The uncommon bookstore

When walking into the store, not long after the grand opening, anyone would notice that there are more books piled on the floor and overflowing boxes than there are on the shelves. Most of the titles found throughout the store have never reached the New York Times Best Seller’s list. Your Helpful Books.com bookstore in Tujunga caters to readers who are interested in good reads by lesser-known authors.

“(Books) have to have a lot of marketing, but there are a lot of good books that are published but are not as popular,” said Golam Chowdhury, owner of the new bookstore.

Chowdhury came up with the idea for the bookstore when he realized how many great works are published each year but didn’t get the recognition he thought they deserved.

“I need to open a bookstore with a lot of interesting books that can help people,” Chowdhury said of the thought process behind the opening of the store.

The majority of titles revolve around the how-to and reference genre, but there are many others that cover a wide range of topics, including children’s books. Chowdury seems to have a good grasp of his inventory as he pointed out books he thought customers might find the most interesting.

Among the few are “Wisdom for  a Young CEO” by Douglas Barry, a compilation of letters written by CEO’s of big corporations to a 14-year-old boy interested in business success and “The Raising of a President” by Doug Wead, a collection of interviews of 20 American presidents’ mothers’.

Although the store also offers unique gifts (a greeting card that can be planted in the ground and will produce flowers and a marble globe that spins on an axis using solar energy) the main focus for Chowdhury is to offer customers good books at even better prices. According to Chowdhury 90 percent of the books are discounted 10 to 60 percent off the original price.

“No one wants to go into this business, but i went into it not for the money,” Chowdhury said.  “Books can change peoples’ lives.”