While it’s always the season for books, the best may be the fall and winter, when it’s the perfect time to warm up with a great read.
But what about those piles of books accumulating around the house — especially when new ones arrive before the old ones have had a chance to leave?
There is a simple solution that combines the opportunity to declutter and maybe even make a few bucks in the process.
It’s time for used book stores to shine.
So, get ready to meet several regional shops that thrive by selling and taking books but also purchase books or provide store credit to keep your books shelves active and svelte.
Second Time Books is located in a stand-alone shop in Rancocas Village, a small, historic area outside Willingboro, approximately 30 miles from downtown Princeton.
Owner Brandon Hartman calls his operation “a labor of love. We specialize in history and science-fiction/fantasy and hand-clean and cover every book on our shelves.”
He says the store boasts 45,000 titles — neatly organized in several different rooms.
Most books are priced under $10, but expect to pay more for rare or first editions.
The decades-old business that Hartman purchased from a previous owner also has a monthly, every fourth Saturday, dollar book sale as well as special box sale days, $6 surprise bag sales, dot sales, and monthly local author signings.
Hartman says his bestsellers are narrative history, sci-fi, and classic literature. Those categories are also what he likes to purchase in either cash or credit. The value depends on the quality and type of book.
The approximately 2,500-square-foot shop is one of the series of shops in a shopping village that includes antique and craft shops and cafés.
Second Time Books, 114 Creek Road, Mount Laurel. Tuesday through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 856-234-9335 or secondtimebooksonline.com.
The Old Book Shop of Bordentown advertises itself as “a general used, out-of-print and antiquarian bookshop. We feature strong sections on New Jerseyana, American history and military, baseball, historical mysteries, etc. We even have a children’s room where youngsters can browse.”
The store operates an old and very tight shop on a corner of the town’s main street, Farnsworth Avenue.
Founder and owner Doug Palmieri says the shop with 10,000 hardcover titles survives on a blend of online and in-store sales.
While the online international clients go for the technical, academic, and hard-to-find materials, brick-and-mortar shoppers look for local history, especially dealing with the American Revolution.
Reporting that he sees more young and younger adult shoppers, Palmieri says he has been selling more sci-fi and graphic novels.
There are also a good number of young mothers coming in to buy a stack of children’s books for the price of what one new book would cost at one of the major chains.
He also is ready to report his shop’s two top-selling authors: Jane Austen and Agatha Christie.
Palmieri gets his books through a combination of donations and purchases. High on his interest level are history and academic publications, low are popular best sellers. He doesn’t deal with trades or credits.
The Old Book Shop, 200 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown. The website says it is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Fridays, but it may be advisable to call first. 609-324-9909 or www.oldbookshopofbordentown.com.
Classics Used and Rare Books is in the heart of downtown Trenton.
Owner Eric Maywar says the store is a community-driven activity and that he and his family are “doing our best to foster social capital, hosting community groups, supporting regional authors, and giving books to Trenton kids for free. We host weekly Scrabble games. And, of course, we love books and book people, to the point of distraction.”
A single street level shop, Classics is crammed with books on shelves, stands, and piles, yet it is generally organized into easy-to-find normal types of book shop areas: art, games, fiction, and history.
And since there are regular readings featuring local authors, it isn’t surprising to find an area loaded with Trenton and regional writers.
There’s even a book that the shop created in partnership with an independent small press that features area writers writing about the shop.
About getting his books, Maywar says, “We do not purchase books as a rule. We give store credit for most books. Some that we do not give credit for include books in poor condition, Reader’s Digest books, magazines, book club books, encyclopedias, and select other books.”
In addition to a monthly Saturday open mic, the shop dedicates Friday nights for board games, especially Scrabble.
Classics, 4 West Lafayette, Trenton. Tuesday through Thursday noon to 2 p.m.; Friday, noon to 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. to midnight; and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 609-394-8400 or www.classicsusedbooks.com.
The Booktrader of Hamilton’s Joan Silvestro says her shop has 100,000 titles and has 6,000 registered costumers.
Now located in a long one-floor shop on Nottingham Way, not far from Grounds For Sculpture, the shop was founded in 1985 in another area of town.
Silvestro had worked part-time with the original owners, got smitten with the business, and left her full-time job as a medical office worker to take over the shop some 20 years ago. The shop moved to its current location 15 years ago.
Silvestro notes the following about book pricing: “Used hardcovers are $5 each, unless otherwise marked. All new, straight from the publisher, books are 10 to 20 percent off the retail price. And audiobooks are $7.50.”
Among her top sellers are mysteries, romances, and science fiction. One of her top-selling authors is Stephen King.
True to the store’s name and original design, Silvestro only takes books in a trade. She gets the book, and the giver receives store credit: 20 percent of the retail price of a paperback, and hardcovers get 20 percent of the price the shop sells them at.
She says she’ll accept most books except “old textbooks, encyclopedias, magazines, and hardcovers of books we have in paperback.”
Silvestro has a history of hosting author readings and runs a monthly book club that is marking its 15th anniversary. She also devotes a section of her store to books recently banned by the Hamilton Township Board of Education.
Booktrader of Hamilton, 2421 Nottingham Way, Hamilton. Mondays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 609-890-1455 or booktrader.weebly.com.
The Book Garden is located in a large one-floor store on Monmouth Road (Route 537) in Cream Ridge, about 30 miles from Princeton.
Owners Joyce and George Engle say they were already in the book trade business before they opened the shop in 1989. Now, they have a collection of more than 100,000 books packed into their 4,500-square-foot store.
They write that they “buy and sell both hard cover and soft cover books in a wide array of genres. We boast a comprehensive children’s section as well a large selection of religious books. We are particularly well stocked in books on New Jersey history.”
A stroll through what looks like a former garden supply shop shows areas offering old magazines, postcards, photographs, sheet music, and comic books. Books prices are a fraction of the normal sale prices.
They get their books through donations and purchases, and advise would-be sellers that “You can drop books off at the store at your convenience. If for some reason this is not during operating hours, we ask that you please leave the books on the porch, so they are kept safe from the weather.”
Since George makes the decisions regarding purchases, they also advise that would-be sellers “give the store a call to confirm he is in on the day you plan to swing by for an appraisal.”
Bucking current practices, the Book Garden does not do online sales.
And while it has a website and Facebook page, it doesn’t have an email address.
As they note, the best way to communicate with them is either by a phone call to the store or a message to its Facebook page.
The Book Garden, 868 Monmouth Road, Cream Ridge. Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 609-758-7770 or www.bookgardennj.com.
And then for the serious book collector, there’s Panoply Books in Lambertville.
Owned and operated by Roland Boehm and Tina Orphanides, the shop has materials that says it “offers unusual, offbeat, rare and out-of-print quality used books. In addition to our unique selection of books we also offer a diverse collection of vinyl records, art, ephemera, and textiles.”
A quick check of the website shows a good number of signed books and prices hovering slightly over $100 and rising above $2,000. With that noted and the owners stating that they are always adding to their offerings, it seems a good destination for looking to obtain or looking to sell some fine vintage books.
Panoply Books, 48 North Union Street, Lambertville. Fridays through Mondays, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 609-397-1145 or www.panoplybooks.com.
