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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Monday, August 24, 2009 6:08 PM CDT
Book Nook owner offers knowledge along with books

By HOLLY THOMAS, For the JG/T-C

MATTOON — Walk into The Book Nook, where owner Diana Sullivan can answer almost any question you have on books, authors and the gray in between. Not only is she savvy in literature, she knows the story behind the complete book — cover included. Sullivan can tell the whole story of why Fabio no longer poses on Romantic novel covers.

“I like to inform my customers of what they’re reading,” she said.

Sullivan originally opened a used furniture and appliance store on Moultrie Avenue in 1980. She started selling used books after cleaning out her garage one day.

“I enjoyed selling the books so much that I decided to sell only books,” she said.

With a retail change, Sullivan decided to rename her store The Book Nook.

“The name was inspired by the nook in the wall I previously stored the books in,” she said.

Sullivan moved her business on Broadway Avenue in 1994. The Book Nook recently relocated to a more spacious building at 1821 Broadway Ave. Sullivan said the move was a “blessing” and, though the economy is down, her business up.

“I’m in a unique position. When money gets tight, people tend to read more,” she said. “Reading is an amazing way to escape.”

Though some periodicals have experienced a decrease in readership because of the Internet, Sullivan is not concerned with competition due to electronic books or articles.

“There’s no substitute for curling up with a book and letting your imagination go wild,” she said.

A trend is growing among youth, Sullivan added.

“More and more kids are coming in and wanting to read the classics,” she said. “It makes me so happy that young people are reading.”

Classic literature isn’t the only genre kids are picking up. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga Series has a shelf life of only a few days.

“When ‘Twilight’ the movie came out, I couldn’t keep one of her books on the shelf more than 11 minutes,” Sullivan said. “It’s amazing how movie releases can affect book sales.”

She said that Julia Child cookbooks have been “flying” off the shelves since the release of “Julie and Julia” this summer.

Sullivan said her favorite part of the job is helping people of all ages find new authors and new series to get into. The majority of books in the store are ones people have sold or traded. Sullivan offers a third of what she’ll sell the books for or the customer can trade for store credit.

The Book Nook is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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