FL Used Bookstore Addresses Wastefulness Of Publishing Industry

PINELLAS PARK, FL — When George Brooks learned how many books get thrown out each year, he was appalled.

About 320 million books end up in the landfill each year, creating about 640,000 tons of waste, according to WebMD.

“Every person, even every bookstore out there throws away books,” George told Patch. “Lots of people tell you they recycle books, but they really don’t. Everyone who has told you that has lied.”

His wife, Sarah Brooks, said, “You can’t recycle them unless they’re unbinded.”

“And most people don’t do that,” George said. “You have to cut the spine off, remove this, the cover, and even then, it’s only regular paper, not glossy paper, that can be recycled. If a book lands in the recycler, it goes to the landfill, 100 percent.”

So, the St. Petersburg couple decided to do something about the problem, launching The Book Rescuers. They take in donated and overstock books and sell them at inexpensive prices — most ranging from $1 to $3.

Before this, Sarah worked in hospitality and property management, while George worked for his family’s furniture company for years. He eventually branched off on his own, forming a company that furnished high-end hotels.

But during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, their careers were put on hold as the virus spread. Most tourism came to a standstill, before trickling back, and it also became more difficult for George to access and deliver the furniture his clients wanted.

“So, that’s kind of where this all started,” he said.

While trying to find something to do during the pandemic, he launched a product on Amazon.

“That failed, but that’s how I met an Amazon (book) seller,” he said.

And that’s how he learned about the waste created by the publishing and bookselling business.

Many online booksellers purchase gaylords of overstock books — pallets with large boxes that sometimes hold up to a thousand titles — from nonprofits and organizations that accept them as donations. They scan each book, searching for the most valuable or the ones most likely to sell online at a good profit margin, and the rest are useless to them.

“We’re both such readers and we love books and it’s like how can you throw those away,” George said.

He was worried when he first broached the idea for the bookstore with his wife.

“I imagined I was gonna come home and tell her something that would not go over,” he said. “’So, yeah, honey, I’m coming home with a ton of books and we’re gonna sell them for $1 apiece and you’re gonna be cool with that.’ But she was like, ‘They were gonna get thrown away. That’s the only thing we should do, like, duh.’”

Sarah said, “Reading saved me as a kid. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with these books.”

They started selling books from their driveway in 2021, setting up with about 800 books. They were amazed by how quickly the books sold, so they held a second book sale at their home, this time putting 2,200 books out.

“Then after the third time, it was like, ‘Wow,’” George said. “I took a few weeks off and build 20 double-sided shelves.”

During that time off, people started coming to their home asking about the book sales.

“It’s funny, they were almost like crackheads knocking on our door, wondering where the books were,” Sarah said. “And it was like, ‘Yeah, I think it’s gonna work.’”

From there, they launched The Book Rescuers as a pop-up shop, setting up at Pinellas County businesses and events. Eventually they grew to travel with thousands of books in a 26-foot box truck that they displayed under five 10-foot by 20-foot tents standing side by side.

All their books were stored in a Pinellas Park warehouse that they decided to open to the public Thursdays through Sundays in April 2022. This space wasn’t big enough to accommodate readers, though.

“The public wanted more and wanted more,” Sarah said.

When a larger warehouse space nearby became available, “the universe lined up,” she said. “It was just too perfect.”

In November, they moved the bookstore to 10410 66th Street N., where they can comfortably display more than 50,000 books organized by genre and subgenre. They also sell other items, including records, magazines, DVDs, VHS tapes, greeting cards and art.

Most books are $1, $2 or $3, though some oversized or coffee table books are priced at $5 and there’s a display of books more than 100 years old that sell for $8 each.

“We just want to sell books and move them through,” George said. “We want them to find a home. We try to price things to where it’s just a no-brainer. Our goal isn’t to nickel and dime anybody. Our goal is to keep it affordable. Then, I can put more books out.”

And any book that’s past its relevance or maybe is in rough condition gets repurposed for art projects. They also donate books to schools and nonprofits.

“We just want to keep these from hitting the landfill,” he said. “I have a real problem when I do have to throw away books. So, we do everything we can to save them.”