Off to the west of Boston there are a group of communities which are lumped together as 'Metrowest'; depending on who you listen to, there are as few as 9 and as many as 22 of these towns and small cities which claim affinity to the regional capital of Boston. I must admit that I find it rather difficult to understand how you would claim a close association with a large city, 19 miles away, when you are located in a semi-rural area, very close to an extensive National Wildlife Refuge. Yet, this is exactly what 'Bearly Read Books', of Sudbury, Massachusetts claims! On their website, they state that they are 'Metrowest Boston’s Largest Antiquarian Book Store'.
I have two problems with this. One, the aforementioned distance from Boston, and two, their definition of 'antiquarian'. In European terms, you do not normally expect to find large amounts of 'trade paperbacks' or modern reprints (e.g. 'Flames In The Sky', by Pierre Clostermann, not the original Chatto & Windus edition, 1952, but the Time Books version, 1990, at an inflated price) in an antiquarian store.
'Bearly Read Books' occupies a portion of a large wooden building on the edge of Sudbury. I like the partially wooded setting, and despite the fact that it is right on the edge of the road, there is ample parking behind the store. The firm was founded in 1988 by Dave and Jane Van Buskirk. This enthusiastic couple quickly grew the business, which benefited from their love of teddy bears - which didn't just give rise to the name of their company, but which can be found everywhere you look, inside this themed bookstore. Unfortunately, Dave passed away in 2002, and Jane kept going until 2007, when she sold the store to Betty Ann Sharp and Jim Ellis, the current owners.
Entry to the store is via a traditional wooden front porch, and everywhere you look, you are greeted by bears! There are some nice touches, in that easy chairs are scattered around, so patrons can sit and closely examine some item of stock before deciding whether or not to buy. The stock of 'Bearly Read Books' is extensive, and divided into various subject areas. Needless to say, I gravitated to the aviation section (what a surprise!) In the second photograph, you can see that there are no less than THREE copies of 'The Lore of Flight', by John Taylor. This is a general history of aviation, a 'coffee table' tome, and not exactly what you would expect of an antiquarian bookseller. Everyone is in this business to make money, but having tried to SELL books to this company, I can attest to the fact that their 'buying in' prices are amongst the lowest, and they have no compunction whatsoever of picking over a couple of plastic bags of books and selecting two or three to buy, rejecting everything else, and then offering you a low price for the ones selected. I enjoyed the shocked look on the buyer's face, when I packed everything away again in the bags and walked out! As for their sales prices, I offer the following quotes from a couple of review sites, "....hardcover's are hit or miss on price range, sometimes absurdly high..... some of their price tags just blew me away as nearly criminal (or, perhaps, overly optimistic) for books that weren't really anything special....."
On the other hand, you CAN pick up a bargain or two, if you know your chosen subject well. I had already rejected the Pierre Clostermann title, as being overpriced, but I did NOT hesitate to pick up a clean example of 'Aircraft in Profile, Volume 4', reprinted by Doubleday (original price $14.95 in 1970, marked at $18, in original dust cover). This now uncommon book is a collection of histories of WW1 and WW2 aircraft types - originally published by Profile Publications in England, as individual monographs, with amazing photographs and color illustrations; an absolute winner.
I waved goodbye to the last teddy in the window. 'Bearly Read Books', a place to go shopping for a good read - very carefully! Oh, and one more thing, for a bookstore named 'Bearly Read Books', they only have TWO copies of 'Winnie the Pooh'!
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