Congrats to Todd Hulbert, who just opened Finally Found Books in Black Diamond, WA (in King County, south of Seattle, east of Tacoma). Hulbert bought the store, formerly known as Black Diamond Books, just days before long-time owner Bob Charles closed Black Diamond in April.
Hulbert then lost 30 pounds moving and sorting books from his 150,000-used book collection. “This has been the most demanding task of my life, trying to sort these books” he told the Maple Valley Reporter. “It’s just been grueling, physically, mentally and time-wise.”
“We brought in maybe 15,000 new books, plus thousands of books that we’re going to be giving away for free to the children,” Hulbert told the paper. “We added substantial shelving and carpeted the area. We’ve added substantially to the teen and young adult sections, too.”
Hulbert told the paper that he plans to bring in more seating to the store to make the atmosphere more welcoming and to accommodate book clubs and community groups.
“Once we get open and running we’ll also be buying and trading books, however, we are very particular about the condition and the titles,” Hulbert said. “I’m trying to make (the store) a great resource for everybody.”