Wednesday, March 15, 2006

New book store brings old books to town

Evelyn Cronce El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

There is a bookstore once again at the Val Verde Hotel in Socorro. Raven's Quill opened its doors to the public on Saturday, March 4.

"Socorro needs a book store," said Robert Holson, who along with his wife, Andrea, and son, Seth, owns and runs Raven's Quill.

Aside from liking the name, Andrea Holson said that the store was named Raven's Quill because the raven's quill was the preferred quill used by medieval monks for illuminating manuscripts since it had a fine point and would hold the ink well enough for the details.

The bookstore carries a large selection of used books for sale at 50 percent or more off the original price. Browsing is simplified by the fact that the books are shelved according to category.

The largest category is science fiction. Raven's Quill opened with about 1,100 science fiction books on the shelves. The mystery section was only slightly smaller with about 1,000 books.

Fiction categories include thrillers, romance, westerns and general fiction. Non-fiction includes general history, military history, western history, biographies and memoirs. There is also a selection of children's books.

The store will also have a changing display of art. The opening display features the pastels of Alfred Blaszczak. All art on display will also be for sale.

Books may be bought outright, or there is a policy in place for exchange. Anyone may bring in a used book. If the Holsons consider the book to be in decent condition and if it is a book that they want, they will issue a credit in that person's name on their computer system. Credits can be accumulated and can be used for purchases.

The Holson family has always considered themselves Southwesterners. They have been in Socorro for about nine years. Robert Holson is a professor in the psychology department at New Mexico Tech. His wife, Andrea, teaches pottery through Tech's Community College.

"We were truly happy to get to Socorro," said Andrea Holson.

The bookstore's hours will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday initially. They may change, depending on customer traffic.

"We feel that reading is a critical skill and a used book store will make it easier for people in the community to use," said Robert Holson.

ecronce@dchieftain.com

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