Paperbacks a staple at used book stores

Do you remember when paperback books first became popular?

And nearly all were published by Pocket Books Inc., a company with the trademark of a smiling cartoon kangaroo reading one book and carrying another in its pouch?

Many of the first books released were American classics, providing access to good reading at a reasonable price.

Those books sold for a quarter. Twenty-five cents, remember that?

Well, OK, you don’t. That was back about the time the Earth’s crust began to cool. And we are all aware that paperbacks these days have many publishers and go for considerably more than 25 cents. Multiples of 25 cents, in fact.

Perhaps that’s why there are bookstores in every city of any size that buy, sell and trade used paperbacks for a fraction of their original price.

There are three such stores in North Side neighborhoods in Spokane, and all three of them have been around and in their present locations for a good number years.

From east to west there’s Cal’s Books in the Gonzaga University neighborhood at 2174 N. Hamilton St.; Rae’s Book Exchange at 6512 N. Division St., in the strip mall that includes a Kmart; and Booktraders in the heart of the Garland District at 907 W. Garland Ave.

The inventory of all three stores includes some hardback editions, but the owners all keep busy with paperbacks and have established procedures for trading and recording credit for future purchases. The process varies slightly from store to store, and all three charge small handling fees.

Cal Emerson, who has been at the North Hamilton address since 1978, says his store also offers books on tape and some movies, either VHS or DVD.

On North Division, LaDonna Rae Krueger’s store is the only one of the three open on Sundays. The store also offers some movies.

Booktraders, a longtime Garland Avenue fixture, has been owned by Hal Moos since August of last year. He has changed store policy to allow trading for hardback books at a slightly higher handling charge, $1.50.

Trading is active in all categories, with an emphasis on mysteries while science fiction has a lot of fans. Romance novels, sometimes known as “bodice busters” because of their cover art, are a “staple,” Emerson said.

All three stores have a romance novel section. Booktraders has a large back-room area devoted to them, along with a lot of hardback fiction.