(March 1, 2006) — Twenty years ago on Sept. 1, Jerome Joseph opened up Brand Bookshop on North Brand Blvd. in Glendale in hopes that it would provide the town with an excellent source of used and out-of-print books at good prices. “I knew there had been used bookstores in Glendale, but there weren’t any left. Not because business was bad, but because they just moved and so forth, so I knew the town was right for a used book store.” Since then, Brand Bookshop has been named the best used bookshop in Los Angeles in 1998 by Los Angeles Magazine. It has also become a great place for teenagers interested in purchasing books in a setting different from major corporations such as Borders and Barnes & Noble. Senior Andreas Astrinakis, who regularly shops at Brand Bookshop, say “The employees are generally very friendly, and they have shelves of books in every variety from poetry to everything. The art books especially are extremely diverse. It’s just a great place with a lot of parking.” Joseph says the competition from new bookstores doesn’t phase him at all. In fact, Joseph maintains that the best thing a used bookstore can do is get close to a new bookstore. “Just half a block away used to be a new bookstore called Crown. We carry a lot of out-of-print stuff that people go in there asking for, and if they don’t have them, they’ll send them down to the used book store, so being next to one actually improves business.” The friendly and cozy environment attracts people of all ages. Customers cannot only buy books but they can also sell their own. “I’ve been here for 20 years [since 1986] and people know that I’m very fair with what I pay for books.” Astrinakis is also fond of Brand Bookstore’s pricing: “Barnes & Noble’s charges way too much for books. All books should be like 50 cents each.”