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Breaking a longstanding tradition of having a cat as a mascot in used bookstores, Earl’s Corner not only has a six-year-old dog as a live-in pet. Suspected to be a German Shepherd Husky, the new shop is named after him.
Earl is owned by Patrick and Christina Larabell, as is the namesake store located at 717 San Benito Street, which had its soft opening on Oct. 18.
For Adam Hill of Hill’s Bookstore, located diagonally across the street from Earl’s Corner, it’s an excellent sign that bibliophiles in Hollister are alive and healthy.
“People have been supporting us,” he said, “and we hope that they will support this store, too. We love that Hollister readers are coming together. It’s a wonderful community, and more bookstores can only be better for this town.”
As teachers at the Hollister Dual Language Academy—Christina teaches first grade and Patrick teaches sixth, the Larabells were acutely aware of the need for an affordable source of books they could give to their students.
“When we have extra books,” Christina said, “we would give them out and then their faces would just light up. It was a huge joy to see. But with inflation and prices going up, it was difficult to find a book.”
The couple began collecting books, wondering how much time it would take to run a store and whether one or both might have to quit their jobs to make it work.
“And then, finally,” Christina said,”it just came to us: Let’s just do it. Let’s try it and see how it is.”
Haunting library sales, their big break came when they acquired books from a neighbor who was liquidating an estate. It was a sizable collection of fiction and romances, adding to their already strong general literature and mystery sections.
If her neighbor liked an author, Christina said, “she bought everything by that author. Absolutely everything. So we have tons of books by authors such as Debbie Macomber and Nora Roberts. I’m just now learning about them.”
One of the significant advantages of a used bookstore, she said, is that while new bookstores are limited to only what is currently in print, a store like theirs can, theoretically, have any book that has ever been published. And that quality led to a happy customer on the first day they were open.
“A gentleman came in and the first thing he saw was a book he’d been trying to find for years,” Christina said. “It wasn’t really rare, just significantly older. He said, ‘It’s like it was meant to be.’”
Christina said that fiction is her favorite, while politics and history, which are both well-represented in the store, are Patrick’s main area of interest. Both she and her husband love to immerse themselves in a good read.
“It’s good to read no matter what,” she said. “Doesn’t matter what it is. I love moments when I am doing something and I’ll think, ‘What is so-and-so doing,’ and then remember that’s a character in a book I’m reading.”
The couple are getting a helping hand from Patrick’s mother, Kathy Larabell, a member of The Friends of the San Benito County Free Library and a past contributor of book reviews to BenitoLink.
“She was a seventh-grade teacher and is an avid reader,” Christina said. “A shout-out to her because she’s the one who is essentially making this happen for us, because we can’t quit our first jobs, and she’s able to be here to help us out.”
Earl’s has started offering to buy books in trade from customers, further supplementing its inventory. The store also maintains an inventory of all stock, allowing customers to check what is available, even if the books are in the back room waiting to be shelved.
Christina said she has been surprised by the reception and support from the community, particularly in posts on Facebook that mention the store.
“From reading the comments,” she said, “I can tell people are really excited. People post things like, ‘We went to Earl’s Corner and we met Earl and the customer service was great.’ It makes me happy because that’s who we want to be.”
Earl’s Corner Used Books
717 San Benito Street, Hollister
earlscornerusedbooks@gmail.com
Hours
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., 4:15 – 7 p.m.
Wednesday-Friday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., 3:15 – 7 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Follow Earl’s on Facebook and Instagram.
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