Books Plus: Life in the Sandy Lane

Don Shaw, and his wife, Margo, the owners of Books Plus in Fernandina Beach, relocated to the Amelia Island community on the northeastern coast of Florida from the Boston area 10 years ago. The area annually welcomes thousands of retirees and others embracing a more relaxed lifestyle and year-round sunshine; however, the Shaws didn't want to slow down. Although Don Shaw had retired from a successful career in the coin laundry machine business, he and Margo quickly bought an existing, locally owned bookstore, changed the name to Books Plus, and opened on June 1, 1996.

Several years later, the Shaws bought land in the downtown historic district and built a new, expanded Books Plus, along with a second building that is leased to another business. The 3,800-square-foot bookstore, which was created under the auspices of the bookstore training and consulting group of Paz & Associates is a showpiece of inventive, functional bookstore design. Working with architect Dennis DeLorenzo, they created a space that encourages customers to travel through the whole store. This is accomplished with the placement of a five-foot-wide faux-wooden walkway, running about 80 feet through the store's evocation of beach. The path ends at the Gazebo, a cozy enclosure with floor pillows for story reading or listening.

In addition to the bookstore, Don Shaw oversees a publishing entity, Lexington Ventures, and he is a founder and supporter of the wildly successful six-year-old Amelia Island Book Festival.

The local community is of paramount importance to Shaw. He told BTW that, although he carries all kinds of literature, he "really promotes local authors." Most events are signings by local talent, and Books Plus has a large display of regional authors and books about the history and natural beauty of the area. Some of these titles are published by Shaw's own Lexington Ventures and include elaborately illustrated coffee-table books, such as The Historic Splendor of Amelia Island and Tidewater Amelia, and a number of mysteries set in the area.

The throngs of tourists who swarm the area throughout the year come to Books Plus in search of beach reading. The nearest chain bookstores are in Jacksonville, over 30 miles away -- too long a drive to make barefoot with dripping ice cream cones and sandy kids in tow. Books Plus, which is situated in the town's popular Centre Street shopping area, steps from the beautiful harbor, draws a lot of foot traffic, according to Shaw.

To provide stock for tourists and residents alike, Shaw considers a number of sources including the Book Sense Picks lists, which he distributes to customers. For those who need to contact the outside world, the store is famous for its extensive greeting card selection.

Shaw is already mulling over some possible new ventures involving book distribution. In the meantime, he's happy to report, he "makes money at all this," explaining "I'm careful with turns, and we've have an attractive place and people want to be here." --Nomi Schwartz