As everyone stays home, book sales rise

KENT — During this time of COVID-19 distancing, business at House of Books on Main Street is flourishing and getting creative, according to co-owner Peter Vaughn.

Although the bookstore is closed to the public during the quarantine period, it is doing brisk phone and online business. It is also offering “socially distanced book signings.” For example, the store is now selling exclusive autographed copies of the new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz, “How to Be an Artist.” The author is an area resident and a friend of Vaughn’s.

“We are the only source of signed books of this bestseller,” Vaughn said by phone on April 5. “It all worked out very well — especially if you want an unusual way to support your local, independent bookstore.”

The author “is close to where we are in Connecticut, so we can ship books to him, get them signed, and shipped out safely,” said the store’s general manager, Ben Rybeck.

Vaughn said online orders for the title have come from “Finland to South Africa to Australia.” 

He and Rybeck “fast-tracked” the store’s brand-new online-ordering system, which was on the table before the COVID-19 crisis. 

“It is fantastic,” Vaughn said. “All these online tools are user-friendly for businesses. They process payments and get the books in front of the public. It is going really well.”

Rybeck added, “Online ordering is an absolute necessity at this moment in time. If you are not active online, it is difficult to do much of anything.”

A return to the old space

Since Vaughn and his partners bought House of Books last June, the Victorian building that is the store’s permanent home has closed and is undergoing extensive structural renovations.

“In a perfect world, it would be done by the end of June,” Vaughn said. “It is already designed and ready to be constructed.” Construction has been delayed by the quarantine.

In the meantime, the book shop’s temporary home is a few doors down, at 4 North Main St. in a red cottage. 

When the main store reopens, Vaughn has plans for expanded offerings, such as film screenings and a cafe.

Rybeck said independent bookstores are what retailers call   a “third place,” a cozy and inviting space that is neither work nor home. 

What we are reading

Vaughn said the bookstore has seen a rise in general-interest fiction and nonfiction during the quarantine. 

“People have an appetite for the classics they never read,” Vaughn added. “Plus, many children’s books are being sold” during the extended family time of the quarantine.

Other titles House of Books is selling include “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle, Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks and the store’s own book club pick: “Weather” by Jenny Offill.

In the first few weeks of the quarantine, the store moved about 1,000 books. 

“It follows the trend of independent bookstores that sales are on the rise,” Rybeck said. “The business was already going through a period of tremendous upswing.”

Rybeck just started working at House of Books. He formerly worked at the not-for-profit Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, N.Y., and at Texas independent bookstore Brazos. 

The store also employs two booksellers as well as some seasonal employees, who have been adapting to working under different conditions during the COVID-19 crisis. 

“Everyone is pitching in with great enthusiasm,” Vaughn said.

House of Books is accepting phone and online orders at 860-927-4104 or by email at info@hobooks.com and online at www.houseofbooksct.com.