Metro Atlanta Losing Another Independent Book Store

Jim Adams already had one career under his belt — 30 years as a traveling salesman — when he opened Books Again in 2001.

“I think I enjoyed this more. But this was harder,” says Adams, who laughs when he adds, “If you’ve not been up into somebody’s attic in the middle of the summer taking books out, you haven’t lived.”

His ten-hour workday often yields just $20 or $30 in sales. “It’s not just the Internet or the e-readers or the economy,” says Adams. “It’s just…I’m just not sure people are reading quite the way they used to be.”

Adams is focused now on reducing his inventory and reinventing Books Again as an online retailer of rare books, saying “Keep in mind: if you can’t beat ‘em, you’d better join ‘em.”

And Adams says he’ll get back on the road to travel to a few rare books fairs each year.