Name That (Used) Bookstore!
 

I and the wife are toying with the idea of opening a used bookstore. Actually, we're beyond toying and into real estate foreplay.

But we need a name. Something that will catch the attention of people driving by, yet not weird enough to scare anybody off. I like "Book Monkey," but the wife won't buy it.

So -- any suggestions for a used bookstore name, serious or otherwise?

I will say that we live in a college town full of well-educated liberals, old hippies, rich hippies, trustafarians, surfers, starving students, and Latinos, if that gives you any inspiration.

Name's actually pretty important. I have a friend who opened a used bookstore in another town on a heavily traveled street. Wanted to call it "Big Brain Books," and put a plastic veined brain on the roof. But his wife talked him out of it (I know the feeling) and he went with a classy name, "Briarton Books" (from the neighborhood). Well, it's two years later and people are still stumbling in saying, "Gee, I drive by every day and I never knew you were here...." Doesn't get noticed.

What's the college's name, mascot? What's the name of the street that the store will be on? What neighborhood, city?

I'm thinking ______ Coast Books... fill in the blank. =)

My latin is failing me- but sometihng along the lines of Libri Usati (used books in Latin) _- just pretentious enough to get attention..

BOOKS - would say what it is -- in big bold letters...

Mayan or Roman Gods of Reading or books or bargains? surely there is one with a good name

Our favorite bookstore growing up was a used one owned by a former coworker of my father's from back when he was still teaching high school. It was called, quite simply, Easton's Books (the guy's last name). I loved that bookstore! We would go up there at least once a month and Dad would let us pick out five books of our choice, more if they were from the bargain shelves. Needless to say, I grew up in a home of bibliophiles.

And yeah, let's not name the bookstore after banana slugs, all right? :P

As SnowyOwls says, the mascot is the Banana Slug, the college, UC Santa Cruz. Anyway, I'm looking for something that define the store by what it is, not where it is.

Slug Coast Books?

Thanks. Certainly if we can afford one neon window sign, it will say "books" in the largest letters we can afford.

Your mention of Romans and bargains got me to thinking of the Roman phrase "caveat emptor" -- let the buyer beware. I found an English/Latin translator on line and came up with "Caveat Lector": let the reader beware. Caveat Lector tickles me, but I don't think so :-).

My favorite used bookstore name belonged to a dark, cavernous used bookstore in, of all places, Bakersfield. It was called "Dusty Tomes." That's not really the image I want here in Surf City, but it was a great name -- and extremely descriptive.

A friend of mine is in the process of selling her used book store, and I believe it has done well over the years that I have known her. She picked a simple name, "The Book Stop" which doesn't appear to be what you are looking for.

What was unique about her store was that she catalogued your interests and notified you when something came in that you might like. (At your request, of course). I always thought that she should have named it "Your Book Stop." She certainly personalized the experience for her customers.

My two cents says sometimes simple is best. :)

name:
someone else's books

leaves lots of room to play with the name in your print ads.

look through someone else's books

go home with someone else's books

what not to name it...
i grew up in a town that had a couple of shops called "everybody's"
that always threw me off...
they were'nt everybody's!
they belonged to one person. grr.

One of the best used bookstores I ever browsed was called Aardvark Books. I don't know where the name came from, but I thought it was great.

Coming up with names has never been a strong trait of mine. I'd be the kind of person who'd just name it something generic for lack of imagination.

Good luck with your store. Used book stores are one of the greatest places to spend an afternoon.

How about "Rodney's Readers"

Hmm..I like Scuttlebutt Emporium

Perused Papayrus? May not have the spelling right buy you get the drift.

A friend of mine is an avid used book fan. He took a weekend trip to Seattle which has the highest amount of used book stores in the US, to crawl through the miles of books. Maybe you can see how they differentiate themselves for one another up there...

Probably something to do withthe fact that 'aardvark' is one of the first words in a dictionary or an encylopedia.

I like this one.

Actually Rodney, I like Book Monkey. It's catchy. I also like Someone Else's Books. I can't think of any good names myself :p

How about calling it Steven?

Serious, people see a store called steven and go in to see what the frak its on about.

We go to a used book store called AfterWords. Interesting name, but taken here in Chicago. Anyway, some names I've thought of in the 30 seconds I've been in this thread:

Book Ends (since it's the end of the book for someone)
Turning a New Page
Rebound Books (although people might think you restore books) :\
Boomerang Books
Reread Central
Spread the Word
Non-nouveau Novel
As the Page Turns

Ok...some of those are really stupid, but you asked and that's about as creative as I can be as I'm waking up with not enough coffee. ;)

I like both of those myself, but the wife doesn't like Book Monkey; Someone Else's Books is pretty clever, and I'll definitely put it on my list. But I'm not sure yet.

These are all a lot of great suggestions so far; keep 'em coming.

Certified Pre-Read Books, and parody the Lexus logo?

There was a great little bookstore that was around when I was a kid - it was called Readmore's. Quite simply, the owner just wanted us to all read a little more. :)

Not stupid at all -- thanks very much. Actually, great minds think alive early in the morning. I joked with my wife yesterday morning about inventing a mythical bookstore owner named Paige Turner and calling it "Paige Turner Books."

"Turning a New Page" reminded me of "turning over a new leaf," leaf meaning page, and "The New Leaf Bookstore" kind of strikes me as cool. But there already is a New Leaf Market in this area, with several locations. People in this town are big on catchy business names. I'll keep thinking about the "page" or "leaf" idea.

That's got a ring: Readmore Books. Thanks.

You should call it "Live Nude Girls." Of course, you might not get the right clientele but it will certainly be memorable.

Every one of my favorite used bookstores has always been named after the owner. The top of the list was "A. Amitin's" in St. Louis. I don't know if it's still there, it's been over ten years since I lived there. Here in Memphis there's "Burke's Bookstore."

Seriously, I think if you try to get too cute with the name it works against you.

Of course, that's just my taste I suppose. It really comes down to who you are trying to attract.

It may be. Over in the Bay Area, the most famous bookstore for decades were the Holmes Bookstores in downtown SF and Oakland. But Holmes is a cool name. Unfortunately, _my_ last name is particularly undistinguished, and my full name -- well, I share that with a famous mass murderer. _That_ wouldn't be the right image, either.

Bookstores here in towns have names like Logos, Bookshop Santa Cruz, West Side Stories, The Literary Guillotine (scholarly books), Gateway Books (metaphysical), and so on.

You could rip off Bob Seger and like someone else eluded to--Turn The Page.

Or go off of other entities like Blinds Of All Kinds---Books Of All Kinds.
Toy R Us---Books R Us

Or since there are lots of liberal hippies in town--- The Book Depository.

or just silly-- Bookworms Nook. This can lead to a nifty visual as well.

OK...following the leaf theme. I went for a walk and got an idea....

Releaf Books.

Kinda catchy I think. :)

re:read books

all i have at the moment.

There is a book store here in Toronto called, Tequilla Book Worm. I've always thought that was clever.

The Book Cellar?
Y'know...bookseller...book cellar...

Read em again Sam

lol sorry that was the best I could do

Fun with the lights on...
New Life books
Second time around Books
Read once before, Books
Restroom Books
Reading Emporium
Fun with print

That's all I can come up...

I tend to prefer the fun names like perhaps...
Book Worm or
Bookaholics Anonymous

Tales to tell
Pageturners
Rodney Books

Personally, I like Book Monkey too.

lol Shani, I thought of the same thing. :)

How about Rodney's Rejects..or Readmore Rejects

FREE BEER
With purchase of used books totaling $20 or more
Proof of age required to redeem free beer

Cruzin' Books

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or maybe Cruz In Books