Annie's Book Stop makes a move

WANTAGE-Annie's Book Stop has been located in the Wantage Plaza for many years, but it's recently moved form one end of the strip mall to new quarters in shops that were carved out of the old Ames premises. "I was asked to relocate because the Chinese restaurant next door is expanding," said Barbara Bomba, owner of Annie's Book Stop. The new premises are larger and brighter, and Bomba is pleased with her new quarters. "It's nice to have the extra space, and to tell you the truth, we are not eager to fill it up," she said. "There is a lot more room now for people to browse." A large part of the store's business is generated by its Paperback Exchange, which is a large area at the rear of the store where used paperbacks can be bought. Customers can bring in their used paperbacks and receive a credit toward another used book. "We will take children's and adult paperbacks as long as they are in good condition. We limit it to one grocery bag per day," Bomba said. "We give one sixth of the cover price as credit; if the book has a cover price of $7.99, you will get $1.20 in credit toward another used book." For avid readers like Deb Allen of Franklin, this provides an opportunity to read as many books as she wants at an affordable price. "I'm a bookaholic, so there is no way that I could afford to buy all of the books I read new< said Allen as she shopped for new reading material. "This way I read them, return them and get a credit for the next ones that I buy." Annie's Book Stop also has a comprehensive selection of new books and many of the New York Times bestsellers are discounted. "We have a bigger selection than most people expect, including Family, Self Help, Cook Books, Fiction and I wish we had a bigger Classics section, but they don't seem to be as popular as they once were," Bomba said. Despite the advance of the mixed media age, Bomba does not feel that people are reading less, nor does she fear the mega book stores that are sprouting like mushrooms at every mall across the county. "People are not necessarily reading less they are just reading different types of books than say ten years ago," she said. "Now the hands-down most popular type of book is romance followed by mysteries. As for the big book stores," she went on, "we give enough customer service to maintain our business." Annie's Book Stop is open from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, and noon-5 Sundays. For more information, call 973-702-8599.