[Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect a correction. It was incorrectly reported that bookshelves at Books Inc. were being sold for $200. Double-sided bookshelves are being sold for $200 and single-sided bookshelves are being sold for $100.]
Anne Haisley stripped out a screw as she took apart one bookcase. She had 139 to go.
Between dusty cobwebs and plastic green chairs, Phillip Haisley sat at a front counter littered with books.
Anne Haisley, 72, and Phillip Haisley, 77, co-owners of Books Inc., hope to clear the store of its 50,000 books before they shut their 20-year-old business down for good.
The couple announced this store’s closing in the fall, but the ending has dragged out longer than they initially thought.
It’s not the bad economy or digital readers that killed their bookstore and cafe. The Haisleys said they are simply tired. The couple hasn’t been on a vacation in four years.
To help the process of closing up shop, they started to sell used books at 20 percent off, and, as of a month ago, the books are on sale for 30 percent off. So far, 70,000 books have been sold, Anne Haisley said.
Since the business opened in 1993, the couple hosted international Scrabble tournaments, sold a first-edition printing of “Huckleberry Finn” and was one of the first 13 bookstores to sell books on the Internet, she said.
“We have had a great time doing this,” he said.
Phillip Haisley said he is ready to travel again. He has been to 107 countries in his life. Anne Haisley said she is ready to camp.
Some bookcases are still full of books. Others are empty.
Soon, even the shelves will be gone, too. The bookcases are selling for $100 each.
Through the years, they said the experience has brought them good memories and made their marriage stronger.
“I have white hair, in case you didn’t notice,” Haisley joked to her husband.
He rifled back with, “I’ll still pretend in my mind you are blonde, honey.”
Contact Ben Brasch at bbrasch@alligator.org.
Shelves begin to empty, including the vampire books section, as Books Inc., located at 505 NW 13th St., prepares to close its doors.
