Beyond Borders: Discovering the valley’s independent bookstores
Ever get the urge to reread those childhood classics, like the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Choose your Own Adventure?
Well, there are ways to satisfy that urge.
Ways that don’t involve hanging out in local elementary schools.
In addition to chain stores like Hastings and Borders, Cache Valley is home to some unique independent book sellers specializing in new, used and rare volumes from all over the country. Whether just a casual reader with an attraction to Grisham and Clancy, or an avid book collector looking for first editions, these bookstores may have just what you’re looking for.
Books of Yesterday:
87 North Main Street
Filling the historic ZCMI building in Logan, built in 1873, with more than 300,000 books (95 percent of which are used), Books of Yesterday boasts one of the largest inventories in Utah.
“I think we’re one of the bigger ones in Utah for used book stores,” part time employee Scott Ashment said. “I hear that we’re compared to Sam Weller’s [a used bookstore in downtown Salt Lake]. When people come from out of the valley, they’re always saying what a large collection we have.”
Gene Needham, owner of both Books of Yesterday and its sister store, The Book Table, worked in the jewelry industry for nearly 40 years before entering the book business. He said his love of books led him to buy The Book Table when it came up for sale in 1975. He bought Books of Yesterday six years ago, though it was a used bookstore under different ownership for 15 years before that.
With several thousand volumes of used and rare religious books, especially catering to local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint tastes but including books from New Age spiritualism to Judaism, the store brings in business from both in and outside Cache Valley.
Within the last three to six months, Books of Yesterday increased internet sales and is currently selling three to five books a day online in addition to in-store sells, Ashment said.
“[The store’s] one that always has a little bit of money in the bank,” Needham said. “We pay very little money for what we get, and it’s doing better and better all the time.”
While prices remain fairly constant for paperbacks ($4), trade paperbacks ($8) and hardback books ($12.95), the store also has a number of rare and out-of-print books that vary greatly in price. The most expensive book in the store is a 1793 account of Swedish Captain Jacob Cook’s expedition to the South Pole. The volume is priced at $1200.
“Gene places a high value on books,” Ashment said, “he’s an avid book lover, so he kind of thinks they should have a respectable price. He doesn’t like the garage sale prices, but he [prices] books low enough that there’s a good market for [them].”
The store has one full-time employee and three part time employees, two of whom are Utah State University students.
“We’ve got some good people working here,” Needham said.
The Book Table:
29 S. Main Street.
Located a block away from Books of Yesterday, The Book Table is in the final stages of a remodeling plan that began about two years ago. The store has a large collection of new LDS books and general interest books. One wall in the store holds 150 books form the New York Times bestseller list. The store also sells CDs, DVDs and musical instruments.
“We’ve got one of the largest VHS collections in the nation with over 20,000 titles,” Needham said of the store’s rental collection.
Needham also said his store had one of the largest children’s book collections in the state.
Though the stores have been economically successful, Needham said there is a constant struggle with shoplifting.
“We’ve had a couple of robberies, but I’d better not explain how [they] happened or someone will the idea of how to do it,” Needham said. “More than a few times we’ve had people bring in paper bags full of new books to quietly compensate for having stolen books in the past, kind of a way to repent. We don’t catch many people, but we’re always worried about it.”
Orrin Schwab Books:
249 W. 150 N. Call for appointment or visit www.osbooks.com to view inventory.
Orrin Schwab began buying and selling used and rare books after working in special collections at Brigham Young University as a student majoring in history. After that he moved up to Logan for graduate school.
“I intended to get a master’s degree,” Schwab said, “but never really did. I kind of got sidetracked by this business and it started growing so I developed it.”
Fourteen years later, Schwab, who works with the business full-time out of his providence home, has more than 5,000 used and rare books in his inventory.
“Last year I sold between 1,000 and 2,000,” He said. “I have a lot of repeat customers and I do a lot of selling on the internet, but I also do a lot of shows, antique and book shows, and I meet a lot of people that way.”
Specializing in rare books, Schwab has a unique interest in American history, Western history and LDS books. Some of the rare books he has handled over the years include several copies of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon as well as a first edition of the 1835 LDS hymnal compiled by Emma Smith, wife of church founder Joseph Smith.
Though prices may vary greatly, Schwab maintains a good inventory of out-of-print books that sell between $10 and $30. For rarer books, however, pricing is a difficult matter.
“[Determining prices] is a tricky thing because it takes a lot of experience,” Schwab said. “A lot of it is just having seen things sell at certain price over the years and a lot of it is familiarity with your topic and what is scarce and what’s not.”
Schwab also maintains a search file he uses to help people locate scarce books.
“If there’s not anything currently available, I’ll record it in the search file, and if I come across it, I’ll give [the people] a call,” he said.
Different from stores that sell new books, used bookstores have little rivalry, Schwab said.
“There’s not as much competition as there would be at other retail businesses where everyone’s kind of selling the same type products. With used books because every inventory and every dealer has his own unique gathering of inventory, the competition isn’t as bad as it could be.”
More than anything else, Schwab enjoys what he does.
“It’s an interesting business to be in,” Schwab said. “The world of books for me is a fascinating thing, just the number of copies and titles. It’s like a constant learning process because I can buy titles an topics that I’m really not familiar with, and as I price them, I feel like I get a knowledge base on that topic that I’ve never had before.”
-mattgo@cc.usu.edu
Tips and Tricks for buying books
Don’t forget to shop the thrift stores like Deseret Industries (located at 255 S. Main Street) and Somebody’s Attic (located 39 W. 100 North) They are littered with fantastic books other people are nutty enough to give away. With everything from the unabridged “Les Miserables,” by Victor Hugo, to “Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys” (yeah … that’s a classic), books are rarely more than $1. The turnover rate is extremely high and stock is unpredictable, so go back often.
Logan Book Exchange (located at 29 W. 100 North) is one of the best places for inexpensive used books in the valley. I’ve gotten several classics by authors as diverse as Orson Scott Card, Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Hardy, Ernest Hemingway and others for as low as $0.29 (though most cast $1-$3). The store also gives good trade value on books you bring in, so check them out.
Shopping online is one of the best ways to buy books. Period. It’s often cheaper, less time-consuming and you’re practically guaranteed to find your book. From “Happy Homes and the Heart’s the Make Them” (ca. 1888) by Dr. Samuel Smiles (I’m not making that up), to “Bunker Bean,” by Harry Leon Wilson, Web sites like www.abebooks.com are your most ready source for used and rare books (amazon.com has yet to let me down as well). Be careful though about shipping and handling. That great $2 deal ain’t so great with a $4 surcharge.
I’m a great proponent of the idea that if a book is worth reading then its worth owning, but if you find yourself stretched for cash, make use of both the school and the Logan Public library. They’re free, they’re fast, and the selection is fantastic.
Matt Wright is a senior features writer and book reviewer for the Utah Statesman. Comments may be sent to mattgo@cc.usu.edu
More than 300,00 books fill the store on any given day. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)