A Review of Gabriel Books

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121 Market Street, Northampton, MA

How much more convenient can a bookstore be than three doors down from our Airbnb, which was also a two-minute walk from the heart of downtown? Yet the block and the shop itself felt pleasantly quiet, quaintly set back from the hustle and bustle, allowing for a leisurely browse through the narrow aisles stacked and jammed with books. The number of books they have piled about in this small shop is impressive, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a look!

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A Bookshop Interview with Karen Schoemer

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I met Karen Schoemer at a recent St. Rocco’s Reading Series event, where we talked poetry, bookshops, and how we’ve crossed paths in the literary and bookshop worlds twice without my remembering. But I do remember that Karen read some great poems that day and has a fascinating background as a music writer and performer (details on that below), and so I asked her about her favorite bookshop for my interview series. She came up with a good one! I need to check this place out!

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A Review of Raven Used Books

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4 Old South Street, Northampton, MA

Walking through the clustered bars and busy restaurants of downtown Northampton long after dark, long after our first, second, maybe third drink, we came upon the storefront for Raven Used Books by accident, as I was only in town for the night and had no idea it was waiting for me. We eagerly detoured our journey to the next bar to explore the rooms and aisles of this lovely, lively shop. My only regret was that we couldn’t stay long, because the sheer volume of interesting books at excellent values could have kept me for hours.

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