After officially welcoming Mercer Street Books to the neighborhood last week, I though I’d stop by and find out what’s new and different at this long-time Queen Anne book-shopping stop. I spoke with the shop’s new owner, Debbie Sarow, about what it’s like to be the new kid on the block, in an old and widely known second-hand bookstore.

Before Mercer Street Books moved in and Twice Sold Tales moved out, the shop was Titlewave Books. When Debbie heard the shop was up for grabs, she decided to take a risk and buy it, saving the Queen Anne book-selling locale.

“This has been a bookshop for over 25 years,” she said, emphasizing the importance of sustaining second-hand bookstores in local communities. (Debbie herself lives on Capital Hill, and commutes to Uptown daily to run Mercer Street Books.)

Debbie traded in years of working in bookstores for her dream of owning her own in July when she took over the shop from the outgoing, Twice Sold Tales. And by virtue of the foot traffic throughout her store on any given day, it seems she’s managed the transition quite well.

“I had books I’d been saving for one day when I magically had a shop,” she laughed when I asked her where she got all these books and how she managed to organize them and open shop so fast.

In fact most of the store’s stock rolled over from Twice Sold Tales, so you can expect some familiarity between the two. Debbie plans to combine the best of the past two shops, while adding her own new touches. Already she’s poured light into the rows of bookshelves and opened up the store-wide windows that face the street (a throwback to the Titlewave days).

“I feel like I’m part of what’s going on outside too,” she said. “I don’t feel cooped-up.”

(The models of animals hanging from the ceilings belong to the previous owner, who will soon reclaim them. Until then, don’t forget to look up while navigating the isles.)

And as for the economic risk in opening up a shop in the current Recession, Debbie says so far it’s worth it. “There is a question of whether or not it’s a good time to start a business period. But I hope there will be more of a trend to buying second-hand things in general,” Debbie said. “People still read, and I think people like to read something tangible, rather than a Kindle.”

So far, she says, business has been good. Some people weren’t even aware the ownership has changed. It’s been a soft transition – the painting of the store’s new name out front happened only last week, and Debbie still hasn’t had an official opening.

“There’s a few more thing I want to do to make the shop feel different first,” she said.

But regardless, the neighborhood has been welcoming the old-time bookstore’s new owner.