The Village Book Exchange

Driving down Mound Road, I have passed the Village Book Exchange many times. Until, now, I had never gone inside. My latest stop was a medium sized store located on one of the busiest streets in Warren.

The Village Book Exchange was just an okay experience for me. It did not have any books fitting my taste, but it did have a lot to offer. I found the staff friendly and the atmosphere pleasant. The playing Christmas music added a cozy feeling so close to Thanksgiving. When I initially arrived, the owner greeted me enthusiastically, asking if I had visited the store before. When I said that I had not, she gave me a quick run-down of the store's basics. The main room was home to general novels, the back wall dedicated to mysteries. There was an additional room in the back for sci-fi, romance, and paranormal romance. Each of the genres had a large amount of books in the collection. I was impressed with the size of the science fiction section and the mystery section. They had a good variation in titles and authors as well as pretty popular books. The store had a big collection of Murder, She Wrote books, James Patterson books, and Star Trek books.

My biggest problem with the Village Book Exchange was that there was no children's or young adult section.  Those are the books I prefer to browse through at used book store. I do not read much adult fiction yet, so looking through those books is not as fun for me. I think that if a used book store says they have a large stock of all kinds of books, it should. If not, specify that all the store has is adult books. When I talked to the owner, she told me that their stock is based on what people bring in to trade. At the Village Book Exchange customers are allowed to bring in old books in exchange for credit towards their next purchase. The amount credited depends on the edition, condition, and popularity of the trade ins. All books bought at the store are half off the cover price, which is the price of the book when it is new. Considering that most of the books were in fairly good shape, I would say that the prices were fair. I have definitely seen better prices, though.

As I mentioned earlier, the Village Book Exchange did not have a children's section, therefore, it did not have any Nancy Drew books. I was disappointed. So, I do not have anything to report as far as Nancy Drew. This is the first store I have been to that did not have anything from the series.

I do not think that I will go back to the Village Book Exchange anytime soon. Maybe when my book tastes change, and I read adult books, I will return. Even though I had a mediocre experience, there is still a lot of books at the store that suit other readers.