Shenandoah Living
Catch "that Shenandoah Feeling"
Indie Bookstores Alive and Well in the Amazon Age
By Kathleen Herring
In the 1998 film classic “You’ve Got Mail,” Joe Fox represents the big chain bookstore Fox Books, rival of Kathleen Kelley, owner of the independent bookstore, the Shop Around the Corner. After a long fight and the mobilization of the local community, the Shop Around the Corner is forced to close its doors in the face of Fox Books’ lower prices, larger selection, and in-house café.
When “You’ve Got Mail” was written, Amazon had just launched as an online book retailer. In the past twenty years, the conflict has moved from the chain bookstores to the online megastore that supplies everything from books to clothing to food and entertainment.
Today, even chain stores like Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million struggle to stay afloat when Amazon and other sites deliver quality product, digital content and easy shipping, all at the click of a mouse. The fact that B&N’s competitor Borders went out of business is evidence of this struggle.
How do independent booksellers survive in small towns, especially like those in the Shenandoah Valley? Staunton alone boasts four independent bookstores, all in the space of a few miles. By their very existence, one might assume customers still prefer the in-person, book-buying experience.
While you can buy just about anything on a website, shopping in a bookstore is an experience unto itself, like going to the farmers market to browse what’s fresh rather than to the same chain store every week. The allure of online shopping has always been the ease of getting what you want, when you want it, at the price you want. But what happens when you’re not sure what you want?
Shoppers can find e-readers or cheap, new books on Amazon. If a student needs a textbook for class at a cheaper price, Amazon might be the way to go. However, if he wants a book-buying experience, needs a gift for a friend, or just wants to browse the aisles sipping a latte, the bookstores are still here. Shoppers just need to know where to find them.
Barrister Books
Tucked in a quiet alley called Lawyer’s Row, behind the old courthouse building in downtown Staunton, is a green banner that reads Used Books. Barrister Books is a small shop run by quiet, grey-haired Anthony Baker. The holiday season will find the door festooned in holiday wreaths. “I do try to put books out that are representative of the seasons, Halloween and Christmas in particular,” said Baker. He opened this hidden gem for book lovers five and a half years ago. A variety of bookshelf styles fill several small rooms in the store, and the front room holds displays of old farm equipment and tools, adding to the vintage feel of the place.
At 17, Baker traveled to Europe to see a bit of the world before college and career caught up to him. In England, he saw a sign in a bookstore window advertising a six-year apprenticeship. He spoke to the owners and soon began his apprenticeship at the Henry Southern Bookstore off Piccadilly Circus in London.
“I stuck around for six months,” he admitted. Not sure of spending six years working in a bookstore, Baker returned home to attend college. After working many years as a contractor, he returned to the book business, opening a small store in Blue Hill, Maine before relocating to Staunton. “I always loved books,” Baker said. “You have to love what you do.”
When asked how Amazon or other online retailers affect his business, Baker admitted to some strain. He didn’t sound worried, though. He actually seemed confident in his assertion that “there will always be books. People I know who own Kindles or e-readers still buy books.”
Barrister Books in Staunton decked out for the holidays. Photo by Kathleen Herring.
Black Swan Books and Music
On the corner of Beverly and Augusta Streets in the center of downtown Staunton, Black Swan Books and Music has a large glass storefront that opens on a spacious, one-roomed store with high decorated ceilings and bright wooden floorboards. Instrumental music fills the air, transmitted from a record player behind the cash register, on a huge island in the center of the store. With a children’s book section in the back, rows of classics and anthologies, and even a row of tiny, palm-sized books which were part of a unique printing style in the past, there is a good selection. Behind a glass door sits a first-edition, signed copy of Catch-22 priced at $350. Boxes of art prints, local historical documents and maps adorn the front display table.
Owner James Cooke sits behind the counter at a computer. At first glance, the iPad-style cash register proclaims that this store has embraced the digital age, despite the antique nature of its wares. Opened just a year and a half ago, the store branched out from its parent store in Richmond. James Cooke never thought he would join his family’s business when his parents opened the Richmond store twenty years ago. When he came to Staunton to scout a location for the shop, something became available at just the right time.
While talking about bookstore customers, Cooke shared a laugh about book lovers who enjoy the scent of antique books. “I always see people in here… ‘snorting’ in a book,” he said, mimicking the action. “It’s pretty great.”
Cooke does not view the big box stores as much of a threat; he claims he has a different market. “It’s easy to bash on Barnes & Noble,” he said, “but their role is the major sellers of new copies from big publishing houses.”
As for Amazon, Cooke waves them off by saying, “Amazon is part of our business model.” Black Swan stays on top of digital trends by selling online (some even through Amazon) as well as in the store.
“We may lose customers coming in here looking for the newest John Grisham, but most people get what the used bookstore is,” Cooke said.
Inside the one-roomed Black Swan Books in Staunton. Photo by Kathleen Herring.
In the back corner of Bookworks in Staunton is a display of Shakespearean gift books and knick-knacks. Read more about Bookworks and other independent booksellers in the complete "Indie Bookstores Alive and Well in the Amazon Age" on our website. Photo by Kathleen Herring.
BookWorks
BookWorks is an independently-owned store on the corner of West Beverley Street and North Central Avenue, just across the intersection from the landmark Clocktower restaurant in Staunton. When you enter BookWorks, you step up onto a black-and-white checkered floor. A display of books by local authors greets you. In the back corner of the store is a display of Shakespearean gift books and knick-knacks. On another wall is a display of Doctor Who fan toys and TARDISes. The shelves in the center of the room and around the walls feature books from every genre, coffee table books and graphic novels. An entire wall of young adult and children’s books, and several other small displays of toys, gag gifts and cards complete the collection. Behind the register is a display of CDs from local folk stars.
Owner Rom Ramsey never intended to wind up in the book-selling business. “The bookstore that we’d all grown up with (the Book Stack) closed. The person I was engaged to also owned a business at the time and wanted to take it over.” Ramsey started helping her with the new bookstore on weekends, then gradually took it over since he “was the one that tended to be reading all the time.” They opened the store in September 2008.
“I think the big difference with the independents versus the big box stores is the customer service,” Ramsey said. “I have a lot of people tell me that’s why they come here.”
Unlike other bookstore owners, Ramsey does feel that Amazon is a threat to his business because online retailers are not required to charge sales tax like a physical store. In fact, Ramsey has been involved with petitioning to try and change this particular law to allow book retailers equal footing with their digital competitors. “There have been people in here wandering around, see a book they like, read the back cover, and then pull out their smart phone and order it on Amazon,” he said.
Ramsey believes customers misunderstand the differences between ordering online and getting a book in the store. “Most things online are a few bucks cheaper,” he said, “but then you pay $3.99 shipping, and wait three weeks for it.” In the store, you can get the book immediately, and you don’t have to pay for shipping, so the costs often even out.
The Bookery - Lexington
In the heart of downtown Lexington, just around the corner from Cool Beans Coffee, The Bookery is a prime example of independent bookselling: towering stacks of books piled to the ceiling, customers tucked in corners browsing or climbing a ladder to reach higher up the wall. The store, in operation since 1989, is in capable hands. Marysue Forrest, with petite frame, grandmotherly smile and curly white hair, pops out from behind the oversized counter to walk amidst the tables piled high with books, welcoming customers. She has been with The Bookery since its third year of operation.
Forrest, who started as store manager, became co-owner of The Bookery in January 1998 and then sole owner in June 2004. Prior to The Bookery, Forrest served as assistant manager of a Barnes & Noble in Dallas, Texas. Forrest said she never expected to end up running her own store.
“I was living in Richardson, Texas.” she said. “I needed a job. I’d majored in English, and I’ve always loved to read and loved the classics especially.” Smiling, she leaned in and quietly explained, “I read once that bookstores are a great way to meet guys… and it’s true, because they do frequent those places.” She chuckles to herself at the reminiscence.
Coming from the big chain bookstore to her little shop in Lexington, Forrest said that “it’s so much nicer having a store that’s totally independent, not being told how to run your business.” The Bookery does not sell online, but Forrest does not feel this is a detriment to their customers. “This is about all I can handle, really. I don’t have a computer. I have limited helpers, mostly high school and college students.” She believes that small independent stores have a better chance of surviving today because they are not really in competition with Amazon as are the large superstores like Barnes & Noble. “I’m not sure I would even mention Amazon, but the e-reader has had an effect in this area; more people are using them,” she said.
In the past three years, Forrest believes more people have started ordering online because of their reliance on e-readers. Despite this fact, she remains optimistic for the future of small bookstores: “I think there will always be people who want to look at ‘the real McCoy’,” she said, “who want a physical book in their hand… who want to regularly visit bookstores. I think digital is going to be more of a trend than a final product. At least, that is my hope.”
Towering stacks of books piled to the ceiling are the norm at the Bookery in Lexington. For more on the Bookery and other independent booksellers read the complete "Indie Bookstores Alive and Well in the Amazon Age" on our website. Photo by Kathleen Herring.
Blue Plate Books - Winchester
Blue Plate Books opened in September 2008 with about ten thousand books in a thousand square feet. Growing to include 35 thousand different titles in the past six years, they look forward to growing to 50 thousand. Blue Plate Books carries both used and new titles with a good mixture of all genre, including a selection of local Virginian literature. The oldest book they’ve ever had in the store was printed in 1641.
“We carry children’s books and young adult books,” said owner Pat Saine. “We have a section titled Rural Living where we keep both newer and older books which describe the old ways of doing things. If you have a curious mind and like to read, you’ll likely find a book at Blue Plate Books.”
Saine has noticed people shopping earlier for the holidays. “Especially for one of a kind and hard to find items,” he said. “People shop locally first for collectible books because they want to see the actual condition of the books.”
When asked about competition from sites like Amazon, Saine said, “No single company is forever. In the 1890s, Sears and Roebuck, and their catalog, was the Amazon of the day. The basic American entrepreneurial drive means that there will always be smaller mom and pop outfits to compete with the current retail behemoth.”
Blue Plate Books does very little online business, and Saine believes the online market is a detriment to the personality of smaller stores like his own. “Local bookstores offer something not even the most efficient computer click ever could,” he said. “As opposed to fulfilling the Jetson’s dream of a Sunday dinner consumed in a single swallowable pill, the corner bookstore is more like the Slow Food Movement. We offer you a chance to take a break from your hectic schedule, to browse, to discover something you didn’t know you wanted. Sure, you can be connected 24/7, go zoom-zoom-zoom, and work all-day, every day, but wouldn’t you rather spend at least a little time in a naturally quiet, relaxing space surrounded by the world’s greatest stories and ideas? Stop by your local used bookstore for a mind-refreshing, mini vacation.”
For Independent Bookstores in the Shenandoah Valley, check out these local favorites:
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Berryville Old Book Shop – 7 East Main Street, Berryville (facebook.com/BerryvilleOldBookShop)
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Page Master Used Books – 904 John Marshall Highway, Front Royal (pagemaster-books.com)
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Royal Oak Bookshop – 207 South Royal Avenue, Front Royal (royaloakbookshop.com)
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The Bookery Ltd. – 107 W. Nelson Street, Lexington
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Bank Street Books – 201 West Main Street, Luray (bankstreetbooksluray.com)
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Bookshop On the Avenue – 3407 Memorial Avenue, Lynchburg (bookshopontheavenue.com)
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Givens Books & Little Dickens – 2236 Lakeside Drive, Lynchburg (givensbooks.com)
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Too Many Books – 1504 Grandin Road Southwest, Roanoke (toomanybooksroanoke.com)
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Barrister Books – 1 Lawyers Row, Staunton (barristerbooks.squarespace.com)
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The Avocado Pit – 2621 West Beverley Street, Staunton (theavocadopit.com)
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Bookworks LLC – 101 West Beverley Street, Staunton (site.shopbookworks.com)
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Black Swan Books and Music – 1 East Beverley Street, Staunton (blackswanstaunton.com)
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Stone Soup Books & Café – 908 West Main Street, Waynesboro VA (stonesoupbooks.net)
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Blue Plate Books – 2257 Valley Avenue, Winchester (blueplatebooks.com)
Kathleen Herring has been freelance writing since college, where she was a staff writer for JMU's Breeze, and has since created newsletters for campus programs and been published in Bridgewater College's Veritas, Bridgewater Magazine and UVA Today. She currently runs a mentoring program for the UVA Career Center, but spends her free time reading, writing, playing video games, cooking, and can also tap-dance and play jazz saxophone. After ten years living in the Valley (Harrisonburg/Staunton), she relocated last year to Charlottesville, but still enjoys hiking, camping and kayaking and couldn't imagine a life without mountain sunsets.