About The Bookshelf

The BookShelf's roots began in Mississippi. Lisa Perry, a stay at home mom and book lover, found herself with a desire to work while her young daughter was in school. Once she started looking to get back into the working world she found that most employers were not willing to employee someone that had not "worked" in over 6 years. Taking a step back, Lisa decided to take a look at what she loved to do. Lisa thought it would be "cool"to have a previously read bookstore. She and her husband opened a small 700 sq. ft. previously read bookstore in 1994. Encouraged by friends and family, Lisa and Danny borrowed $5,000 for expenses, and Lisa used the books from her personal collection to provide the initial inventory for the bookstore. Their neighbors and family helped them design and build the bookstore. The venture proved to be successful.

As The BookShelf approached its first anniversary, we realized a change was needed. More Space! The store was moved down the street to the new location in February of 1996. The additional space allowed us to create a bookstore with a unique blend of new, previously read, rare, and collectible books.

Now, The BookShelf is the largest previously read bookstore in central Mississippi with a 2200 sq. ft. store front. The website, which was launched in 2006, is in the process of being updated. The BookShelf continues to be a truly family run bookstore that treats it's customers like family. It is not unusual to walk in the front door and hear the sound of Danny, Lisa or Lana catching up with customers lives. They have watched the children of their regular customer grow up and many of those children are now bringing their children to the store to shop for their books.

We appreciate you taking the time to stop by and read a little about the history of our bookstore. Should you ever be in the area please stop by and say hello. We would be thrilled to meet you.