There were no personal computers. There were no cell phones. People searched for books through a magazine called Bookman’s Weekly. It could take months to actually receive a book you wanted. Advertising was done mostly through newspaper ads and the phone book.
The year was 1983. The month December. 42 years ago. It was the beginning of my career as a bookseller in Fort Collins, Colorado. The Stone Lion was just opening. Barnes and Noble did not exist here yet. The Old Corner Book Shop had been in existence longer than any other bookstore in the city. Now, I am the bookseller who is the oldest survivor.
Since 1983, everything has changed. Seventeen bookstores have been driven out of business. Their names faint in memory: Sun Circle Books, The Bounty Book Hunter, Mad Jack’s Recycled Lit, The Book Rack (now Old Firehouse Books), C and L Hutton Fine Books, Read It Again, Paperback Heaven, It’s a Mystery, The Stone Lion, Jade Creek Books, The House of Paper Ships, Happenstance, Train of Thought, The Novel, Novel, The Old Corner Book Shop, Book Lovers, Book Ends and Toad Hall Books (now The Eclectic Reader).
Many of us rented new locations, changed our name, or changed owners in the struggle for survival. We have tried to adapt to the new technologies as they have come along. Finding and ordering an out- of-print book takes five minutes and it will be on your doorstep in a week. We could not have imagined this future.
There will be book sales all month long at The Eclectic Reader in celebration of my anniversary. Stop on by and see what’s new. I put out 500 new titles each month.
This month I will also be posting a history of my years as a bookseller.
The Eclectic Reader 