Book store move forces inventory cutback

It’s obvious Joan Claussen loves books, even though the book store owner downsized at her new digs.

Claussen moved her Main Street Books to N. 119 Main Street in Colfax. She officially opened her new store Tuesday.

“I knew I needed to reorganize and this has forced me to,” she said.

She said she gave away dozens of boxes of books.

“I’m down at least 2,000 books,” she said.

“I’m not going to have so many hard cover books,” she said. “I just don’t have the room.”

Claussen said her customers don’t prefer hard covers.

“They like paperbacks,” she said. “They want to take them to the beach, or when they travel and not have to worry about their condition.”

She said she also will carry trade paperbacks.

“If I recognized authors’ names, I kept them,” she said.

Claussen said she opened her book store in the former Main Street Fashions building in 2004. She said she knew she wanted to open a book store when she retired, but the job she had was suspended for a few weeks, making her decision easier.

“I thought, why wait until I retire?”

Although she bought books when she first opened the book store, now all her inventory comes from customers’ trade-ins.

“I read a lot,” she said as she rattled off names of some of her favorite authors. “I like to read as many books as I can so I can tell customers what to expect.”

She said she likes almost any genre, but is not fond of science fiction.

Claussen said she will keep on weeding out books. She still stocks children’s books and some cookbooks, just not as many.

Claussen’s husband, Bob, built most of the shelves, now full to the brim in the new store. The trade paperbacks, which are a bit larger then regular paperback books, will go on top of most of the shelves.

She also said she doesn’t really have one favorite author and if she favors one, it’s not for long.

Claussen said e-readers aren’t having much of an effect on her business.

“My customers are either in their 20s to 50s or 60s,” she said. “I don’t really have a lot of young kids. Some customers have told me they’ve tried the Kindle or whatever and they just like books better.”

Main Street Books’ customers come from all over Whitman County as well as from Lewiston, Dayton, Pomeroy and Spokane.

Claussen will also continue to carry out her specialized rooster decoration theme at her new location.

Main Street Books hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Claussen said she plans a grand re-opening some time in August.

“This is so much fun,” she said. “I’ve met all kinds of people.”