Icon of New York's Independent Bookselling Community to Retire

May 14, 2008

In approximately four weeks, Fern Jaffe, the owner of Paperbacks Plus in the Bronx, New York, will conclude an almost 40-year career in bookselling. On Wednesday, May 14, customers began learning of her decision -- some from a store e-mail update that announced, "Regretfully after 38 years of service to The Bronx, Paperbacks Plus will be closing its doors," and others from a sign in the front window that read, "Everything is on sale -- even the store." Paperbacks Plus is located in Riverdale, a neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx, and it is the only general-interest independent bookstore in the borough.

"It's the right time," Jaffe said on the day of the announcement. "I'm a woman of a certain age, and I'm retiring," she explained, to spend time with grandchildren, take some classes, and work in the upcoming election. "I intend to volunteer my time to help in the election of the next Democratic president."

It was while volunteering that Jaffe found her way to bookselling. She and her husband, Martin Jaffe, a graphic designer, had children enrolled in Riverdale's Fieldston Lower School, and she was co-chair of the school's book fair. When Fieldston constructed a new library, leaving the former facility vacant for many months, Jaffe and her co-chair, Dale Mayer, began planning for an extended book fair, with an extensive inventory, in the old library building. Part of their preparatory work included sending a survey to the Fieldston community inquiring about their reading preferences. "I got the best education on what people liked to read," recalled Jaffe.

As planning continued, Jaffe said, "we realized we were in the bookstore mode," and she and her co-chair discussed the possibility of Fieldston working with them to run a bookstore as a community co-op. When the school decided against participating in the plan, "we were like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and we said, Let's do it ourselves," said Jaffe. And, so, Paperbacks Plus opened in a 300-square-foot space in 1970, when, as Jaffe noted in her e-mail to customers, "Nixon was president; Lindsay was the mayor; the buses and subways (and even a slice of pizza!) cost just 30 cents." Jaffe bought her partner out after three years in an amicable parting, when Mayer and her husband moved to England.

As business grew, the store would move two times in the subsequent years -- in 1980 and 1990 -- increasing its selling space both times. The second move was spurred when her landlord announced he was tripling her rent, and Jaffe said, "I knew it was truly going to be a case of working for the landlord." She learned of an opportunity of a store for sale across the street from Paperbacks Plus, as she and her husband prepared a vacation in France. "I knew I had to have it," she said. The contract for the sale was faxed to them in Paris, and, now, 18 years later, Jaffe looks at it as "the smartest business decision I ever made."

Through the years, Jaffe's and the store's profile grew in the industry. She served on American Booksellers Association committees and its Board, including as the association's secretary; was a member of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression Board; was for many years a leader in her regional associations; and, as an early advocate for the importance of locally owned, independent businesses, in 1983 Jaffe founded the Central Riverdale Avenue Business Association.

Recognizing the importance of author events, Jaffe worked hard to bring a wide spectrum of writers to the Bronx, both for in-store appearances and for off-site events, working with such neighborhood partners as the nearby College of Mount Saint Vincent. Events for such award-winning authors as Robert Caro, Frank McCourt, and Toni Morrison garnered Paperbacks Plus press coverage, and sold a lot of books. And, as the local independent booksellers for Yankee Stadium, Jaffe hosted events for six New York Yankee authors -- selling more than a 1,000 books when Derek Jeter came for a signing.

Some headlines, however, were grim. In 1989, when the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death threat for Salman Rushdie after the publication of The Satanic Verses, Jaffe, like many independents, resolved not to stop selling the novel, unlike Barnes & Noble and Borders. Her neighborhood newspaper, The Riverdale Press, extolled the decision in an editorial. A week later, two firebombs were thrown through the window of the newspaper's office. Jaffe and her staff kept the book on the shelves. "It was high-intensity security for a while," said Jaffe, recalling the police protection, "but we got through it." In the 1990s, when Rushdie was again making public appearances, Jaffe met him at an event in New York City. "He knew about my bookstore, and he got up from the table he was sitting at and he gave me a hug," said Jaffe.

Jaffe said she would be thrilled if someone were to step forward with an interest in keeping Paperbacks Plus open, but she had no regrets regarding the timing of her decision. "The heart of the matter was my total respect, love, and passion for what I did. Bookselling is the one thing besides my family that's closest to my heart," she said, adding "I don't think anybody has had a life as wonderful as mine." --Dan Cullen

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