SEMINOLE, Fla. — The grounds outside Lake Seminole Presbyterian Church look like a cross between a library and a modern art installation.
Maybe 100 people – toddlers, adults, old people – go through several shelves, pulling titles, inspecting them, exchanging the books already in their arms for a new find.
What do you want to know
- The Book Rescuers “recycle” leftover books and sell them for $1
- The group holds pop-up sales throughout the Bay Area
- The next sale will be this weekend in the Greater Central District of St. Pete
“We usually get a minimum of around 1,000 people a weekend,” says 36-year-old George Brooks.
Brooks worked in the furniture business, until manufacturing shortages at the start of the COVID pandemic strained his business and that of his father. He built the shelves himself on the church lawn.
“It’s amazing how when one door closes another opens and leads down the hall to another opportunity,” he says.
Brooks and his wife run The Book Rescuers, a second-hand mobile bookstore based in the Bay Area. They buy leftover books from wholesale sellers like Amazon who have to clear their stock of new titles and sell them at pop-up events wherever someone is willing to host them.
They bring over 8,000 books of all types and genres, from children’s stories to non-fiction, and sometimes DVDs and artwork, and sell them all for just one dollar. Kids always get a free book each, and teachers can not only stock their own classroom shelves for half price, but can also be sponsored, earn free resources, and even some cash to help with whatever they want. spend out of their own pocket on their students.
All the books they sell were destined for the landfill or the shredder.
“We found that most books really want a home,” Brooks says. “Especially for just a dollar.
The Seminole Lake Presbyterian sale is The Book Rescuers’ sixth; Brooks has only been attending since late March, when he hosted a few “test” events at their home and a few smaller venues.
“It’s great to see how supportive the community is of the idea,” he says. “We couldn’t be more blessed.”
The next Book Rescuers sale will be Friday, June 25 and Saturday, June 26 from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. both days at The Public Studio House (formerly Pom Pom’s Teahouse and Sandwicheria), 2950 Central Avenue in Grand Central St. Petersburg. District.