“ I’ ve been a reader since I was five or six years old, and I’ ve absolutely fallen in love with the idea of books. I feel like I’ m surrounded by my friends.”
— Carey Spain
But the online world has complicated matters for sellers of books.
“ I can’ t compete with prices online, especially Amazon,” he said,“ particularly on new bestsellers.”
Instead, he focuses on local history and Indiana books, which he says he is always looking to buy, and has an inventory of about 7,000 books overall.
“ It’ s really a good mesh of new and used books, and a quaint, cozy atmosphere,” said Taylor Arnold, who has worked at the store for about five years.“ It’ s not like Barnes and Noble, where it’ s overwhelming when you come in.”
People from around the world have visited the store, she said, and“ readers are always friendly.”
Just across the street from the United Methodist Church, the store has a welcoming feel, with neatly alphabetized books of fiction along one wall, a children’ s section at the back, and counters and cases where nonfiction works and other items are organized. Used, rare, and new books sometimes intermingle, adding to a sense of discovery.
Annika Evenson, a Brown County High School junior who has worked at the bookstore for about five months, said she enjoys her work at Fallen Leaf because it’ s a“ fun place.”
Fiction selections in December included authors from Chris Abani to Anne Zouroudi, and more than 30 Stephen King novels. If you are a rare book collector, there is even a 1692 copy titled Fables of Aesop and Other Eminent Mythologists with Morals and Reflections. You can find signed copies of books, first editions, pages from antique maps and vintage children’ s books, locally made cards, old high school yearbooks, and a
framed autographed photo of baseball legend Ted Williams.
The selection“ brings in local customers to see things they haven’ t seen before,” Spain said.
Customers may come in for a specific book, but while browsing, they find a book they didn’ t know they needed, he said. Sales have increased over the past two years.
“ We’ re probably at a peak right now,” he said.“ I’ d like to say we will keep on growing, but I just don’ t know.”
The store’ s top seller is the guidebook Weird Indiana. The cover features a photo of the old Stone Head road marker in Brown County before it was vandalized a few years ago. One item not for sale is a big clock on the back wall, with numbers
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Jan./ Feb. 2021 • Our Brown County 27