Totem Books

Wonderful little independent bookstore in the neighborhood. It has the warm, comfortable familiarity of the old Flint Borders. I love hanging out and reading a book with a coffee in one of their comfy over sized chairs. The décor is eclectic and the staff rocks. And they have a café. Check it out.

Finally, a really good used book shop/​café devoted to providing a literary outlet that has been sorely lacking in the downtown area since the recent closure of Pages Bookstore.
This cute, little independent bookstore just opened to the public over Thanksgiving weekend with a «soft opening,» (a grand opening is planned for January) so it’s still ironing out some kinks, but it’s more than serviceable as far as used book/​music shops go.
With Jellybeans on Dort Highway closed for some time now, we finally have a decent used book/​music retailer that doesn’t mark up merchandise to stupefying levels and isn’t caked in decades-​old dust and toxic black mold with employees who couldn’t tell you what’s in stock if their lives depended on it. In fact, it’s unbelievably well-​organized and is clean, comfy and inviting, rather the opposite of most used book/​music stores around town, whose business philosophies have mostly been along the lines of «why are you bothering me, I don’t know where anything is, just pay for your stuff and go.» In fact, the mantra is so different from other resale shops around town, that you forget you are actually standing in resale book shop! There’s no off-​putting, haughty slob eating a donut behind the counter talking about Star Trek versus Star Wars (thankfully), aka the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, which we seem to have so very many of at every other used/​resale retailer in this town.
It appears that Totem Books is very interested in advancing literacy judging from its impressive children’s and junior/​teen fiction departments. The large assortment of gently used/​next to new children’s books is terrific, with cozy little reading nooks with learning games and toys for the kiddos as well. In fact, there are comfortable little reading areas throughout the shop, beckoning customers to stick around awhile and soak up the atmosphere. The store’s collection of adult fiction, ranging from bestsellers, mysteries and thrillers to contemporary authors, coffee table books and poetry, is pretty decent, but probably destined to improve with time.
Also impressive is the large amount of well-​maintained vinyl LP’s, primarily original releases, all in excellent condition. Pretty much anything you might be inspired to pick up, they’ve got it and at decent, though not rock bottom, prices. Aside from books and music, you can pick up cute little DIY coasters made out of old CD’s, as well as an assortment of vintage pinback buttons for only a few bucks. There was live music during Totem’s «soft opening» launch, but it remains to be seen if that will become a permanent feature.
Prices on average hardcover books run about $ 4 – 6 and vinyl records run the gamut, from $ 4.99 and upwards of $ 20, though most gems cost about $ 8. Granted, prices are a little higher for a used shop, but then again, this isn’t the Goodwill or the Salvation Army, my friends. My husband and I scored two vinyl records for about $ 14 the other day, including an old Roxy Music that my husband used to have as a kid and an out of print LP that he hasn’t found anywhere in years. I can’t comment about the buy-​back/​trade-​in rate for books and music, but it’s something the shop was built on and will continue to be a part of its business model.
The café area still has a lot of kinks to work out, but I’m sure that it will improve over time, since it still appears to be in the infancy stages at this point. Nonetheless, having a working café in a used book shop can’t be considered anything less than a plus, right?
I’m eager to see where this shop is headed in the future, but for now, it’s a welcome addition to the Court Street area. Plus, I love the concept of shopping locally, so I try to as often as possible. Perhaps it will fill the void left by both Jellybeans and Pages, and then some.