How to go
What: Chapters Pre-Loved Book Store
Where: 726 E. Main St., in Colony Square, across from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday
More Information: (513) 934-2665 or www.chaptersprelovedbooks.com
LEBANON — Cindy and Greg Easterling want your books.
The Easterlings recently opened Chapters Pre-Loved Books, a “pre-loved” bookstore in Colony Square shopping center in Lebanon and they want to know what everyone is reading.
“We’re already seeing trends in what people want,” Greg Easterling said. “We’re constantly tweaking what we’re bringing in to meet our customers’ demands.”
Chapters is designed to be an “upscale” used bookstore, a combination of the best parts of the big chain bookstores and the smaller used bookstores.
“We wanted big aisles that were easy to browse and lounge in,” Cindy said.
“A lot of used bookstores are in like tiny closets and we wanted something a little more upscale,” Greg said.
Like the big chains, Chapters has several reading areas as well as a coffee and tea bar. Unlike the big chains, Chapters sells books at bargain prices, at least 50 percent off retail value and in cases of hardcover books, even more, the owners said.
The idea for Chapters was dreamed up around the Easterlings’ kitchen table. Cindy and Greg were concerned about what their daughter, Laura, would do after graduating from college with a major in classical studies. They decided to aid their daughter and follow a lifelong dream by creating their own bookstore.
“I love to read and browse bookstores, and there just wasn’t any in Lebanon,” Greg said.
The store also includes a book club room that is available free of charge for any group who make an advanced reservation.
As for their refreshments, Cindy boldly and confidently proclaims Chapters “has the best cup of coffee you will ever taste.”
The secret is individual cup brews that allow for no waste and the coffee to be made fresh, Cindy said.
To prepare for their bookstore, the Easterlings went on a book buying spree, filling their Lebanon home’s basement with more than 300 boxes of books. Although the books were sorted by genre, they still had to be alphabetized, a process which took two weeks.
“We got real familiar with a lot of books and authors very fast,” Greg said.
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