History
Black River Books began as a hobby that grew into a passion, then a small part-time internet business and finally a used bookstore with an actual store front. Prior to opening their store Memorial Weekend the Hafermans had 27,000 books in their small home and another several thousand in storage. 7 foot book shelves filled their garage. Most of the books were boxed and labeled waiting for the right location. The Haferman's supported their book-buying habit by selling select titles online, but the goal was always a brick-and-mortar store. Although used bookstores are becoming dinosaurs, the Hafermans believe there are still book lovers who want to see and smell and touch the books they buy rather than simply order them online.
Specialties
We are primarily a quality used bookstore (about 98% used), with carefully selected new books by locally connected authors or books focused on South Western Michigan. In our used books, we strive to have depth in as many areas as possible. Our strong areas in our over 40,000 books are: History - especially Military and War, History by country and time period, Biography, Religion, African American Studies, Native American Studies, Jewish Studies, Art, Maritime, Modern Fiction, Classical Literature, and French Literature.