A Review of Golden Leaf Books

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30 Saratoga Ave., Waterford, NY

I found this bookshop in a small strip of stores anchored by a Stewart’s Shop heading into Waterford, a cozy little store (self-described as “a witchy bookstore/headshop” on Instagram) that sells more than novels and notebooks. Let’s say that Gandalf the Grey would enjoy browsing here, and the shop has a unique angle that stands apart from all other bookshops in the area, focusing on a “heady” mix of the fantastic, romantic, feminine, and mystical.

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A Review of Pickwick Bookshop

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8 South Broadway, Nyack, NY

There are no two used bookstores alike. Some are in big, rambling barns. Some are a bit gloomy and dusty. Some are neat as a pin and narrow as a galley kitchen. And some are a delightful mound of books that seem to be tumbling from every shelf in a magical state of disarray. Pickwick Bookshop is the latter, and I mean that in the best way imaginable.

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A Review of Boswell's Books

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10 Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, MA

Boswell’s Books resides in the downtown heart of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, a village that itself is a wonderful destination for those looking for tranquil New England villages. Besides the Bridge of Flowers and the falls themselves, there are shops, restaurants, and of course, great bookshops like this one to wander through. Boswell’s has been an active part of the community since 1991, and it was a delight to visit.

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A Review of 1804 Books

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320 W 37th Street, New York, NY

I stopped into 1804 Books on a rainy spring weekday and found much more than a bookshop. The store is part of The People’s Forum, or as they call it, “a movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities to build unity across historic lines of division at home and abroad.” The bookshop portion of the Forum occupied the space closest to the front of the shop with large windows overlooking a rather quiet portion of 37th Street. It’s not a large area of the forum, but there are enough shelves and table display to keep you browsing and introduce you to plenty of books about socialist, working class, union, feminist, and anti-colonialist causes.

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A Review of Big Red Books

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120 Main Street, Nyack, NY

On a warm spring afternoon, on my birthday in fact, I discovered Big Red Books tucked into a string of cafes, bars, and restaurants in the heart of Nyack, NY, a charming and walkable town overlooking the Hudson River at what most people in the area still call the Tappan Zee Bridge. I had just wandered through a delightful landslide of a used bookstore (more on that in another review) and was very happy to see Nyack also had a bright, organized, and well-appointed new bookshop. We only had a few minutes to wander before the shop closed, but Big Red did not let us down.

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A Review of Nancy L. Dole Books

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20 State Street, Shelburne Falls, MA

From the waterfalls and the Bridge of Flowers to the quint storefronts and meandering river views, it’s easy to see why Shelburne Falls was one of the filming locations for a cozy New England film like The Holdovers, but it’s also home to some wonderful small, indie bookshops. Nancy L Dole Books is one of them, and it’s a trove of rare and hard to find tomes mixed in with classics and nostalgic pieces of historical kitsch.

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A Review of World Eye Bookshop

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134 Main Street, Greenfield, MA

Greenfield Massachusetts has the distinct pleasure of hosting three fine bookshops, and this is the third I visited during my travels there this last year. World Eye Bookshop is decorated with a variety of art and children’s book characters—little wildlife creatures in anthropomorphic clothes. It was very cute, and the shop’s specialty, it appears, was their selections of work from Astrid Sheckels.

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A Review of Spoonbill & Sugartown Bookshop

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218 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn NY

I’ve heard folks simply refer to this one as Spoonbill Bookshop, but either way this cozy L-shaped literary emporium is chock full of new and used books, and is finely curated to give the shop a distinctly Brooklyn feel. A bit worn, a bit artsy, a bit eclectic, and on the forward edge of creativity. While you can certainly find bestselling fiction, memoirs, and the usual universal fare of a busy modern bookshop, the store feels highly attuned to the interests of the neighborhood, with lots of books on art, design, architecture, poetry, and modern voices discussing the current social issues of the day.

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A Review of the Drama Book Shop

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266 W 39th Street, New York, NY

As one may have guessed from the name of the bookshop, this one focuses on all things dramatic, from plays and scripts to books examining the world of film, television, theater, acting, directing, writing music and writing for the stage, and much more. Not only is this the perfect bookshop to accompany NYC’s nearby theater district, but it’s the perfect place to hang out on a rainy afternoon, which is how I discovered the shop.

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A Review of The Abbey Bookshop

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29 Rue de la Parcheminerie, Paris, France

The Latin Quarter is rife with narrow streets and even tighter alleys where you’ll find late-night cafés, Greek restaurants, creperies, wine bars, tiny luxury shops, big and bright chocolatiers, and somewhere in the warren of cobbles pathways you will come across the Abbey Bookshop. The little sliver of a street where it resides looks more like a service alley, but the flags and bookshelves out front give it away. If you’ve spotted it, then you’ve arrived at one of the best bookshops in the neighborhood, possibly even better than Shakespeare & Co., if used books are your thing.

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A Review of Shakespeare and Company

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37 Rue de la Bucherie, Paris, France

You’ll find Shakespeare and Company in the shadow of Notre Dame cathedral, the two separated by the waters of the Seine lapping against stone quays. Above these are long green boxes on the parapet overlooking the river where old men resting on wooden chairs sell out of print pulp novels and magazines to passersby. Parisians weave their bikes through the traffic as police sirens wail in the distance before falling back into the soft bustle of endless human movement. In the small square beside the bookstore, tourists stand in line, coffee in hand, waiting to enter the famed shop, staring at the aging signage and bookshelves until the door opens and a member of the staff waves them in. As with most Parisian locations recognizable from films, television, and photographs, Shakespeare and Company has become as much a tourist landmark as a bookstore.

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A Review of Labyrinth Books

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122 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

Ever since New Jersey poet Cord Moreski told me about the store, I’ve been eager to make my way to Labyrinth Books in Princeton, NJ. Expansive in scope and style, Labyrinth is not just a gorgeous neighborhood bookstore but a destination worth going out of your way to visit. From vintage titles in the basement and great merch on the ground floor to wallet-friendly deals on new releases and artistic coffee table books, this place had it all.

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A Review of Federal Street Books

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8 Federal St, Greenfield, MA

I drove to Greenville on a sunny spring morning, delighted to find not one but at least three indie booksellers open. The first one I stepped into was the delightful Federal Street Books, easy to spot by its stylish exterior design and large pillar signage out front. I also found a cart of dollar books out front, always a good sign, and things got even better when I stepped inside.

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A Review of Inquiring Minds Bookstore (New Paltz)

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6 Church Street, New Paltz, NY

As noted in a previous review, New Paltz has a unique “bookstore block,” in that both of the town’s indie bookshops are located directly across the street from each other right downtown. Directly across from Barner Books is Inquiring Minds, housed in a brick building and a bright red ground-floor exterior with $1 bookshelves built right into the wall. There were also display tables outside with large coffee table books on discount. Once inside, I realized the shop’s offerings were almost as expansive as the other location I reviewed up in Saugerties, NY.

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A Review of The Bear & Bee Bookshop

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28 Holden Street, North Adams, MA

North Adams is one of many artistic bastions in the hills and mountains of western Massachusetts, and Mass MoCA is one of it’s major draws, hosting art exhibitions, music festivals, and cultural events year-round. So for a town as interesting as North Adams, I expected a bevy of bookstores. I only found one, The Bear and Bee, a new and used bookshop, but it does a phenomenal job of representing the literary interests of the area.

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A Review of Barner Books

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The Hudson Valley has become an increasingly revitalized haven for NYC exp-pats, with towns like Hudson, Beacon, and Kingston blooming into re-gentrified versions of themselves in recent decades. But some towns, like Woodstock or New Paltz, always retained their ‘60s counter-culture vibrance and found ways to hold on to that quirky way of living even during leaner years. Driving into New Paltz these days could land you in a little traffic jam and a maze-like hunt for public parking on nicer weekend, but the trip is worth it. The cafes, art galleries, music and food, all a mix of new and old artistry coming together in the compact little town not far from the SUNY College campus. And of course, there are bookstores. By chance the two notable ones in town are right across the street from each other, and the first I visited was Barner Books.

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A Review of The Imaginary Bookshop

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365 Main St, Greenfield, MA

Sometimes I step into a bookstore and the first shelf I see catches me in a web. I’m stuck, peering eagerly at each spine and title, awash in desire to take home every other book I see. The next shelf is no different, and by the third I’m reading the first page of every book trying to decide which one is going be the lucky novel I pick. Yes, The Imaginary Bookshop had its hooks in me, and for one very good reason. All the books most shop hide in the back—the creepy horror novels, the gothic nightmares, the apocalyptic anthologies, and the ghoulish haunted house stories—were right up front, greeting me as I entered. I knew right away this was the store for me.

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A Review of Barnett Books

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15 Old Orchard Street, Old Orchard Beach, ME

We’ve all been on that vacation where we bring a beach read, a book for the plane, a paperback thriller for the cabin getaway, and we finish it way too soon with nothing else to keep us entertained. If you’re in an airport, you likely have access to one chain bookshop or another. But if you’re vacationing at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, you’re still covered with Barnett Books right downtown. *Note: I sometimes see this shop listed online as Wholesale Books, too.

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