Owner George Engle is pictured among the tens of thousands of gently used books that have found a home at the Book Garden in Upper Freehold Township. The shop also has a smaller selection of CDs, DVDs and audio books, as well as a children’s section. ERIC SUCAR staff For some hardcore readers, the word “nook” only conjures visions of a comfortable chair in which to curl up with a good book, and “kindle” simply denotes what their favorite tomes do to their imaginations.
For such persons, the Book Garden in the Cream Ridge section of Upper Freehold Township may as well be the Garden of Eden.
On the afternoon of Friday, April 13 — coincidentally, the shop opened on Friday the 13th 23 years ago— the long aisles, stacked floor to ceiling with books of every genre imaginable, were dotted with a few regular customers.
George and Joyce Engle held their usual posts — he, manning the book counter and keeping up with the never-ending process of stocking and straightening shelves, and she, running the floral business that comprises a portion of the shop. For the couple, whose home shares the same 10 acres on which the shop stands, it is a pleasure to come and work in the store each day, even as technological advances for readers pose a threat to their future.
“We get by,” George said. “Me and my wife aren’t looking to get rich, and we keep our head above water, so we’re happy.”
George, who worked in precious metal refining before losing his job when the company shut down about three decades ago, sort of stumbled upon the business that would become the couple’s livelihood.
“I lost a good job and I thought I’d go down to the flea market down here and sell some books,” he said.
He purchased the collection of a fellow bookseller at the New Egypt Flea Market and soon after, opened a shop inAllentown, where the couple’s daughter, Donna Sensi — now a teacher inAllentown — talked her mother into including flowers in the offerings.
A member of the Future Farmers of America at the time, Donna — one of the couple’s five children — helped to get Joyce bitten by the floral bug.
“She started me on this whole thing,” Joyce said, adding, “It’s fun.”
Perhaps more fun for the romance novel enthusiast is the ability to peruse the plentiful shelves of volumes and pluck the one of her choice at will.
“That’s the best part,” she said with a smile. “I don’t have to pay for anything.”
By 1989, the couple had moved the whole operation to their own property along Route 537, where they have lived for 40 years.
The building that now houses about 100,000 books, along with the flower section complete with walk-in cooler, was built specifically for that purpose.
From the day they opened, the readers came flocking.
“The store filled up with people,” George said. “We hit it good right off the bat.”
It is no wonder, looking at the shop’s extensive selection of everything from newly released novels to books dating back to the 18th century.
Sections run the gamut from the usual suspects, such as poetry, nonfiction, biography and fiction, to the decidedly obscure.
“This is a new thing the ladies like, the paranormal romance,” he said, pointing out a sizable section of shelves.
Other areas of interest include history, with a full section of Civil War books, archaeology, Western Americana, golf, railroads and memorabilia, among many others.
Achildren’s section caters to the little ones, as well as to the couple’s 11 grandchildren. For older kids working on school research papers, a whole section offers a multitude of National Geographic issues.
Smaller selections of DVDs and CDs, as well as audio books, also populate the shelves.
“All of our categories are pretty much busting at the seams,” George said, adding that this is often not the case even at larger, chain booksellers.
The shuttering of nearly 400 Borders stores last year could be seen as a harbinger of a bleak future for smaller shops like the Book Garden, but what George and Joyce offer is a unique departure from the heavy hitters like Borders and Barnes & Noble.
In fact, several customers have come in on the recommendation of Barnes & Noble employees over the years, when the chain store didn’t have particular titles available.
After all, it’s pretty safe to say that larger booksellers don’t have a copy of “A Voyage to Cacklogallinia,” penned by Captain Samuel Brunt in 1727 and priced at $500. It shares space in a glass case where its company includes the likes of “The Story of American Nudism,” circa 1950, among other rare finds.
Although at one time George kept some choice books for his personal collection, as he ages and has less and less time to read, that has changed.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve said saving stuff like that doesn’t suit me anymore,” he said. “If I get something good, I turn it over to my customers.”
According to George, the demand for such rare books has declined in step with the economic climate, with fewer collectors able to shell out the cash for them, or for antiques in general.
Even his purchasing practices have changed.
“I used to travel all over [to buy books], but I’m settling down a little,” he said. “Now I just take what comes through the door.”
At one time, three book dealers a week would show up with their offerings; now, seeing one per week is a lot, according to George. Both regular customers and firsttimers bring books to sell to the Book Garden. Some people simply donate them.
“Now when I buy a book, it’s got to be something I know I can sell or [I] don’t bother,” he said, adding, “I never know what’s coming in. That’s the fun of it.”
Pricing is what gives the shop a competitive edge over the big guns of the book industry, as long as customers don’t mind some slight wear and tear from previous readers.
It also doesn’t hurt to own the building in which one’s business is housed, George pointed out. Despite not having to pay rent for the space, other overhead costs are steadily on the rise, he said.
Although the Engles enjoyed a decent business enhancement selling books on eBay, they have since stopped the online sales. Aformer employee who they let go to keep costs down used to handle the online auction postings.
“The computer is really the downfall of the book business,” George said. “I’ve had people actually throw the Kindle in my face and say, ‘I’ve got the Kindle; I won’t be shopping here anymore.’”
With no website or social media presence and very little advertising to bring customers in, the Book Garden largely relies on word of mouth to keep them coming.
Though not exactly situated in a mecca of activity, the shop gets occasional passersby stopping in to browse, along with a bevy of Six Flags Great Adventure patrons who have lost their way.
Regulars are fairly plentiful, such as a local minister who shops there three times a week. The Engles inevitably form friendships with such people. One customer even crocheted a blanket for George.
It makes sense that the couple would form relationships with their customers. Most who shop at the Book Garden, with its seemingly endless aisles packed with books to pique anyone’s interest, are spending some time there before emerging from the back with their choices for purchase.
In fact, George recalled, they almost locked a customer inside the shop one night at closing time. The man had walked there, and was perusing the shelves so quietly and for so long that they didn’t know he was there, he said.
Despite having garnered a local following composed of bookworms, along with floral clients that include fire departments, schools and individuals looking for more affordable options than what most area florists offer, the couple remains uncertain about maintaining their longevity at the shop.
George pointed out that one of their fellow book-selling friends in Bordentown recently had to close up shop.
“I think it’s written in the sand,” he said. “It’s really going to slow down one day.”
In line with that prediction, the Engles are also slowing down in a sense, finally allowing themselves to take a week for vacation this summer instead of the day trips they usually take on days off.
“I try to take life easy if I can,” George said, adding that both of them truly enjoy their work at the Book Garden. “It’s something you have to love to do, or forget about it.”
The Book Garden is at 868 Route 537 in Cream Ridge, Upper Freehold Township. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.