By David Fortier
The signs posted on the tree borders lead to an entrance in a gated parking lot outside a warehouse at the corner of Richmond and Prospect places. A last sign just before a door up some steps points, this way. Open the door and more signs posted on the walls provide a few more directions.
Follow the signs down a hallway and at the end to the left a pleasantly lighted room with books stacked on makeshift shelves of wood, bolstered by concrete cider blocks, opens and a tall young man breaks from a line of customers paying for purchases.
“Have you been here before?”
“This is my first time.”
“Welcome.”
Erik Kryzanski, the owner of Worthwhile Reads, provides a quick introduction, peppered with questions: the books are arranged by genre, is there something special you are looking for?
Kryzanski is the force behind this venture that began a few years earlier as an online bookstore. In the summer of 2023, Worthwhile Reads transitioned to the warehouse, which opens when time allows, since Kryzanski also works as a nurse.
“When I have a weekend that I am not doing nursing, I open for a book sale,” he said, “For example, I actually worked Friday and Saturday this weekend but Sunday, I just didn’t sleep last night.”
He aims to create a bookshop similar to the Book Barn, of Niantic fame, or an Atticus in New Haven.
He says he has always liked books, then he had a breakthrough.
“I figured that instead of collecting them, I could collect them and sell them and make other people happy,” he says.
There is an entrepreneurial streak in his family, he adds. As a high schooler he made and sold bracelets for graduation, and he even went door to door selling wrapping at Christmas time. His dad invests in real estate, a grandfather ran a propane business and a great grandfather owned an industrial gas, welding supply business.
Today, Kryzanski’s father, Mike, and mother, Helena, are working checkout. The family connection doesn’t end there. Erik’s brother has created software for inventory management, which allows for a special payment arrangement, where customers may sell their books for a 50-50 split.
WorthWhile Reads books are arranged by genre with color coding that indicates pricing. | David Fortier
“For example,” he says, “brand new books that come out that people hold on to, like there’s a book that came out ‘Iron Flame’ that I haven’t seen at all,” he says. “They would prefer to get some sort of value for the book, so we would provide by selling the book for them.”
Bristol is a good place for his endeavor, says the 2017 Southington High School and 2021 Central Connecticut State University graduate. The space is available, and the price is right.
He is even looking to expand.
“There is a room behind that wall,” he says, “an extra 600 sq ft, that the landlord may take down for us so we can expand there.”
The current space is 1,900 sq ft, in addition to 1,800 sq ft of warehouse space.
“All our prices are cheaper than online,” he says. “For example, those Easton Press books, if an Easton Press book sells on Ebay for $50 we will price it at less than $25.”
Books start at $1 for kids books and other genres, at $2.
“We have a good selection,” he says, and adds, “We are pretty picky about what we select.”
“Stuff that is in bad shape we will not sell in the store because that is not the reputation we really want to have.”
The space inside is tight but it is also pleasantly laid out. Signs on at the ends of the aisles indicate the genre for easy access.
“We have a large customer base that come back,” he says. “I always listen to their feedback so if we can make changes to the store we will.”
He points to a section of the store and explains how it had been the fiction section and customers said it was too overcrowded. So, he and a couple of volunteers redistributed the fiction section and now there is less congestion.
Customers also requested that the sections be more specific. Once again, he enlisted the help of his core volunteers, and they made the changes.
“The Book Barn is popular in Niantic, Atticus in New Haven,” he says, “but in central Connecticut there really isn’t anything like this.”
People can drop books off during the week at a book drop on the premises. Otherwise, those who have large collections that they would like to donate can call an arrange for a pick-up.
For information, consult the Worthwhile Books Facebook page. Click here.
The next sale date is Sunday, Feb. 11, from 2 to 6 p.m. for the general public. An Early Bird Sale, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., requires the purchase of a ticket via the Facebook page.
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