Happy 35th anniversary to Eric Kelley, "who came to town as the new co-owner of the then-70-year-old Book Den," Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1979 when "there were at least nine bookstores in this little tourist town," the Independent reported.
Over the years, Kelley "has changed himself and the store, adapting many ways, learning to use the Internet to sell his occasional rare-book find almost instantaneously, and he's always had a good hand at picking up the overlooked treasure. But that's not really what he loves, he claimed. He's excited now that the store is a balance of about 40% new books and the rest used," the Independent wrote.
"It isn't the big sales, though I like making them," he said. "Today a mom and dad and three kids came in the store and spent some time browsing and when they left, they all found a book. And I thought, that's great, there's a future for this store, and there's a future for this culture."
