Serendipity Books offers unique new and used titles in a cozy setting

Last December, Lucy Silverio became a book shop owner.

“There’s so much good that can come out a book,” she says. “They really do beautiful things for people.”

Throughout 2013, Silverio turned Serendipity Books at 113 W. Middle St. into a cozy, fairyland book nook filled with thousands of new and used titles — a treasure trove for any book lover.

If you haven’t been in the store recently, you need to go and browse the collection because there have been so many changes since she took over that you’ll be pleasantly surprised by all the transformations.

Now there are thousands of new and used fiction, science fiction, non-fiction, westerns, romance, mystery, thrillers, science, psychology, religion (especially Christian books), gardening, large print, cookbooks, parenting, best sellers, children’s, national and Pulitzer Prize winning titles.

If you’re looking for large print titles, Silverio has a lot of those, too.

Plus, there are new books chosen by NPR as the best books reviewed by their staff during the last two months that’s part of a new, revolving collection, Silverio says.

For an admitted book lover – Silverio is reading four books at the same time – the leap into book shop owner made a good fit.

“It seemed like it would be fun,” she says of her original decision to buy the store from former owner Louis Dreyer.

And so far, it has been.

“I’ve changed the collection quite a bit,” she says, adding to the history, language, Classics, children’s books and national and international book award titles.

She says she gave thousands of romance books away since she took over, as well as doubles and triples of other titles. They were donated to two prisons.

She has added new and second-hand titles and people can bring in their used books – paperback or hardback – and if she’d like to add them to the collection, they’ll receive a store credit, which can be used to offset the purchase of another book.

People can also donate books, and she’ll, in turn, donate them to the library.

“I do seed my collection,” she says, going out and looking for new titles.

“I’m hoping people will begin to bring in really nice titles,” she says, saying that it makes taking home new titles really affordable with the store credit.

She says she stamps the books in the collection and people usually bring them back to trade in on another titles, but sometimes people keep them.

“I appreciate people coming in and looking and browsing and sitting down and reading for a while,” she says.

Silverio has created several cozy reading areas where people can relax, hold a book group meeting or even rent the space for a small party.

“I want this to be a community resource,” she says, “A place where people can come and relax.”

She says she hopes people will discover books that they’ve been searching for in her shop or discover a special title they wouldn’t ordinarily choose.

There are about 5,000 books to choose from so if you’re still looking for that special Christmas gift or you were given cash for Christmas and want to spend it on something that will keep on giving, stop by Serendipity Books.