The owner doesn t simply buy used books in bulk, h...

The owner doesn t simply buy used books in bulk, he curates them. He goes through the books people bring him meticulously looking for good books. Whether they are comics, cookbooks, history or fiction, he has developed a standard he judges books by and it creates a very appealing selection.

The second thing I noticed was the established order. I have been in used bookstores where stacks of unsorted books teeter as obstacles throughout the space and make it impossible to find anything (I m not mentioning any names here). The Blue Plate is more like a library.

The overall appeal is tough to do justice to, but on my last trip I overheard an exchange that helped put it in perspective. As I sat between the stacks thumbing through a book, I overheard the following conversation at the register.

Customer- I remember when I was a kid I loved comic books, I would read them all the time. Then one day my uncle Earl gave me a real book by Jack London. It was

Cashier White Fang, Call of the Wild?

Customer Yes that was it, Call of the Wild. I remember looking at it and opening it and there were no pictures but since my uncle Earl had given it to me, I was going to read it. That was it for me, that s all it took. I have been a reader ever since.

I chuckled because I have never heard that kind of exchange at other bookstores. It was a spontaneous expression of affection for the special outpost that the Blue Plate has become. It is a haven for readers.