By Megan Wright
Downtown Kamloops is full of quaint clothing stores, coffee shops, and more. One small bookstore is another perfect place to spend an hour or two, surrounded by shelves of all types of literature. This store, known as “The Book Place”, is a locally owned and operated business that is well-deserving of a visit.
While a large bookstore like Chapters gets most of the attention, as it is Canada’s largest bookstore, it can be worth it to explore other options. Smaller bookstores, especially used bookstores, can be excellent places to find unique reads or even just contribute to sustainability. Oftentimes they are hidden gems, full of character, and well worth a visit.
The Man Behind the Madness
Jason, the owner and operator of The Book Place, is a knowledgeable and interesting character. In an interview, he explained how he came to own a used bookstore.
“The decision not to go into journalism was made when I was 18.”
Although offered a $20,000 scholarship to a journalism school, he chose to go live with his friend in Europe for a year instead. The scholarship was a time-sensitive one, so in making this choice he was removing the scholarship from the board.
Upon returning from Europe, he began to pursue a different area of post-secondary education.
“Although I still really respect journalism, what appealed to me more was just studying English purely as a language.”
He started with an English major, minoring in History, but later added two more minors in philosophy and political science.
By graduation, he had accumulated nearly $60,000 in student loan debt. The only job prospects he had lined up were in either Japan or Czechoslovakia; none were in Canada. As his then-fiancée, now-wife did not want him to move that far away, he decided to stay in Canada and find an alternative.
“I had a large student loan to pay off, so I went up to Fort McMurray, which was hellish.”
He worked there for several years, and in the end managed to come out debt-free. At that time, he began to study warehousing, which is essentially just learning how to file things. As he already had a skill for filing things efficiently, getting the warehousing ticket made sense for him.
A hitch in his plans happened when he was involved in a severe car accident, shattering his leg. He was unable to continue the construction job he currently held.
After about four years, he was finally paid out for the accident, after being deemed not at fault. Right around that time, his favourite bookstore in Kamloops, BC, went up for sale.
“I’d always thought that when I was older and retired…that I would maybe get a used bookstore…it seemed like a super fun occupation.”
As of 2022, he has been running The Book Place for close to 16 years. He enjoys the pace of the bookstore, and the freedom to set his own hours.
The owner fell for this quaint bookstore when he was a regular customer of it. After he purchased the store, many other customers who had been coming to the store since before he bought it kept coming back. With these long-time customers, and many more regular customers, he has formed connections with some.
“I have some people, that I’m part of their social fabric.”
Several regulars come to see him every week, or every other week, and these visits are what keep them going in their lives. He mentioned that social work is a part of his job as well, not just selling and trading books.
“I’ve had to learn to be a bit of a counselor over the years too.”
This is not something he had expected when going into the occupation, but it is something he has come to be good at, and even enjoys. This, and the deep interest he has in English and literature of all kinds, makes his job an excellent fit.
“Most days I look forward to coming to work, and being with the books, and being with the people that love books.”
A Hidden Chapter
The bookstore itself has a history. It used to be a Catholic/Christian bookstore. However, this only lasted for a bit over a year before it was purchased. This time, it was bought by a lady who converted it into a used bookstore.
As the ownership transferred to Jason, he changed the look of the bookstore a little bit. Now a far cry from the Catholic/Christian bookstore of the past, there is always loud, often rock music playing upon entering the store. He feels that the music adds to the ambience and environment, helps people feel more comfortable when they enter the store. He adds that another bonus of the music is that it helps him stay out of customers’ business and conversations.
“Music and books are the two inanimate things in life that I love.”
His love for books is evident in the organization of his store, in which the goal seems to be to have as many books as possible while still managing to leave tiny pathways to navigate through. The further someone walks in, the more they are met with towering stacks of books stretching to the ceiling, more akin to the leaning Tower of Pisa than a book display.
Despite the chaotic appearance, one of the draws to coming to The Book Place is the knowledgeable owner himself. He has a knack for remembering his whole inventory; knowing almost off the top of his head which books he has, and which he doesn’t. He attributes this to the fact that he’s always had a pretty good memory, but a big part of the process for him is also the filing and putting away the books.
He atones the massive piles of books everywhere to the fact that he can’t let people help him with the filing and putting away of books, because otherwise he won’t know where to find anything. The organized chaos works for him and his memory. As long as he is the one filing, pricing, and putting away books, he will pretty much know exactly what he has and what he does not.
“Most used bookstore lovers are into the semi-chaos.”
Some people do get a bit overwhelmed by it, but for the most part they are the minority; the owner says that it adds to the appeal of the shop for most people.
“The range that you get in a used bookstore, it’s unlike anything else.”
Although the books may not be pristine, and the displays certainly look nothing like the organized rows of books in a corporation like Chapters, it still has a certain appeal.
Operating The Book Place
In terms of how he acquires the books, there are several different ways.
“I’ve got a three-tiered system.”
He occasionally receives donation, but he can usually only accept half of them, after searching through them and deciding which ones he would like to keep. In a true book-lover style, he refuses to toss away the leftover books, so he always re-donates them.
“I’m known around town for having the best trade value; people will trade books with me because they get the best in-store credit.”
He gets about 80% of his books from these trades. He will also put cash out for books, but only if he knows it is a book he can make a profit from. For example, he will buy books that are highly requested by customers, like “Dune”, or a collectable book. However, he does prefer to trade books, due to the reality of the financial aspects of running a used bookstore.
“I make very little money a year.”
The store is not very profitable, but he mentions that this is okay with him and his wife, as she gets to list him as a dependent.
“I guess it’s the trade-off between job satisfaction and money […],” Jason explains. “[…] To me, money has always been important, but it’s not as important as lifestyle.”
He attributes this mindset to the fact that his uncles are all ranchers. If they were to sell their properties, they would all be millionaires. But at heart, they are ranchers; if they sold their property, they would have no idea what to do instead of ranching.
“I could do other things with my degree and probably make more money,” Jason admits. “But I mean, would I get as much joy? I doubt it.”
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