These pages keep on turning

Pages Book Emporium keeps on keeping on

With comics, graphic novels, board games and puzzles, Pages is so much more than a second-hand book store. —

Kris Lindblad photo

Pages Book Emporium in Cranbrook combines the best of two worlds—reading and recycling. But Pages is much more than a second-hand book store, since it also carries a large selection of new magazines, a huge stock of comics and graphic novels, three different puzzle lines, board games that aren't readily available in your average department store and specialty collector items. Kootenay Business caught up with the always busy Pat Ridler, who shares owner/manager duties with her daughter, Christy Haarstad.

Pages seems to have held its own during sometimes difficult economic times. What are you doing right?

We have held our own. We came within $500 of the year before, so we maintained, while other people were really struggling. But we had to work harder to do it. As people are going out less, they're looking for alternative entertainment indoors. We're getting a lot more younger people in—they get together in groups. The board games and trading cards really appeal to the teen to 20-something or 30-something age that seems to have more spending power.

Describe a typical day on the job for you and your staff.

We spend time out front. We have deliveries on all different days. Most days are spent dealing with customers, shelving, putting things away, talking to people and just trying to keep up.

Do you have a lot of regular customers?

Oh, yeah! We have some customers that have been coming in for years. Because they're trading their books, they're in and out all the time. One customer came in on June 6, 1980—he was my very first customer—and he still comes in.

Have you been with Pages all of that time?

Most of it, except for a couple of years. We've been in three or four different locations, all on Baker Street. (Daughter) Christy started working here when she was 16, then went away to Vancouver for I don't know how many years and worked at Chapters in management. They moved back here to have a family.

What do you like most about your job?

I like the books and the people. You never seem to get tired of the next box of books that comes in. You always want to see what's in it—there's that curiosity.

What kind of books do you like to read yourself?

For me, I go through all kinds of things, depending on my mood. I go through some of the award-winning books, I read Canadian authors and when I really want an escape, I read adventure titles, the thriller stuff. My piles to read are getting beyond me! I try to read at night and in the summer when it stays light longer.

What's your proudest accomplishment at Pages?

I guess just the fact that it has grown and stayed, and just being able to keep things relatively in order (in terms of sections and authors) so that when someone asks for something, you can go right to the place.

Describe your business philosophy.

What I always tell the girls (who work here) is that the job is very, very repetitive, it's over and over the same thing, so we try to keep things fairly casual, and they need to have fun while they're working. We also try to keep it so that it's a comfortable atmosphere for everyone—it doesn't matter if you're three or 93.

Do you see any impact from e-readers on the book business, and how do you counteract that?

That's probably going to be the next thing; I'm not sure how that will affect us. For myself, and most of the people that come in and out of the store, they to like to have books in their hands. They like the feel of them, the look of them. A lot of people that like older books, or book collectors, they like the feel of the book. Mind you, when I travel, I always have to take at least four books with me, so the suitcase room would be good (if I took an e-reader instead). But I still like the real thing.

What did you do before you opened the book store?

My kids were very small when I moved here. I was in the middle of taking ECE (early childhood education) courses and was planning to finish them here. But the courses here were full. Meanwhile, I'd started hanging out at a little vacuum shop across the tracks that had some books. I'd get enough books to last until the next payday. Finally, the lady there said you can have the whole blasted lot of them. I laughed, and thought she might be kidding, but I came back next week and she wasn't. So I took them all—about 3,000 of them. So that was the start, and I've never looked back.

Where do you hope to be five years from now?

Coming in when I feel like it and spending the rest of my time chasing after grandkids! Letting Christy take over more. I don't think I could ever totally walk away, but I would like to come in less than six days a week.