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PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — George and Sarah Brooks have turned their love of books into a full-time job. The couple has opened “The Book Rescuers” in Pinellas Park to sell donated books at inexpensive prices. The effort began during the COVID-19 pandemic when they found out some online booksellers were trashing titles that had little resale value.
“It blew our mind. We were like that’s insane, can we take your trash and sort it?” said Sarah. Books were always very important to me. So when I found out someone was throwing away 10,000 pounds of books a week away I was like ‘What? We can’t have that,’” she added.
Among the books are titles banned in some school districts across Florida and around the country. A shelf dedicated to “banned books” contains entire sets donated by teachers who told them they were donating them after having to remove them from their classrooms. But, they insist the effort has nothing to do with politics.
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“I don’t think parents shouldn’t have a say in what’s in the classroom, we definitely should. But I think we’ve gone a little crazy with the things that are being pulled from classrooms,” she said.
The Book Rescuers store is open daily in Pinellas Park at 10410 66th Street N, Unit 6. They pride themselves on selling the donated books at a low cost. The most expensive title for sale is just $8.
“I understand that people don’t want their kids reading certain things and I also feel like you don’t have a right to tell me what my kids can read,” Sarah added.
