Pilchuck Books closes its Wetmore Avenue store

Published 11:14 pm Sunday, June 29, 2008

Some people are people people. Others are TV people. I don’t have any problem with either one, although I don’t have a television set right now and sometimes other people bug me.

What I am is a book person.

Always have been. On Christmas, I look forward to opening the book. And in my family, there’s always been a book for Christmas and usually birthdays, too.

So I hated to hear Friday that today is likely the last day for Ken Bosman’s Pilchuck Books at 2812 Wetmore Ave. in downtown Everett. Bosman isn’t completely calling it quits. I guess you’d call it downsizing.

He plans to keep his small annex shop on Everett Avenue just east of Broadway. But after 13 years, he’s sold the building on Wetmore.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in Ken’s shop, but I was just talking about it a couple weeks ago while fishing with Don Durand of Marysville. I forget how it all got started. I think we were talking about fishing, then about fishing books, then about where to buy good books no longer in print.

Durand mentioned how he’d once asked Bosman about a used book, which he didn’t have at the moment, and how when he showed up a couple weeks later, it was waiting for him behind the counter.

I’ve found some out-of-print classics there myself.

Bosman said he’s always been a “natural collector” and started gathering books years before he opened his store. A former school librarian, along with his wife, Donna, Bosman said the store has been something he has enjoyed for years.

“I’ve met a lot of great people,” he said. “I do appreciate all the great customers I’ve had.”

While the people were great, there really weren’t enough of them, Bosman admitted. He said the used-book business is a difficult one, especially for the small-business owner.

“There really aren’t enough (customers) to make it a going business,” he said, noting it’s tough to fight better bankrolled competitors such as Half Price Books.

So Bosman plans to keep his smaller shop, but he’ll be cleaning things out in the Wetmore building. Or, at least, he’ll be supervising the cleanup. Bosman recently had heart bypass surgery, so he’s not supposed to be hauling out the 150,000 or so books he’s guessing remain there.

They’ll be sent to a warehouse for storage. Some will be sold at the smaller shop. Others may be sold to other stores like Powell’s in Portland, Ore. Bosman’s shop was a bit eclectic, which makes sense for a shop with used books. He said his favorites were those written by Pacific Northwest authors, both fiction and nonfiction.

Self-help books were good sellers, but never his cup of tea.

Bosman said the new owners of the building are interested in turning it into a law office. So he’ll be rushing to clear things out.

He plans to spend his time at the smaller shop for a couple of years, “before I hang it up.”

Talking with Bosman, I got the sense that he has some doubts about closing his larger store. He talked about getting a good deal for the building and about the toughness of the business. And, of course, there’s his health.

“I think I did the right thing,” he said.

I can’t tell Bosman whether he’s doing the right thing. But I can say this. As one book person to another, I appreciate the 13 years you’ve spent helping others find just the right book.

Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.