Chris Nicholson's Writing Weblog
December 05, 2004 • Sunday
Recently I heard about a unique store in Baltimore. It's called Book Thing. Their niche is this: They give their books away.
Yep, give them away. Don't charge a penny for them. They're free. As many as you want.
Located at 2645 North Charles Street, Book Thing takes donations of books from whomever is willing to hand (or mail) them in. The staff sorts through the donations, gets them into the store's inventory, and then customers are free to peruse and take home any books they want. For free.
It's kind of like a library where you don't need a card, and where you don't need to return the books. The store stays in business by selling any highly valuable books that come their way (which accounts for well less than 1 percent of their donations).
Book Thing is on my must-see list for the next time I visit Baltimore. In fact, I may make the four-hour drive sometime this winter, just to see the place. (Don't laugh — I once drove to Baltimore just to see Edgar Allen Poe's grave, then grabbed lunch and came home.)
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