By Michele Miller
What’s What New Port Richey
The Paperbook Exchange Bookstore is one of those Florida strip mall finds – an unassuming storefront on Ridge Road that’s situated underneath a simple black and yellow “BOOKS” sign that you can see from the street.
Stopping in can be an almost overwhelming experience for first-timers who find a gateway to some 50,000 used and new paperbacks that are sectioned and stacked neatly on shelves, separated by size, then alphabetized by author.
Rest assured that either Joanie or Tammy Hepsworth will greet you as soon as you walk in, offering helpful directions to the BOGO bins, favorite authors, the shelves that hold mysteries, thrillers, romance, Sci-Fi, a rare early romance novel by Nora Roberts and they might might mention – an autographed book by Kareem Abdule-Jabbar that was donated by a local sports coach and is proudly displayed on the front counter just waiting for a buyer.
“If you’re not overwhelmed, well then I’m not doing my job,” says Joanie, as she greets a stunned Taysha Abreu Pac-Hoco of Springhill, a fan of the thriller genre, who happened upon the place after getting her nails done and thought she might find some books for the kids’ Bible Study class she teaches at her church.
“I appreciate the help,” said Taysha, scooping up a few new finds as Joanie gave the rundown on the points trade-in system she concocted to help customers beef up that bargain they came in for.
Joanie and Tammy have been proprietors of the Paperback Book Exchange since 2017, when they noticed a “For Sale” sign on the place while driving down Ridge Road.
“We’re the third owners,” Joanie added, that the original store, founded in the late 1970s, was located on US Highway 19 and specialized mostly in romantic fiction and horror.
Joanie and Tammy expanded, bringing in different genres, including a section on rare and lesser-known books, including the Harlequin title by a once-fledgling writer, Nora Roberts. There is also space set aside for local authors. the LGBTQ community of which they are a part, and some of the couple’s craft projects.
“We’re busting at the seams, but we don’t want to move because we like it here,” said Joanie, noting that there had been an influx of kids’ banned books dropped off by local teachers. “They can’t keep them in their classrooms anymore, so they donate them here.”
“We try to have a price point and a book for everyone,” Joanie said, pointing out the copies authored by Bill O’Reilly and Harvey Milk positioned near the store entrance and the special tent sales the couple hosts a few times a year.
Inclusiveness is a business practice for the owners who, in 2018-2019, hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour to promote self-expression in a safe space. The event created some controversy, drawing in supporters and some local news coverage when protestors with bullhorns showed up. That lead to safety concerns for attendees that forced them to stop hosting the event, Joanie said.
The owners are now branching out into online sales – especially for the rare books that come in.
But their heart is within the immediate community, Tammy said.
“We prefer that local folks get the first shot at the book,” she said. “The regular customers – you know them and they know you.”
Why mess with a good thing, especially since the customers know where to go when in search of an easy vacation read, a fantasy, or science fiction book to escape to in the comfort of home?
“Books,” quips Joanie, “are the cheapest way to travel.”
“We love our little bookstore and all of our customers so very much,” she said. “We’ve had great success and a few failures over the last eight years. And if anyone thinks those small failures or any social upheaval is going to stop us from providing a valuable service to this community through the availability of printed literature. Well…. no. That’s not how any of this works.”
“If you want to travel the universe inside and out. Visit a used bookshop and buy a few. You’ll be off on an adventure in no time!”
