Niles bookstore remains hidden jewel for readers

NILES

A small storefront in Niles is a bastion of the printed word.

It lives on in the books that fill the windowsills and populate the shelves stacked to the ceiling.

Even though Paperback Shack, 6058 Youngstown-Warren Road, has been in business since 1978, owner Lisa Didiano says the store struggles with visibility.

“Our biggest challenge is people not knowing we exist,” Didiano said.

The store, near Marc’s supermarket, is tucked into an office building at the corner of Youngstown-Warren Road and Niles-Cortland Road.

Didiano bought the store in July 2015. The previous owners sold books at flea markets. They also operated a second storefront, which they closed in the 1990s.

For Didiano, taking over Paperback Shack was a labor of love. She has fond memories of visiting the original store once a week with her grandfather, so he could pick out his reading material for the next seven days.

True to its name, the newly remodeled Paperback Shack specializes in paperback books, though it does sell a few hardcover editions.

The store stocks both new and used books. The used books, which sell at about half the price of books from a big-box store, are most popular. Customers can resell books to Paperback Shack in exchange for store credit.

Read more about the store in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.