Central Florida Green Guide

Has your child waited until the last minute to start looking for books on his summer reading list? Are you looking for books to fill out your homeschool curriculum for the beginning of the school year? Have you been looking for a favorite book, a book long out of print, or an old record album to play on your turn table?  Are you tired of paying top dollar for your books?  Then it is time to visit Maya Books in Historic Downtown Sanford!

Maya Books. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Holt.

Maya Books is a warm, cozy, used bookshop located in the Historic District of Sanford. You might be greeted by one of the feline or canine shop tenders (Maya, Miss Mouse, and Tiggerroo fall into the feline category while Layla the lab/sharpei mix fills the canine description!), but you will definitely be welcomed by bibliophile and store owner Yvette Comeau! A quick glance around the store tells you that you are not in a corporate box bookstore! Bookshelves are filled to capacity (and then some) and stacks of books cover every flat surface. Over 20,000 titles are crammed into this literary jungle, and Yvette knows exactly where each and every one is located in the store.

Maya Books carries every genre, including homeschool curriculums (depending on availability).  These books are priced affordably too:  paperback books run from $1-$4 and hardcover copies range from $2-$8.  Only books in good, clean condition are available for sale.  Books that Yvette doesn’t find in good enough quality to sell are placed in a community “FREE” box.  ”Books never get thrown out.  Everyone deserves a chance to read,” Yvette explains.  

“I never buy new.  Even my furniture here in the store was purchased second-hand.  I live by the principals of pre-cycle, recycle, and reuse.  Pre-cycle means to choose something that doesn’t need to be recycled in the first place.  I believe in living lightly,”  Yvette Comeau.

In addition to a huge selection of used books, the Maya Books also offers a selection of new books written by local authors including environmental author Bill Belleville and historical novelist Judge Hitt.  You just might run into an author at a book signing!  Posters, postcards, record albums, CDs, DVDs, VHS, and a selection of incense rounds out the inventory at this eclectic shop.

Yvette and the Maya Books are also supporters of the Cat Protection Society.  Make a contribution at the register, and they’ll match your contribution!

Maya Books is open daily:

M-W 10 “ish” to 5 “ish”
Th-Sat 10 “ish” to 8 “ish”
Sun 12 “ish” to 5 “ish”

Maya Books * 205 A. E. 1st Street * Sanford * Florida * 32771

407-321-6504

mayabooks@earthlink.net

Be sure to mention that you read this article on the Central Florida Green Guide and you’ll receive a 20% discount off of your purchase!