Carrie Wolfgang, owner of Novel Destination at 177 Fluvanna Ave., Jamestown, will be retiring and closing the shop after 12 years. Selling books has allowed Wolfgang to connect with the community. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Carrie Wolfgang opened Novel Destination, a used book emporium in Jamestown, a few months after retiring from a nursing career in 2011.

“We had a busy couple of months gathering books,” Wolfgang said. “I thought the community needed a book shop. I love books so I was happy to be surrounded by them.”

She noted that she had never owned a small business before, having always been a nurse She referred to the experience of owning the book store as “eye opening.”

After more than a decade in business at 177 Fluvanna Ave., Wolfgang is ready to enter the next chapter of her life.

She emphasized the decision to close the shop now is not due to a downturn in business or because the store was not bringing in enough customers. Rather, closing will allow Wolfgang to take care of her siblings.

“We’ve already lost one brother,” she said. “My life partner died of COVID. My siblings are much more frail than me, and I fear they will need me and the shop will prevent me from being able to give them the level of care that they will need.”

Wolfgang and her siblings together took care of their brother and parents before they passed away. She credited her siblings as being the reasons the shop is still going, as they ran it for her when Wolfgang went to Kansas City to take care of her ailing family members.

“It’s sad we have to close, but it is not because of a failure,” Wolfgang said. “I retired 12 years ago before opening the shop. This is my true retirement. I feel I will be of better use to my family and my community if I’m not at the shop. It’s just a change in the time.”

CONNECTING TO PEOPLE, PLACES

Wolfgang has had a connection to books throughout her life, beginning to read at the age of 4.

“I love learning, and reading books allows me to learn about people and places that I never would’ve had a chance to know about,” she said. “It’s my hobby and my comfort, and you can take them wherever you go. Books are also forgiving — you can put them away and take them out again years later and the story is just as good, if not better.”

Selling books at Novel Destination has allowed Wolfgang to connect with the community as well.

“I love being able to put the right book in the right hands,” Wolfgang said. “I love connecting to people in ways I never could as a nurse. People come here to talk, and they feel safe and welcome.”

Wolfgang said she has many customers she will miss. She is working on ideas to figure out a way to run a book discussion group, but is not able to make any promises on that at this time. She’s also thinking of volunteering her time.

“I want people to feel welcome when they come here and leave with positive, uplifting thoughts,” Wolfgang said. “I want to be able to use that somewhere in the community as well. There are lots of places in need of help if people are well enough to help.”

The shop currently has around 30,000 hand-picked, used books. The plan is to close by July 31, but Wolfgang said she may push it up to the end of June, depending on when books begin to run out and people have been able to come and say their goodbyes.

“I could’ve just locked the door and walked away,” Wolfgang said. “But that’s not fair to the people with gift certificates or store credit. I wasn’t raised that way.”

She’s already sold off enough books to combine the children’s section.

“I love to hear, ‘That’s my favorite book, I’ve been looking for it for years,'” Wolfgang said. “Or, ‘I have books two, three and five in this series, and you have one and four, so now I can read the whole series in order.'”

WHAT’S NEXT?

“I will have the freedom to do whatever appeals to me without being concerned about anyone else’s schedule,” Wolfgang said. “I have had to pack a lunch for 42 years. I don’t want to do that anymore. I like to meet people for lunch, or to be able to take my siblings out for lunch.”

Wolfgang has been charting for 42 years, both as a nurse and then doing inventory for the shop. She has already gotten rid of her inventory binders and stopped taking inventory, though she noted that she’s pretty good at knowing what book is where.

She’s also looking at potentially connecting with card company Cathartic Cards. The company has already dedicated a card to the bookshop, and labeled Wolfgang as a “contributing cardy” with a card to be released with one of Wolfgang’s phrases in the future.

“My family has always loved giving cards,” Wolfgang said. “It’s nice to get something in the mail that is not a bill or bad news notice.”

Jamestown has been Wolfgang’s home for years, and she is grateful for the connection with people over the years.

“Jamestown is my adopted home,” she said. “We came here when I was in eighth grade and, when I graduated, I had every intention to leave and not come back. My parents were older by then and needed me to stay close. I moved to Pennsylvania, but then moved back when my mom needed help. The bookshop has allowed me to have a connection with old high school friends.”

Wolfgang said one of her favorite parts of owning the shop is the connections, and that people come in and see her. She said she is “blessed” to have these kinds of connections that she was not able to get while she was a nurse.

“Great conversations happen here,” Wolfgang said. “I love to hear people connecting and recommending books to each other, and then ending up buying each other’s recommendations. It is an uplifting, happy place, which is a testament. With all of the negative things you hear about Jamestown, we have really great people.”

Novel Destination is currently open from Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wolfgang can be reached on Facebook, by calling 716-489-1496 or email at noveldestination@windstream.net.