I truly feel like I’m still in the very beginning stages. After a couple attempts to enact phase two of S&D, I am ramping up for a third, while continuing to grow my community and getting books to those who want them across the country.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The only thing that has kept it as smooth as it’s been is my pure passion for books. I often say that I would have given up a couple months in if it were anything but books. Getting books into the hands of eager readers of all ages and interests is what keeps me committed. I’ve had quite a few set back—major steps in my plan have come to a screeching halt because of unexpected external factors, a steeper than expected learning curve, or just bad timing. To be honest, I’m about a year behind the plan I had when I set out on this journey, but I’m not discouraged. I feel the same drive and sense of possibility I did back in January of 2024.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Sons and Daughters Books is an online bookstore with nearly 200,000 titles for new readers and literary explorers alike. We also sell an eclectic and curated selection of used books in-person at events, flea markets, and more around Los Angeles.
Sons and Daughters aims to celebrate knowledge, community, and culture in a time where it is very easy to forget to celebrate ourselves and where we come from.
The hope is that Sons and Daughters becomes a community hub for readers, writers, and artists to come together and connect over the love of books, in a place where the ideas, histories, and connections that bond us are on full display. From our curated monthly reading lists that highlight heritage months, to our inclusive social content, our mission is one that helps see as many people as possible with books in their hands and ideas in their heads that improve themselves, their communities, and our world.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
For staying inspired, I lean on so many books. I’m a wide reader, having read anything. From comic books and cook books to philosophy and poetry. Every book I read feeds my creative mind and gives me the motivation to help others feel fed in the same way. It also gives me more fuel to connect with people on a more personal level, discussing books and topics we both enjoy.
To keep organized I used various apps to track both my personal book progress and the bookish information for the store. Apps like Bookshelf, or Library Thing help me organize books by categories, prices, reading completion percentage, and more. That helps me visualize a separation between my personal book collection and my business inventory.
And I’m always a big fan of handwritten notes. I have a small leather notebook that I keep on me at all times for my calendar, notes, journaling, and poetry that may come up wherever I am. I see it more as a friend than a tool.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Sonsanddaughtersbooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonsanddaughtersbooks?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564849328524&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sonsanddaughtersbooks?_t=ZT-90t5cvUDHcz&_r=1