Meet Mitchell Keo, a Houston, Texas native turned Seattleite, book lover, community builder, drummer, TOM BIHN fan, and Chinatown Book Club founder. What started as a casual idea between friends became a thriving book club at Mam’s Books in Seattle’s International District. With the Nomad 16 slung over his shoulder and a couple of paperbacks and drumsticks never far from reach, Mitchell brings the same intentionality to his book club as we bring to our designs.

In this Q&A, we chat with Mitchell about the books that shaped him, what sparked the idea of the Chinatown Book Club and why a good bag matters through the process. 

Tell us about the Seattle Chinatown Book Club — how did it start, and what inspired you to create it?

“The Seattle Chinatown Book Club is a monthly book club meeting that happens at Mam’s bookstore inside our Chinatown International District. It started at the opening of Mam’s bookstore actually–about two years ago. I talked with Sokha Danh, the owner, and he had mentioned that he wanted a book club at his bookstore. So, following that, I stepped up and volunteered to run it, and here we are about two years later.”

Why did you feel like this was something that needed to exist — and how has the response been so far?

“I feel like our generation of young people want third spaces to connect with other people regardless of walks of life, where they’re from, things like that. With the book club, I thought it was a very thoughtful and intentional way for people to come together and connect with other people. I feel like Seattle Chinatown Book Club has accomplished that by being a very safe and welcoming space for anybody to come and thoughtfully connect with their peers.”

What’s been the most surprising thing about running the club — any unexpected moments, or people it’s brought into your life?

“The Book Club has become much more than a book club–and that naturally became our tagline: ‘More than a Book Club.’ And the reason why I say that is because outside of our monthly book club meetings, I’ve seen members volunteer together, they’ll go do karaoke, we’ve had movie nights, potlucks, things like that. This has become much more than a book club–it’s a whole community. I’ve just been very happy with that. I didn’t expect it to be more than a book club, but with the direction it’s going it’s really cool to see that we’ve become an actual space for people to engage with and do multiple things together outside of the book club meeting.”

How has the book club changed how you view community here in Seattle?

“When I first moved to Seattle four years ago, I was pretty jaded on finding community. I felt like I was trying a lot of different things and nothing really stuck. But, ever since starting this book club, I’ve found out ways to be more intentional with finding people to connect with in the spaces in which I want to connect with people in. So, with the book club being one of those spaces, it’s brought me a lot of really interesting and great people into my life that also share that same intentionality that I value so highly. I think community in Seattle is there, we just had to look for it with intention and I feel like that’s something I only recently found out.”

You’ve been carrying the Nomad 16 — what made you gravitate toward that bag in particular?

“The Nomad 16 is a great bag because I do a lot of things on a daily basis. My hobbies include skating, rock climbing, reading, software development, drumming in the studio, and I usually leave home for the entire day. Once I leave the house, I don’t come back until 7:00 p.m. So, I do need a bag that is not only functional but also comfortable to wear. The Nomad 16 checks all those boxes–I’m able to put everything into this bag, I can easily access all the things I need and it’s just comfortable to wear on a daily basis.”

What do you typically carry in it, especially on book club days?

“In the Nomad 16 bag, I’ll usually put my drumsticks for the studio, my rock climbing stuff to hit the gym, I have three books on rotation–between book club book and other books I’m reading. When it comes to book club days, I like to carry Sharpies, name tags, discussion sheets for the book club, the actual book, obviously, and just anything else that helps support the book club meeting, like snacks, maybe hot tea, just things like that–things that can foster a great environment for the book club attendees.”

Do you use the Nomad 16 for anything else — your commute, errands, other creative projects?

“Yeah, I’m always using the Nomad 16 for my commute. It’s my go-to bag if I’m coming to Seattle for the entire day. It’s also my gig bag–I bring the Nomad 16 with me to the shows I play as a drummer. I just have a lot of stuff as a drummer–I have my drumsticks, my drum tools, sometimes I have other things that help me perform better. Like, sometimes my hands get ripped up and I have to bring athletic tape with me. And so, I put all those into my Nomad 16 and it’s been really good for gigs.”

Is there a TOM BIHN feature you’ve found surprisingly useful — something that made you go “oh, that’s clever”?

“The shoulder strap clip-off [on the Nomad 16], I think that’s so cool. I would’ve never thought of that because sometimes it does get in the way and I just wanna carry it or put it over my shoulder. But being able to take off that long shoulder strap has been a game-changer for me personally.”

What makes a good bag, in your opinion? And how does the Nomad 16 fit into your daily rhythm?

“A good bag to me is first and foremost, function over form. I am a very much so functional guy. I’m not a very much so bells and whistles–I don’t care for the extra stuff. And so, the Nomad 16 I think I’m able to easily access all the things I need–it’s spacious, it’s comfortable, plus it looks cool–so that’s a big bonus. But a good bag to me is like, yeah bells and whistles are great, but at the end of the day, can I carry it around and is it comfortable to use?”

What are you currently reading — and is there a book you always recommend?

“I’m reading three books right now. I’m reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt, I’m reading our book club pick of the month which is They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta and I’m also reading a Mary Oliver poetry book that I thrifted. So these three books are always in rotation for me–good or bad I don’t know but I always just get caught up in reading different things all at once. 

A book that I always recommend to people is called When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. It’s a medical memoir written by a neurosurgeon who’s in stage four cancer. It’s an incredibly powerful book and that’s something that I time and time again recommend as my number one book of all time.” 

How do you choose the books for the club? Is there a theme or type of story you gravitate toward?

“Every book that we pick for Seattle Chinatown Book Club is related to the AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) experience. It’s mostly written by AANHPI authors but sometimes it’s not and that’s because its experiences relate to us or have intersectionality with us. And so, I always try to pick books that have a range as well so whether it’s heavy, thoughtful and provocative or if it’s fun, casual and light–I try to get something for everybody to enjoy because I do think we are a book club that includes everything, and so when it comes to picking books I always make sure that it is relevant to who we are as Asian people and how we can be more thoughtful about the world, whether it’s fun and light or whether it’s heavy and thoughtful.”

If your Nomad 16 could carry one book that represents your outlook on life, what would it be?

“If it’s not When Breath Becomes Air, it’s going to be Being Mortal, another medical memoir about a surgeon who writes about the end of life because he often has to work with patients that are near death, and so I think that’s a very, very interesting thing for me to think about. And it’s a very powerful book because it’s almost philosophical. I think that a lot of surgeons have a really good insight on life and death because they are working with it so much. I think Being Mortal has got to be one of the most impactful books for me personally as someone that thinks about death a lot and how we want to approach it.”

What do you hope people feel when they come to book club — whether they’re regulars or first-timers?

“I hope they feel that Seattle Chinatown Book Club is fun, it’s welcoming, it’s safe–that when they leave they have a new outlook on something. I hope they engage with us and it’s not just, ‘I’m just gonna come to book club and leave,’ it’s a, ‘Oh I came here, I made a new friend,’ or, ‘I have new thoughts about the world,’ or ‘Wow, this bookstore is so cool I wanna come back.’ I feel like it’s much more than a book club and I hope that’s what people feel when they come to us.”

Are you accepting new members? And if so, where can we go to join?

“We are always accepting new members! If you want to join please find us on Instagram @SeattleChinatownBookClub and in our link-in-bio you’ll see a Linktree with a mailing list and a WhatsApp group, and that’s it. Just show up to book club and you’re in, that’s it.”

Any advice for someone looking to build community or start something creative like this?

“The biggest takeaway I’ve had from building this community is that it always starts small. You don’t need to have 20 people show up to the first thing you do, sometimes all it takes is three or five dedicated people that really believe in what you’re doing and eventually, that’s going to attract more and more people, and the next thing you know you have 50 people in your community and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Always do it with intentionality–that’s been my biggest thing–be intentional with what you want the community to be and all the people will see it and it’s going to bring the right people that you want, not just people that just want to randomly come in and leave. We want people to stay, and so intentionality has been the biggest thing for making this thing successful. 

What’s next — for you, the book club, or otherwise? Anything exciting on the horizon?

“The book club is always going to be growing and whoever is watching this, I am absolutely excited to see you at the next book club meeting. I play in a band called Cherub Chains and we’re just doing more tours, more stuff, more recording and the TOM BIHN bag is going to help me make that all happen, so thank you TOM BIHN for making such a functional bag–it’s in my everyday life now.” 

Whether he’s carrying a stack of books, a pair of drumsticks, or just the essentials for a day in the city, Mitchell Keo brings the same sense of purpose to his days as he does to the Seattle Chinatown Book Club. It’s a reminder that sometimes, all it takes to build something meaningful is a few good books, a welcoming space, and a little intentionality — plus a bag that can carry it all doesn't hurt. Thanks to Mitchell for sharing his story with us, Mam's Bookstore for hosting us for this interview, and for reminding us that a great community is all about what you bring to it.