While East Lansing's massive Barnes & Noble is set to close at the end of the month; a tiny shop just up the street, Curious Book Shop, recently celebrated its 42nd anniversary. It's one of the oldest shops in East Lansing and owner Ray Walsh has been there through it all.
A book lover could easily walk past the inconspicuous storefront at 307 East Grand River without ever knowing of the treasures that sit on the packed shelves.
Perhaps that comes from the toned-down cream-on-black sign that reads "Curious Book Shop: Used books -- Nostalgia." Or it could be because it eschews the big plate-glass windows that dominate many businesses along Grand River Avenue's 300 block.
For a store in a busy section of town -- facing Michigan State University -- it's odd to see an unguarded cart of books sitting outside the doors. At only 18-feet wide and overshadowed by apartments on one side it seems squashed between Cosi and newer, modern offerings such as the Silver Streak and Stateside Deli.
It doesn't have the flash of most storefronts, including the Barnes & Noble Booksellers on the same block, but it does have staying power. Now in its 42nd year, Curious has been a mainstay in the city since it was founded by Ray Walsh.
"I started when I was a student at MSU to help pay my way through college," Walsh said. "This was back in the day when I was working a minimum wage job for around a $1.70 an hour and basically ended up having a lot of spare time in which I spent reading books."
Although he started out selling his own books, eventually a departing MSU professor offered him 1,000 paperbacks for $100.
"I sold some and I kept some," Walsh said. "But suddenly I was a book dealer."
Even though the store has existed since 1969, it didn't move to its current location until 1973. Since then, he said, Curious has made its mark on the downtown area.
"Part of the appeal is that Curious is a cultural Mecca," Walsh said. "That's one way we've been surviving. It has been, in the past, a destination location for a number of people from out of town. We even have alumni coming back and saying, ‘Gee, you're still here. I remember the store from when I was at MSU.'"
It might be that the shops simplicity sticks in the mind. It's three stories of books, magazines, posters, comics and more. If one is in the market for it, there is a $10,000 first edition of Dracula. Not surprisingly, Curious smells of old paper, and while it is narrow, it seems to stretch back into infinity. Walking through the rows could be claustrophobic for some, but when it comes down to it there is no denying that there is something personal about the experience.
"I‘d say one of the big differences between us and Barnes & Noble is that we're more of a small-town feel," said Employee Sarah Bridgewater. "We have very few employees, so we really get to know our customers; here you've got that personal-service-type feel."
It was this personal touch that attracted another employee, Liz Cizek. Cizek's first encounter came when she stopped in to browse for books and drop off her resume with Walsh. The next day she came in and Walsh had a pile of books waiting.
"He said, ‘We also found some other stuff you might like,'" Cizek said. "He knows everything. Ask him anything and he'll give you a dissertation on it."
Walsh's dedication to books also has manifested itself in another store, Archives Book Shop (519 W. Grand River Ave.), as well as in donations made to Michigan State University Libraries' Special Collection. Community connections such as this might be part of what enables Curious to stick around even as other booksellers, such as the Barnes & Noble down the street, close.
"When they moved in we were a little bit concerned, but we were still glad to have them as neighbors because more bookstores help bring literate people into the neighborhood," Walsh said. "It worked out. We would send customers there and they sent customers here."
And now that Barnes & Noble is packing up shop?
"It's not a positive thing," he said. "Any time a supplier of books closes in a community, it can't be a positive."
But what's done is done. Walsh said he thinks another book store will open in East Lansing, although he thinks it will probably be smaller. Until that happens, Curious Book Shop will remain East Lansing's top dog, a place where, according to Cizek, "Behind the actual story in the book, there are stories behind the books."
Photo: Liz Ledford
