Abraxas Books: A unique, hidden gem of a bookstore in Daytona Beach - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s similar SeaWorld’s Shark Encounter, but you’re surrounded by books alternatively of sharks – though you’re not acold from the water astatine Abraxas Books successful Daytona Beach.

As you locomotion into James Sass’ publication store, it feels similar being wrapped successful a weighted blanket, comforted by stacks of words and prose successful an aged storefront that usage to be: a camera store, a ceremonial home, a market store, a gym, an antique store and a canvas and rigging shop.

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This isn’t your emblematic cookie-cutter publication store, and Sass isn’t precisely a cookie-cutter store owner.

Sass’ travel successful the publication concern started connected the aforesaid artifact arsenic his store successful 1982, moving for a publication store that nary longer exists. He worked determination for astir 20 years until that store’s proprietor decided to adjacent shop. That led him a abbreviated locomotion distant to an bare storefront with a “For Rent” motion successful 2000, and the remainder is history.

“I person a agelong past connected Beach Street,” Sass said.

Sass’s emotion for books began arsenic a “space alien thing,” arsenic helium described it. He said determination wasn’t galore “book people” successful his contiguous family, but helium remembers surviving with grandparents erstwhile helium was precise young, and his gramps moving arsenic a musician. His said his gramps would spell to the room to cheque retired vinyl recordings and fto him tag along, giving him “free rein” Sass said. “I didn’t person to restrict myself to the children’s books. I could spell done and cheque retired anything, which meant creation books, warfare books, representation books.”

When asked what sets his store isolated from different publication stores, Sass said, “It’s not a paperback swap shop. I similar heavier worldly – history, philosophy, science, good arts.”

If you’ve been to his store successful the past, you whitethorn person met his present semi-retired feline “Sterling” who is present 15 years aged and mostly stays astatine home. Sterling is simply a rescue feline that ran retired successful beforehand of Sass’s car arsenic a kitten 1 time connected Beach Street.

“He ran retired successful beforehand of my car, truthful I pulled over. He fto maine prime him up. He conscionable clung to maine and buried his look nether my arm, truthful I’ve had him each since,” helium said.

Remember erstwhile I said Abraxas Books wasn’t your emblematic cookie-cutter publication store?

“I similar benignant of creepy stuff, truthful I person creepy worldly around,” Sass said. He has skulls, a bust of Vlad the Impaler, aged cameras, a pig’s skull and different unusual bits and pieces that radical person fixed him implicit the years astir his shop.

Speaking of weird – successful an unusual twist, Sass aboriginal learned that the location that helium owns and lives successful utilized to beryllium owned by a antheral that ran a market store successful the 1920s successful the aforesaid determination arsenic his publication store.

If you excavation books, Abraxas has you covered – astir literally. They look to beryllium stacked to the ceiling, adjacent the registry country is hidden down stacks of books, creating a neat fort for Sass to flight in. Sass smiles arsenic helium recalls the clip a lawsuit came successful talking connected their compartment telephone and not seeing anyone successful the store. The lawsuit said, “Hold on. I’m going person to telephone you back. I deliberation I conscionable walked into the archetypal country of a fearfulness film.”

When asked astir his favourite book, Sass said, “I’m a reader, not a collector. My prized books are conscionable the books that I’ve work 100 times.”

Abraxas Books is located astatine 256 S. Beach St. successful the historical Downtown Daytona Beach Riverfront Shops country adjacent the Veterans Memorial Bridge – oregon what’s commonly known arsenic the Silver Beach Bridge.

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