John K. King Books North

With the end of the semester nearing, and my schedule getting busier, I didn't have time to drop by a book store this week. So, I am going to take this opportunity to tell about my favorite used book store of all time.

It was a sunny August day- my birthday to be exact. My parents, sister, and I piled into the car. I had no idea what our destination was. It seemed that they had planned a fun, surprise excursion. The trip was not far and we ended up on Woodward Avenue. The building before me had a towering sign that read BOOKS. My jaw dropped in awe.

Welcome to John K. King Bookstore, North.

John King is the biggest used bookstore in Michigan. It has over one million used and rare books in stock and three locations. The main location is in Detroit, in an old glove factory. The second is nearby and hold rare and art books, rather than general novels. The third location is in Ferndale, which is the store that my family and I visited.

Upon entering, I knew that I was in for a treat. I took a deep breath of the sweet smell of old books and grinned. I excitedly rushed forward to explore every inch of the store. The store had a multitude of shelves, each of which were stacked and filled to the ceiling with books. There were many genres and books of all kinds. There was a section of rare and old books, many of which were locked safely in a glass case. There was also a notably large selection of Holiday books, something that I usually do not see at book stores.

I instantly found the children's and young adult sections and immediately had a stack of books that I wanted to add to my own collection. From a friendly bookstore cat to a piled high bargain table, the store had everything I could ever ask for. The prices were low and reasonable, also. I walked away with five new books and the rest of my family made purchases as well.

The Nancy Drew collection as John King was astounding. From my memory, there was an entire book shelf full of the old yellow spined classics. There had to be at least forty of them. Many of the books were the old, 30s and 40s editions. I picked out a copy of one of my favorite Nancy Drew books, The Mystery at Lilac Inn. I was excited to add this book to my collection because it was one of the first old editions I had ever bought. I could have bought many other titles, since the store had pretty much every title of the original series, but I had to limit myself. All of the Nancy Drews were in good condition, though they also looked very loved by their previous owners. I knew I would love my own new book.

John King was a fantastic birthday experience for me. I could have spent hours and hours browsing the stacks. I cannot wait to go back and see what I find next.