It is clear that the books owned the shop rather than the other way about. Everywhere they had run wild and taken possession of their habitat, breeding and multiplying, and clearly lacking any strong hand to keep them down. – Agatha Christie, The Clocks

I fell in love with books. Some people find beauty in music, some in painting, some in landscape, but I find it in words. –  Donald Miller, To Own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father

Books are where I find beauty. As I sit in my store I look around – past the stacks waiting to be shelved, overflowing shelves, boxes surrounding me – I see beauty. Contentment. You know, I pinch myself many days when I realize this shop is mine. How the heck did I come to own a used bookstore? How pray tell as it was not in my life plan.

I’ve written many times how I came upon the “Used Bookstore for Sale” sign. But you see, it was an easy transaction. From the meeting I had with the loan officer to handing over the check and receiving the keys to the shop. No business plan to write as the bank representative said I knew what I was doing. Did I? Of course, not but not having to write up a business plan was huge. But in a way, I did know what I was doing as the most important thing was that I believed in myself. I knew I could build on the store and elevate it. I never wavered from that. Have I? Well, honestly, I don’t judge. Especially myself. I do what I feel is right. From selecting books and collections. To pricing. I know my failings. And I know amazing people should I get stuck or question something. I feel I’m surrounded with like-minded people. Not only customers but whom I call leaders in the field of the used book world. Valuable resources. I want to call them friends, but I’m still awestruck to take such liberties.

As most know, right before COVID I took my books offline. Before though, I had a generous customer who would travel from Burlington to bring me books on books, books about bookstores, etc. I haven’t seen him in years, but I still think of him and appreciate his generosity. I miss our conversations about all thing’s books. Particularly his stories about visiting shops that are now no longer around. He would recommend books for me to read: Nancy Mitford was one author I can remember off the top of my head. He knew I wanted to be different. To set myself apart from other used bookstores. He recommended I follow my intuition. My gut. To do what I would feel be the best for the store. At the time, I thought, just get offline. Make people come into the store to see my inventory. Go back in time and become a used bookstore that I would ache to visit. I want to believe he would approve of my store today.

I love seeing the bookshops and meeting the booksellers– booksellers really are a special breed. No one in their right mind would take up clerking in a bookstore for the salary, and no one in his right mind would want to own one– the margin of profit is too small. So, it has to be a love of readers and reading that makes them do it– along with first dibs on the new books. – Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society