ReReads Bookshop — Attraction in Westerly

I walked into the shop after my wife and our toddler. My little one was excited to continue looking for some of his favorite books. The owner began asking if there was anything I was looking for and if it was my first time there. I was holding a Trader Joe’s tote with my wife and son’s jacket and his diapers, etc. The owner kept looking down at the bag. Maybe because of my background being latin american she assumed something else entirely. As I looked around I felt her watching me as I browsed the science fiction section. My son called out to me (he is 2 and a half years old) and came up to me excitedly, showing me a Curious George book and another book he found. My wife looks down and finds some older Thomas The Train books and a Magic School Bus book. My son gets a little more excited. While this is happening, a small joyous moment amongst a family, the older woman who I assume was the owner, was watching like a hawk. She quickly jumps in and says the books we had just found, were being held for someone else. As soon as she says that she reluctantly, as in, really hated and loathed saying “ but it’s ok” to which me and wife decided we would put everything down and leave. To try and make up for what she had just done, she said “I like to give a child a book for free on their first visit” and attempts to give us the book she said was “being held for someone else”. We gracefully denied the gesture as it was done in guilt and shame. There were so many thoughts, feelings and expletives I felt compelled to rain down, however my son was there and I would never sink to the level of another human being who displayed and delivered such disgusting and despicable behavior. I can’t even imagine how anyone would be able to live with themself after stealing and ruining a child’s experience and joy the way this woman did. Hours before this, we had visited the bookshop/cafe up the street and easily spent close to $70 on new books for our son who loves when we read to him. Even after leaving I still want to go back and give that horrible, heinous, creature a piece of my mind, yet I show restraint. I will never visit or recommend a place where that vermin resides. I fear for the roaches and other insects who have to occupy space...

As a writer I am also an avid reader who vehemently believes in supporting independent new and used bookshops. This is what initially drew me into this store. However, It is with great disappointment that I disclose why I WILL NEVER GO BACK to Re-read Books. Owner, Jill, despite having multiple posted signs in her shop, "buy 2 books get one free" proved that she cannot be trusted to honor her own policy. ("are you local?" Jill asked. "No, we live in Jamestown." "Ahhhh...") After purchasing 6 books I gave no thought to checking my receipt until the following day. I DO remember thinking that the final price sounded high for what should have amounted to 4 soft-cover second-hand novels (=$48) Not only was I charged for all 6 books but Jill took the liberty of marking one book, which had no price, (and was the smallest at 180 pages and, arguably, the most insignificant of all) at the highest price of all (= $8.50). She made no mention about this throughout the transaction. The following day my first phone message to her shop was polite. In it I briefly described the "inadvertent" charges and asked to be called back to straighten out the matter. No response. I checked the store hours and waited until the shop was open -to give her the benefit of the doubt; I still had hopes that she might call me back. Sadly, I was mistaken. Nothing. Zero. Nada. Wanting to remain fair, I calculated the cost of the least expensive book, ($5) along with the arbitrarily priced one ($8.50) for reimbursement and called my credit card company who reversed the overcharges. Unlike the shop's owner the credit company was fair and obliging. To Jill: This is no way to run a business. To would-be customers: run, don't walk, to the...

My experience here started out alright and got worse as time went on. The owner wasn't very helpful when I asked where a certain book could be found and when I asked she pointed to a few bookshelves and said it'd be somewhere around there. After being there for a few more minutes she asked if I was just browsing or looking to purchase something to which I replied I was just browsing. Then she said don't move any books then because it creates a lot of work for her. What's the point of a bookshop where you can't touch any books? Not sure.

So I said I'd just look when a couple more minutes she passed and she said the last person like me ( a missionary) didn't buy anything either and in an almost polite manner asked my friend and I to leave. You are much better off heading to Savoy Bookshop almost across the street with much more...