Do You Know about Books & Boos?

My name is Jason Harris. I’m a son, a brother, a husband, a writer, an editor, and a business owner.

I have been many other things in life, but those six nouns are what I am right now. This first blog entry is going to be about the business I co-own with my wife. I will definitely write about the others in future entries. Author Stephen King, who will be at the Bushnell in July, has always said, “write what you know.”

My business is Books & Boos (www.booksandboos.com) in Colchester, which I own with my wife, Stacey.

We are co-owners, but I would have to say, she’s the boss. We do discuss everything for the business, from purchases to what events we do. The thing is, if she says no, we don’t do it. This doesn’t bother me. You have to compromise in everything you do; this includes marriage and even in life. You always want to keep your business partner and wife happy. It goes double if they are the same person.

You may be wondering about the name, Books & Boos. We wanted something unique, but also a name to describe the business. The books part is easy. Our books are mostly used, but we do carry some new books. These new books are on consignment from local and New England authors. We carry all types of genres. If we don’t have something, please ask us because we may have it in storage, which is our house. We have over 2,000 books spread throughout the house. Our dining room is so full of books it’s not going to be used for entertaining company any time soon. If we don’t have your book, we will add it to our list and try to find it for you.

The Boos part of the name comes into effect because we have novelties like zombie gnomes and pillows shaped like blood stains. We also have a separate horror section for our used books, something you don’t see very often these days in the big bookstores.

The bookstore is also a traveling bookstore. How does a bookstore travel? We attend different events such as the Colchester 32nd Annual Tag Sale on the Green organized by the Colchester Business Association, which took place this past Sunday. We are also going to be at the Vintage Market in Salem, CT. on June 29, along with the New England Authors Expo in Danvers, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Comic Con. More details can be found at the bookstore’s website under “On the Road.”

We are always looking for authors to come in for readings and signings, so if you are an author please contact me at Jason@booksandboos.com. This is the one area where I don’t have to talk to the wife first—I generally handle the author signings. This will be our little secret, though.

Please come visit our store. We are located at 514 Westchester Road in Colchester. We are in the same location as the Westchester Family Practice. We hope to see you soon!