It’s dark outside, but the bright fluorescent lights and soft, calming music of Decatur’s Half Price Books are still welcoming customers inside. Rows upon rows of books line the shelves, with titles ranging from Other People’s Money to classics like Macbeth. Magazines are in the back, the stacks climbing high above customers’ heads, and records, stationary and video games are all for sale. Bright blue “20% off” stickers can be seen all around. If you’re looking for something different, you can alsi browse the store’s collection of stuffed animals and fake mustaches.
Half Price Books, a discount book store, opened this August in Dekalb’s Suburban Plaza. The chain, which spans across the country, has been family-owned since its debut in the 70s. For a store that started in a Dallas laundromat, Half Price books is growing immensely, with over 120 stores now open.
Isaac Christmas, one of the store’s late night customers, had browsed its shelves only a few times since its opening.
“This is my second time here,” Christmas said. “It’s interesting and there are a lot of books, but I haven’t seen anything that says, ‘Hey, buy this book, buy this book.’”
Half Price Books prides itself on community involvement.
“[Our contributions] include recycling and donating more than a million of our overstock books each year to local nonprofits and organizations around the world,” the store’s website says. Half Price books donated 1.61 million books in 2015 and has already donated over 780,000 books this year. Recipients of these donations include Girl Scout troops and the Texas’s Boys and Girls Club.
In efforts to stop waste and spread stories, the store purchases books from customes for a reduced price. In addition to that, on the first Saturday of every month, the store holds “Local Author Saturday,” where customers can come to meet local indie authors promoting their newest releases.
All these things set this bookstore apart from other well-known bookstores, such as the ever-present Barnes and Noble. When asked about this competitor, an employee, Shannon Allen, had little worry.
“I prefer our store,” said Shannon Allen, an employee at Half Price Books. “I don’t even know where Barnes and Nobles is.”
Allen gushed about her job at the store.
“I love it,” Allen said. “It’s the best job I’ve had, but it can be very busy.”
Public interest in Half Price Books is growing daily.
“[Half Price Books] seems a little bit like a thrift store, bookstore, and electronics store all combined into one,” freshman Sophia Peter said. “I like that the store has such a variety of different goods. It seems like a great place to find birthday presents or gifts for people. I’m sure you could find something for anyone.”