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Don’t judge a bookstore by its window cover Long-time Carmichael bookstore continues to thrive By Laura Winn

The Marconi and Walnut shopping center in Carmichael has seen a number of businesses come and go in the last decade. Ralphs supermarket left in 2006. Its replacement, Eve’s Market, lasted just two years, leaving the building vacant for over six years now. Salons, barber shops and small restaurants have failed to thrive. But one business has quietly kept its doors open year after year. Since 1997, Bookworm, a family-owned used bookstore, has occupied the sleepy strip mall’s corner space across from CVS. From the outside, Bookworm may not look like much. In large, yellowpainted letters, the windows advertise used books, and that’s about it. But don’t judge a bookstore by its window cover. Inside the 1,200square-foot store is a treasure trove of 100,000 books on nearly every subject. The space is a mini maze of homemade bookshelves filled with books organized by genre and author gender. Handwritten note cards mark the sections. Bookworm is not a trendy store. There is no velvet sofa or calico cat to welcome readers to sit and stay a while. There’s not even a computer system to track customers and their trade-in book credits. Instead, there’s in-

dex cards. It’s a system that has worked since Don and Willa Trent opened the first Bookworm at Madison Avenue in Fair Oaks in 1987. Ten years later, their daughter Renee Green opened the Carmichael location and kept the system going. “We haven’t changed since we started. It’s the reason we’re surviving,” explained Green, 57. Every day, the bookstore accepts trade-ins for a running line of credit. That credit can be used to cover half the cost of each purchased book. And if the Carmichael store doesn’t have that desired title in stock, but the Fair Oaks location does, Green will have the book at her location for the customer to pick up the next day. Customers can also use their credits at both locations. Green never pays for books. In fact, Bookworm has so much excess stock that it’s stored in a warehouse and 2,000 books a month are donated to charity. The generous trade-in policy – they accept almost anything – means some customers use Bookworm like a fee-library. Bibliophile Kathy Johnson frequents the shop about every two weeks, selling back the books she bought at her previous visit and using the credits to purchase books off a list she brings with her to the store. “These kinds of stores are great for people who read as much as I like to

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read,” said Johnson, who has been a Bookworm customer for the last three years. But these kinds of stores are becoming fewer and farther between. Johnson used to also shop at Bookcheck, an Arden area store that closed its doors in May of last year. When Bookcheck closed, Bookworm acquired its customer database and their credits. Bookworm did the same when Book Lovers on Madison Avenue closed years before. The demise of so many area book stores is part of the reason Bookworm is still alive. As soon as Green hears about a bookstore closing, she gets in touch with its owner and works to absorb the customers. Bookworm doesn’t advertise or sell online, although

the two locations do have a Facebook page, which has helped them reach new shoppers and connect with patrons from years past. Longtime customers remember the early days of the Carmichael shop when Green’s daughter Brooke started working the cash register at age 7. For many years, Bookworm allowed Green to work and watch her child all in one safe, kidfriendly environment. During the years Ralphs was open, the bookstore was “one rock n’ roll little place,” but after the supermarket chain exited the center, foot traffic slowed and Green said she sometimes wonders if past customers know Bookworm is still open for business. “I have wanted to move so many times, but

this is my baby,” said Green. “It’s been tough, but I just try to keep everything going. I always do.” Green plans to take over the Fair Oaks location, if and when, her 80-year-old father retires; he still works seven days a week. Green herself only works weekday afternoons. She watches her baby granddaughter in the mornings. In keeping with the theme of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ Green plans to have the granddaughter start on the register when she turns 7. “Sometimes I wonder if I can continue doing things the same way, but I’ve decided I should leave things the way they are. We’re doing something right.” Green added, “I am thankful to the community for standing by us.” S a c r a m e n t o

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