Byron and Beth Borger Archives

Hearts & Minds Books storefront. Photo courtesy of Hearts & Minds Books. Used with permission.

Usually when I review bookstores, I visit, shop around, maybe buy some books and talk with the owner or booksellers on hand. In this case, I’ve never visited Hearts & Minds Books but I probably buy as many books from them as anyone else. I’ve long admired the whole ethos of the store and its proprietors, Byron and Beth Borger. I carry their logo on my website and have often encouraged buying books you see on this page from them. I thought it time to tell their story and why I’m such a fan of the store.

I first encountered Byron Borger at a national conference I was attending about fifteen or so years ago in Washington, DC. They had one of the most impressive conference book store I’d ever seen. These were all substantive books, many showing the relationship of Christian thought to a variety of important questions and aspects of culture. While browsing the table, I started listening to the guy behind the table and was impressed as I watched him connect people with several books on whatever topic in which they were interested. It was like watching a virtuoso. I discovered that the gentleman I was observing was Byron Borger, who ran a bookstore in Dallastown, Pennsylvania, in central Pennsylvania, between York and Harrisburg.

In the years that followed, I heard of friends who made pilgrimages to this little out of the way space, and came away with hundreds of dollars of books. I noticed that famous authors like N.T. Wright even stopped by to do special book events. I started following the store’s Facebook group. I learned about a regular newsletter Byron sent out called Booknotes. You can read it on the web or receive it via email. Each issue offers thoughtful reviews of a number of recently published books, often on a theme. And all of them are available at a 20 percent discount (often better than that offered by that well-known online bookseller).

So I took the opportunity to order some of these books. They arrived at my home within the week, meticulously wrapped, and packaged to survive the rigors of the postal service. It actually takes some work to unpack them. but they’ve never arrived in anything less than pristine condition. Every. Single. Time.

Over the years, we became better acquainted, particularly as he gave me permission to post my reviews in his Facebook group. Early on, he challenged me about using links from that popular online bookseller, and the impact that has on indies. Since then, I provide publisher links, let people choose where they buy, and encourage people to buy from Hearts & Minds when I post on their page.

Recently, I had the chance to interview Byron and learn more about how the store got started. It all connected back to Byron’s faith journey. In college, through the work of the Coalition for Christian Outreach, he was exposed to Christian books like the works of Francis Schaeffer, Os Guinness, and Jacques Ellul, that spoke to the issues of the day from a Christian perspective. He went on to work for The Coalition, and constantly used books in his discipleship works with students, and recommended them to other ministry colleagues. They told him, “You ought to have a bookstore because you always have us reading these books.”

Byron and his wife Beth were living in Pittsburgh at the time, and when they learned they were expecting a child, they decided it was time to leave campus ministry. As they discerned with community, they took the leap and pursued their bookselling dream. To do so, they decided to move back near their parents, who could help with childcare, and with some of the initial financing of the store. They found their present cozy location in Dallastown, half of which serves as their residence.

I asked him about the vocation of the bookseller. For him, it involves two strengths, that of the teacher and that of the entrepreneur. One has to know (or learn) how to run a business. But one also has to love books and be able to educate others about them. He is baffled when people speak of wanting to start a bookstore but never read books. Listening to Byron speak of books, you hear his passion. Books changed his life and he believes they can change other lives.

Conference Bookstore at the Jubilee Conference. Photo courtesy of Hearts & Minds Books. Used with permission.

The focus of Hearts & Minds are books that thoughtfully present Christian thought as it bears on all of life. They emphasize ecumenicity–selling books that represent the broad spectrum of the Christian faith. They also sell other important books and can get any book customers need.

Because of the store’s serious focus, only about one-third of the business was in-store purchases. Another third is conferences, including Coalition for Christian Outreach’s annual Jubilee conference. The final third was online sales from people all over the country who love the books and the mission that Hearts & Minds represents.

The store closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and has chosen to remain closed to in-store business because of the close quarters they operate in. Meanwhile, the online portion of the business has quadrupled while the conference business has resumed. For local customers, they offer curbside or backyard pickups. The interior of the store has been adapted to handled the increased online order fulfillment work.

One of the fascinating aspects of their online work, beside the great packing, is the personal attention. Byron will often chat with local customers in emails or on the phone, just as he would in person. He will suggest other books that might be of interest, not in an effort to upsell, but simply because he loves books! No algorithms here–just someone who tries to learn about and serve customers.

The work is challenging, especially as they adjust to different reading habits and face online competition. I gather they’ve made ends meet but this has often been “a near run thing.” Even a few consistent customers make a difference and they would love to see more conference purchasers continue to order from their store. They are also able to work out special prices for book groups, classes, and other contexts where you are purchasing multiple copies of a book.

As we came to the close of our conversation, I asked Byron about some of the books he enjoys re-reading. I learned that booksellers have the same occupational challenge as reviewers–we both have to read a number of new books, so finding the time to re-read is difficult. But there were several he mentioned including Walter Brueggeman’s Prophetic Imagination and essays by Barbara Kingsolver and Ann Patchett. The most interesting was a book on art and aesthetics from a Christian perspective, Calvin Seerveld’s Rainbows For The Fallen World.

Beth and Byron Borger inside their store. Photo courtesy of Hearts & Minds books. Used with permission.

For forty years Byron and Beth Borger have pursued a vision of connecting the Christian community locally and across the country with substantive books, both those reflecting a Christian perspective as well as a wider selection of books that explore the good, the true, and the beautiful. Byron’s passion is to see books as tools in the making of “whole-life” disciples. Whether in person, at a conference booktable, or an online order, one encounters a person who cares about getting books that will be helpful to you as an individual. This seems to me to epitomize the best of bookselling. I order from Byron not only because he provides quality books and great service but because the sources for such substantive and meaty literature sold by such a knowledgeable bookseller are becoming increasingly rare. I value that and it seems a good use of my resources to support what I value.

A Book for Hearts and Minds, Ned Bustard (ed.). Baltimore: Square Halo Books, 2017.

Summary: A collection of essays on different academic disciplines and topics, honoring the work of Hearts and Minds Bookstore on over three decades of connecting thoughtful readers with serious books.

What better way to honor perhaps the best Christian bookstore in the country for over thirty years of service to the Christian community than a festschrift of essays featuring the likes of N. T. Wright, Gregory Wolfe, David Gushee, Calvin Seerveld, Mike Schutt, and others writing on topics and disciplines with which they are intimately acquainted and sharing their own recommendations of the books they think are best or were most formative for them on that topic. That’s just what Byron and Beth Borger, the proprietors of Hearts and Minds Bookstore have been doing, even before there was a bookstore.

The opening essay gives Byron’s own account of the store’s beginnings:

“My wife and I started a bookstore. We’re still trying to figure out how to keep it afloat, but overall it’s been a long and fun journey.

In the late seventies, I worked in campus ministry and part of what it emphasized was working with students. I worked with students at a small branch campus of Penn State, mostly engineering majors. I would invite them to think Christianly, as we say, and talk about the relationship of their faith to their sense of calling. I was always passing out books—you’re a Christian nurse, here’s something on healthcare, you’re going to be a scientist analyzing evolution, here’s a Christian philosophy on this or that—and students would say
to me, you should have a bookstore! Finally I realized they were right. Part of my passion was connecting people with resources they might use in their own spiritual development, but particularly as that related to living out their faith in the work world.”

Following this opening essay are eighteen others organized in alphabetical order from Art (Ned Bustard) to Vocation (Steve Garber). Each of the essays combine personal narrative with thoughtful insights on thinking Christianly about the topic at hand and conclude with recommendations by the authors of some of the books they think the best on the topic or most formative for them. It was really fun seeing what books N. T. Wright would recommend and almost every essay had at least one book recommendation of something I’d not read and would like to pick up. So many good books and so little time!

A few essays stood out for me. One you might not expect to find in this collection but which sparkled was Andi Ashworth’s on “Cooking” and her thoughts on food and feasting together, as well as some interesting cookbook recommendations (something to file away for gifts for my wife who has an extensive collection of cookbooks!). Working in ministry in higher education, I found G. Tyler Fischer’s essay on “Education” of interest in asking the question, “what is education?” and his proposal that “[e]ducation is the process of imparting the knowledge and skills needed to live as a full and loving member of a community.” I’m friends with Mike Schutt and have heard him mention Harold Berman’s works, but his recommendations convinced me that Berman has probably thought more deeply about the nature of law and its relationship to religion than anyone. I found myself identifying deeply with Karen Swallow Prior’s love for stories and was intrigued by the idea she gained from Milton about reading promiscuously (an interesting twist on the work promiscuous!). I appreciated the clear thinking of Michael Kucks on what it is that scientists do and how he thinks Christianly about scientific work.

I could go on, but I hope this enough to encourage you to get this book, and hopefully to buy it at Hearts and Minds Bookstore. Like at least one of the essay authors, I have never visited the store, nestled in a small town in the hills of eastern Pennsylvania. However I’ve met Byron presiding over truly impressive tables at a couple of conferences and witnessed first hand his ability to listen to someone and then recommend what he thinks are the best books that person could read related to his or her interests or questions. I’ve also ordered books from him, which always come carefully packaged, and speedily shipped. Many of you have discovered this blog on his Hearts and Minds Facebook page where he graciously permits me to post reviews. We share a love of connecting people with resources they might use to think and grow “Christianly.” I also look forward to reading his blog, BookNotes, which puts me onto worthy books I’ve missed. I ordered Marilyn Chandler McEntyre’s Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, after reading about it on BookNotes, and it was one of the finest books I’ve read in years!

This is the closest I get to contributing an essay in tribute to the important work Byron and Beth have pursued so faithfully for over thirty years. I salute Ned Bustard and Square Halo Books for putting together this delightful festschrift. And as you think about the books you would like to add to your “to be read” pile, I hope you will do what I have so often urged, and “buy them from Byron.” That would be fitting tribute, indeed!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.