Susan Raulin is the owner of Ted's Paperback and Comics, a Kelowna book lover's haven for more than 40 years.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

KELOWNA - It took a couple of decades for vintage vinyl records to regain value and attract a new market and it appears good, old-fashioned printed books are right behind them. 

“Books are back,” is the emphatic conviction of Ted’s Paperback owner Susan Raulin. “That’s a really good line right now. Books are back.”

Ted’s has been in Kelowna since 1977 and going great guns these days, despite the fact that many smaller used book stores have fallen by the wayside.

“(Electronic) readers, for awhile, looked like they were going to affect us,” Raulins said. “That was five, six, seven years ago. Then, all of a sudden it changed. People say to me all the time, 'I like the feel of a book in my hands.'”

Many small stores couldn't weather that storm but Ted’s is one of the largest used book stores in the Interior at about 3,500 square feet in a former health spa that leaves it with many nooks and crannies for specialty sections as well as the large former fitness room where many of Raulin’s more than 200,000 used books reside.

Visitors are greeted by long rows of well organized books, comics and CDs.

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“There are people who say to me, ‘people don’t read any more,’” she said. “I hear that. I say, 'that’s because nobody in your family reads. You’ve never been in here before. Do you see the number of families in here? Every single person in the family reads. There’s tons of readers. Tons.'”

Families come in and spread out, the young ones off to the children’s section while the parents follow their own interests.

And Ted’s can easily compete with new book chain stores because they stock everything John Grisham, Tom Clancy or Nora Roberts has written, not just 30 of the newest releases and a few earlier books.

Raulin’s back room is filled with carefully labelled boxes of individual authors to refill the shelve

The 'Ted' in Ted's Books was actually a man who started a small book store on Leon Avenue next to the Gospel Mission. Six months later, in 1977, he sold to Raulin’s parents, who had moved out from Ontario. Her mother always wanted a book store and still works (at the age of 83) Mondays with Raulin so the other two staff members can have two days off in a row.

"No one knew we would be here 43 years later so no one bothered to change the name," Raulin laughed.

She stayed behind in Ontario when her parents moved out, came to Kelowna in 1982, took over running the book store in 1985 and, about 15 years ago decided Leon Avenue wasn’t a good place to stay.

There are plenty of carefully labeled nooks and crannies in this former spa and health centre.

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She didn’t like the price of renting and stumbled upon a for sale sign at the Okanagan Women’s Health Spa on Sutherland Avenue, next to Shady Rest British Fish and Chips

Raulin walked in the front door into a room with mirror-covered walls and the floor littered with exercise machines.

“As soon as I walked in, I knew this was it,” she said.

The old store was 1,500 square feet vs 3,500 at the spa. The plan was to rent out part of the building but city rules prevented that, so the collection grew to fill the space.

But, it’s not the fact that every genre is well represented in the store, along with comics and CDs, that makes it successful. The key is the staff.

Ask Janet Dedinsky about any of the 200,000 books at Ted's and she's probably read it.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

“The two girls – their whole families – have been customers for 35 years before they started working here,” Raulin said. “They read everything so they know everything.”

Janet Dedinsky has been at Ted’s for six years but read extensively before working there.

“I’m dedicated,” she said. “In the middle of the night, I’m reading.”

Brenda Tillapaugh has been at Ted’s for just over a year.

So, what are the best books to read?

Raulin doesn’t discriminate. Any reading is good reading, even if it’s on the Internet.

“I don’t think reading has gone by the wayside because of the Internet,” she said. “If you’re reading on the Internet, you’re still reading. Eventually, you’ll get tired of it and go back to reading books.

She has heard that before too. And she knows exactly why. 

“People say: ‘the feel and the smell,” Raulin said.

Brenda Tillapaugh helps keep books clean and in order.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

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