Photo by Colton McKee

By Hayley Ferguson

Unlimited Characters

Local man follows his passion with opening of used bookstore

Oct 28, 2019 | 5:32 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – Book lovers in Medicine Hat have a new place to find a good read thanks to a local man following his dream.

At the beginning of the month, George Giffen opened the doors to Unlimited Characters, the only used bookstore in the gas city.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since basically, I was 16 years old,” he said.

Giffen said after working several different jobs in factories, the army, and taxi business he was ready to make that personal change and follow his passion.

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He says that so far the customer feedback has been extremely positive.

“A lot of people overwhelmed at the amount of books I have. And I’m convinced that selection is going to be the key to keep a bookstore open in this town,” he said. “With people wanting to find the book they’re after instead of finding the book that’s just there, they will want to read it more. And reading I think is paramount in any society.”

Giffen says that to build that collect he has been at garage sales, auctions, and bought out other stores.

That has left him with over 40,000 books.

While he says he went with used books to help with costs, he says that he’s excited about the nostalgic feeling those books can bring.

“The older books, there’s something about an older book. When you pick up a book that you read as a kid, younger, or in your teens when you’re 50 you’re like ‘ah I remember this book.’ It brings back a fondness and a warmness into your heart. It creates excitement when you find something you feel like you’ve been missing.”

Giffen is hopeful that having his store in Medicine Hat will get people reading more.

“Books are kind of friends and characters that you miss. And that’s part of my name is Unlimited Characters. The whole background is that it fits more than one meaning. Because there are so many characters inside books and there’s so many ways you can write books,” he said. “So many languages and everything like that. In my mind, it’s an infinite world of imagination and fact that you can’t find anywhere else.”

While Giffen is running a for-profit business, he wants to help the community.

One way he is hoping to do that is by giving teachers a special bundle deal for classroom books.

He also wants to be able to help other local businesses who have been supportive of him.

“One business that helped me a lot was McBride’s Bakery. They were awesome helping us when we initially started. Some of the other local businesses have been great because they know what it’s like to be a local business.”

Unlimited Characters is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 1577 Dunmore Road.