Booksellers Jill and Kris Johnson have stocked a curated collection of used books for all ages, priced from $1 for children’s favorites to $30 for collectibles. (Photo/Nancy Hanson.)

Jill Johnson calls herself a “hunter of books.” She comes by that lifelong passion naturally.
“Growing up, Mom always encouraged all of us to read,” she remembers. For her mother, that meant “real history.” Brother Jim gravitated to World War II, and sisters June and Jan favored New Age and English literature. For Jill, her taste ran to mysteries – everything from Nancy Drew in her teens to cozies.
“A bookstore like this has always been my dream,” she reflects. “I love everything about books – the look, the feel, the smell of them.”
Her journey toward Words To Live By began years ago with a hunt for her childhood favorite, the original “Boxcar Children.” “I found one in an antique store for $100, not even in good condition,” she recalls with a laugh. “Not what I had in mind.” But she had caught the old-book bug.
Then employed by Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota’s senior meal program, the Lowry, Minnesota, native – who graduated from Moorhead State University in 1993 – continued the search. Her husband, Kris, was already involved in the antiques business, selling online and from a booth in an antique store. She joined him after hours with her own shelves of used books, gathered from private sales and her own collection.
The dream was drawing closer. “I thought, ‘If the universe wants us to open up on our own, it will send us a sign,” she laughs. “And look what happened!” Over the summer the couple spotted what she calls “the most perfect location” at 819 Center Ave. She came away from a local estate sale with “thousands and thousands” of books. She found plenty of bookshelves on Facebook Marketplace: “That says to me that this community values books as well.”
And on Nov. 30, she and Kris threw open the doors to their cozy, welcoming shop. Outfitted with plenty of comfy chairs for dipping into her wares, it reflects the Johnsons’ tastes with motley selection of vintage miscellany – from the kind of old Royal typewriter on which many of those books were probably written to an antique toy airplane sailing overhead.
The used bookshop features an eclectic mix of titles, some relatively new, others genuine antiques. There’s a good selection of children’s classics, from “The Wizard of Oz” to a bevy of Christmas classics. The fiction shelves include both paperbacks and hardcover novels, some signed by their authors. Count on finding plenty of mysteries and thrillers (Jill’s favorites) along with romances, fantasy, science fiction and a whole shelf of “Star Wars.” Graphic novels, cookbooks and lots of history round out the inventory. Prices range from $1 for a hardcover children’s book to $30 or so for collectible editions.
Jill has been inviting area book lovers – both formal clubs and informal fans – to meet in her spacious quarters. “I’d like to add a coffee bar, too, as we go along,” she mentions.
Words To Live By is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.