Granada Books has announced that it is closing in May. Over the past couple of years, the Book Den and Granada Books have been friendly competitors. Since our stores are only a block apart, it’s been natural for us to refer customers back and forth. It’s sad to see any book store close, but Emmett and Sharon had a vision and gave it a shot, for which they should be commended.

The news of Granada Books’ troubles, especially in the last several weeks, has caused some concern among Book Den customers and there have been inquiries as to our own health. The answer is that we are fine. When Granada Books opened, we were already well into our project to recreate ourselves as a new-and-used book store. Over the last couple of years, our business has continued to grow as we added to our new book offerings. We built a new website on which one can search our entire inventory. And last year, for the first time, more than half of our in-store sales revenue came from new books.

As it happens, today is my 36th anniversary as owner of the Book Den. I think the store is as good as it has ever been, and for this I thank my incredibly capable staff. I still love what I do. And I hope to continue for many, many more years.

– Eric Kelley