Where to Find Books You Can Buy From Me (Update)

A few weeks ago, I posted here that "until further notice" readers could look for Books You Can Buy From Me at the Mountain Treasures store in Gate City, Virginia. Some books may still be there, if they're not sold, and others may appear there. It's still a nice little charity store that employs semi-retired people to resell nice things on behalf of legitimate local charities.

However, some of these books have never hit the shelves at Mountain Treasures. Hmm...do the storekeepers share my taste in books?

Apparently that's not the reason. One of the storekeepers' younger relatives are launching a new downtown store called Oliver's. (It can be dangerous to assume that, when a business has a human-like name, the name belongs to the owner. Sometimes businesses are named in honor of a long-gone partner or an owner's grandchild, but in this case, I was informed, Oliver is the owners' dog.) I'm told that they've become regular lurkers at this site, and have been snapping up "classier," more valuable books reviewed here to display in their for-profit store.

Oliver's sells antiques and collectibles. What makes it different from all the other antique shops in Gate City is the emphasis on furniture and interior decorating, rather than just any old stuff, small old stuff, or handmade stuff. Apparently the owners, or some of them, are seriously into old furniture and have been seeking out valuable antiques and good-quality recent furniture for a long time.

Merchandise is displayed in groupings, as in a furniture store, with a bed or table as the focus of each grouping and chairs, side tables, shelves, quilts, lamps, books, and so on arranged as they would be in an actual room. Somebody in this store has a real gift for selecting items that would look good together in your house--not matchy-matchy "suites," but pieces that seem harmonious in size, color, vintage, and general mood. If you want your home, or part of your home, to look "decorated" with things of a respectable age and quality, this is where to start shopping.

There are several bookshelves in Oliver's and it's quite an honor to find one of them half-filled with Books You Can Buy From Me. Christian books, cookbooks, and rare-and-valuable books, I'm told, are likely to land here before they get to Mountain Treasures. (Hmm...if you bought the shelf without the books, would that get lots of books back into Mountain Treasures, where you or a friend could snap'em up at charity-store prices? Why not try it and find out?)

So far the store doesn't have a web site or phone number, and doesn't take credit cards, although those things are coming--expected to be operational by May or June. However, it's easy to find (on the prime retail block, between the courthouse and the traffic light) and wheelchair-accessible. The owners plan to be open during daytime business hours, but may be open on Saturdays and closed on Mondays.

If you're in Gate City during the daytime, you'll want to check out this store.