Hager Books

Independent bookstores are not very common anymore and Kerrisdale is extremely fortunate to have Hager Books in the community. This charming character shop has been one of Kerrisdale’s anchor businesses that has stood the test of time for 46 years.

Andrea Davies has had a lengthy career in retail. She owned Anvil Books in New Westminster for 10 years. Her friend, Louise Hager, opened Hager Books in Kerrisdale in 1974. When she decided to sell the business in 1985 she approached Andrea, who was thrilled to return to her Kerrisdale roots where she was born and bred.

Andrea and her staff members are all book lovers. The shop exudes the warmth of a family-run business, which is not surprising as her sister Kim Phillips, her stepdaughters Carrie Darragh and Susannah Thorvaldson work alongside Andrea. Staff member Jaana Lunny rounds out the team.

While space is at a premium, there is a wide selection to choose from including art, biographies, business, Canadian content, children, cooking, fantasy, fiction, gardening, history, mystery, psychology, and reference. The space was formerly a shoe store and the shelves were cleverly converted to display books. The size of the shop limits the public events that Hager Books can offer, however, they do host occasional book signings and have had local authors drop in to promote their books.

Andrea enjoys the camaraderie of her friendly and intelligent book-loving customers and finds Kerrisdale to be a very close-knit community.

During the COVID-19 pandemic book clubs are still carrying on. Some meet via Zooms and other online book clubs have surfaced in response to people looking for social interaction. Hager Books offers book clubs a 10 per cent discount if they order five or more copies of the same book, and pick them up in one transaction.

There is something very special about a bound book; from the weight of holding it in your hands and being able to flip to a certain page to reread a section, to the smell, the artwork, the satisfaction of reaching the last page, sometimes the sad goodbye when a book concludes that you love so much and don’t ever want it to end, and finally finding a home for it on a bookshelf, or passing it along to a friend as a must-read.

COVID-19 has been a challenge for all businesses that were forced to close in the spring, and to this day adaptations have had to be made. Hager Books is no exception. They limit the number of customers in the store and have reduced hours of operation to accommodate extra cleaning.

In this uniquely upside-down year, with travel to exotic destinations not being an option, books offer endless possibilities to escape to different locations and time periods.

It is more important than ever to help independent businesses thrive by shopping locally this holiday season. If you don’t know someone’s literary taste, consider a gift certificate so they can treat themselves. Andrea suggests puzzles also make a wonderful gift and are perfect for the winter months when we will be tucked away indoors.

Some new releases for gift giving include A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Forever Terry: A Legacy in Letters by Darrell Fox, Modern Comfort Food by Ina Garten, and The B.C. Wine Lover’s Cookbook: Recipes & Stories from Wineries Across British Columbia, by Jennifer Schell. Browse the children’s section and you are sure to find some treasures that will become the stuff of childhood memories.

If you would like to request a specific book Andrea suggests placing your order as early as possible.

Andrea is a big fan of local writers and has recently read and enjoyed Caroline Adderson’s A Russian Sister, Janie Chang’s The Library of Legends, and Iona Whishaw’s Lane Winslow Mysteries.

She and the Hager Books team are thankful for their loyal clientele. They always feel very grateful when their customers thank them for still being here for them.

In a world filled with online shopping, Andrea has found a formula for running a successful business that is such a great asset to Kerrisdale Village. Here is to the staying power of Hager Books!

Hager Books 2176 W 41st Avenue Vancouver, BC V6M 1Z1 Telephone 604-263-9412 www.hagerbooks.ca