Who doesn’t love a Second Life coffee shop?
I’ve been to Books & Coffee many times.
It sits in Sunstream on Mainland Corsica, home of the Corsica South Coasters, a cozy little Second Life coffee shop filled with books, comfortable chairs and plenty of reasons to sit for a while.
I know the place. I’ve wandered through it, sat here and passed it plenty of times while doing other things around CSC.
But this time, I start clicking the books.
And that’s when I realize just how much CK Ballyhoo has tucked inside this little Second Life coffee shop.
A Coffee Shop Where the Books Actually Work
CK Ballyhoo is the creative force behind Books & Coffee as it exists today. An artist, writer and immersive storyteller in Second Life, CK creates experiences where visitors don’t simply look at the work—they move through it.
I’ve written about that side of her work before, including her immersive installation Impact Coffee.
At this little Second Life coffee shop, she brings some of that same thinking to a much smaller, everyday space.
“It always bugged me to find beautiful bookshops in SL with nothing inside but décor,” she tells me.
So at Books & Coffee, the books aren’t simply there to make the place look cozy.
You can actually browse them.
CK contacts published Second Life authors and creates display books using cover textures they provide. Inside are information about the writers and links to places where their books can be found and purchased.
Other shelves lead to Second Life blogs and magazines. There are books connecting visitors with artists who live or have exhibited around Corsica South Coasters, along with information about writing groups, events and other community resources.
And, naturally, there are coffee recipes.
CK describes what she wants here as “a real browsing experience.”
Once I actually start browsing, I understand what she means.
Second Life Writers on the Shelves
The shelves at this Second Life coffee shop are filled with connections between Second Life identities and the writers behind them.
One of the first names I recognize is Cybele Moon. Cybele is a well-known Second Life artist and visual storyteller whose work often blends photography, art, myth and narrative.
She’s also no stranger to CK’s immersive storytelling—together they once turned Cybele’s”Tales of the Tuatha” into the explorable”Niamh’s Journey of Dreams.”
Here at Books & Coffee, I find Cybele’s “Runes of the Gatekeeper’s Daughter“.
Nearby are several novels by R. Jacques. Better known in Second Life as GoSpeed Racer.
A resident since 2006, GoSpeed is also known for music and broadcasting in Second Life. Running streaming stations and DJing in-world since 2007. I recognize”Rasere’s War” because I enjoyed reading it years ago.
Then there is Caledonia Skytower, whose books are published under the name Judith Cullen.
Caledonia is a longtime Second Life storyteller and a leading force behind Seanchai Library, where literature comes alive through live readings, storytelling and immersive projects.
She’s been involved with Seanchai since 2008 and has helped lead projects such as its annual Dickens Project.
Another familiar name is Wolfgang Glinka, the Second Life identity of novelist and poet Colin Bell. Wolfgang also runs Glinka Gallery, a Second Life arts center that brings together fine art, photography, poetry, dance and music.
Bell describes Wolfgang and himself as “interchangeable versions” of the same person—a particularly fitting idea when you’re standing here looking at his books under one name while knowing him in-world by another.
Sometimes I recognize the author. Sometimes I recognize the avatar. Sometimes clicking a book introduces me to the connection between the two.
That’s part of what makes browsing this Second Life coffee shop so much fun.
Stories Created in Second Life
But CK takes the idea further than linking visitors to books published elsewhere.
Some of the stories at Books & Coffee are created specifically to be experienced within Second Life.
CK’s own books include her ongoing stories about Elle, a little girl whose adventures often grow from the immersive environments CK creates.
The books can be worn as HUDs, allowing visitors to sit down and read them without leaving Second Life.
“The Little Girl at the Watercolour Hippiestock“, for example, takes Elle through CK’s watercolor-inspired build for Hippiestock, the annual festival founded by Hippie Bowman and organized in later years by CK and me.
Elle wanders through the watercolor landscape, meeting creatures and setting out to help one recover its lost smile.
Another story, The Little Girl at the Garden of Dreams & Hope, grows from CK’s 2024 Relay for Life collaboration with the Show Society.
CK isn’t simply writing a story and then finding somewhere to display it.The Second Life environment becomes part of the storytelling.
A build becomes a place visitors can explore. That place becomes part of Elle’s adventure. The adventure becomes a book that can continue to be read in-world.
When the Story Leaves the Coffee Shop
That relationship between story and place continues outside.
In the garden, pages from CK’s The Haze (Elle’s Nightmare) stretch along a hedge, inviting visitors to walk beside the story and read.
The Haze originates with an immersive installation CK creates with Second Life artist Silas Merlin, with CK’s written story forming part of the experience.
Here, she gives that story another life.
The garden itself blends books, art and the landscape around Books & Coffee. It connects naturally with the Corsica South Coasters Art Trail and the larger Mainland community surrounding it.
And among all of that creativity, I even spot a Highland cow I made for CK tucked into the garden.
More Than Decoration
The more I explore Books & Coffee, the more CK’s original complaint about decorative bookshops makes sense.
This isn’t a Second Life coffee shop filled with books simply because books make good décor.
The books lead somewhere.
They can introduce you to an author. Take you to a blog. Point you toward a magazine or writing community. Lead you to a book you can buy outside Second Life or give you a story you can sit down and read right here.
And CK continues adding to it.
When she comes across Second Life authors, books, blogs, magazines, groups, events or something else that belongs in this little world of books and coffee, she looks for a way to include it.
She welcomes writers and bloggers to contact her as well.
“I would love to have as many different SL related books or SL authors in there as possible,” CK tells me.
That makes Books & Coffee feel less like a finished collection and more like a Second Life coffee shop that continues to grow alongside the creative community around it.
I’ve visited plenty of times.
But apparently there is a difference between visiting Books & Coffee and actually browsing Books & Coffee.
Next time you’re wandering Mainland Corsica, stop in.
Have a coffee. Find a comfortable chair.
And click the books.
~ Enjoy
Owl
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