4869 Main Street, Manchester Center, VT
This place is a long-time favorite, a standard bearer for what a great bookshop should be. This branch (they have two) is located in the town of Manchester, Vermont, surrounded by forests, beautiful mountains, long sweeping farm valleys, and outlet shops scattered throughout the area. It’s a trek from where I currently live (Albany, NY) but it’s definitely worth the drive whether you’re looking for new or used books, because they have both in abundance.
Read moreRoute 7 Hoosick, NY
Okay, hold up. I’ve driven past the sign for this shop hundreds of times in my life. It sits at a busy intersection outside Hoosick, on Route 7 between Troy, NY to Bennington, VT, right across the street from the incredible Big Moose Deli. But I always figured the weather-beaten sign for Dog Ears Books was for a tiny little shop in some country stable, the outdated books yellowing in the summer sun, hardly worth the time to stop. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This place is a treasure trove, and you have to put it on your “Must Visit” list as soon as you can!
Read moreUPDATE: I believe this shop is now closed but I will leave this review for posterity.
4 3rd Street Troy, NY
Inside the Troy Atrium off Broadway and 3rd, hidden among the many vacant shops and the large empty fountain still gurgling up water, there resides a horde of older books, rooms and rooms of them, all waiting for you to take the afternoon to sort through and pick up a gem. It’s a bargain outlet, nothing fancy, not much you’d call “new,” but the volume of books alone might make this shop worth a visit if you don’t mind a used copy of that old classic.
Read more166 Riddle Road, Greenwich, NY
Out in the middle of Washington County in upstate New York, you’ll find a barn full of books sitting in the woods down a narrow dirt road, and while it may take you a while you find it, the experience alone is worth the drive. The countryside is beautiful, the shelves are spilling over with books, and if you bring enough cash and have enough idle hours on hand, you’re going to enjoy yourself.
Read more424 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY
Northshire Books began as a big, gorgeous bookstore out in Manchester, Vermont, but about five years back they opened a satellite branch in Saratoga Springs, NY, a beautiful little city known for horseracing, summer concerts at SPAC, and a bustling downtown filled with cafes, restaurants, and shops of all sorts. Northshire Bookstore may appear to be a smaller shop from the sidewalk, but it’s a lot bigger than expected and has all the diversity, discounts, and fun extras of the parent store. And it’s an excellent addition to an already fun downtown experience.
Read more365 Feura Bush Road, Glenmont, NY
I don’t get down to the Glenmont area south of Albany very often, but this little shop might make me change that. Located near a bustling intersection surrounded by strip centers and restaurants, Tattered Pages is a calm, relaxed throwback of a bookshop that is stacked with paperbacks, hardcovers, and good vibes. The hours are a little short, but if you get there when they’re open, you’re likely to find a mystery or romance novel just right for you.
Read more15 E Main Street, Cambridge, NY
It had been a long time since I took the twisting country backroads through Washington County to the small town of Cambridge, NY, but once there I felt this warm nostalgic feeling wash over me. Not much in the town seems to have changed in the 9 years since my last pass through, but I certainly don’t remember this quaint and clean bookshop, full of bestsellers, trinkets, and discounts that will make any bookworm happy for having trekked through forests and farmland to get there.
Read more290 River Street, Troy, NY
Market Block Books is pretty much the go-to spot for new books in the city of Troy, and it’s perfectly situated in a gorgeous downtown setting close to the river and plenty of cafes, bars, shops, and restaurants. And though the shop isn’t huge, it has just enough of everything to keep you busy with new bestsellers or local fare.
Read more7 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs, NY
If you have never explored the shops and cafes of downtown Saratoga Springs, then the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore is going to be an exciting treat for you. And if you’ve been there before, you already know how enchanting and sprawling this shop can be. And when you walk down that side street and through the front door, you may find the first few rooms are piled with books on every surface, shelves of all sizes, and even on the floor, but those rooms are only the beginning.
Read more252 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
I stopped into Yellow House books on a busy Saturday afternoon before catching a movie in downtown Great Barrington, and though it was only a few rooms large, Yellow House was filled up with book lovers and casual shoppers giving it a lively feel. The shop shares a porch with a small clothing store, but there’s no missing the distinctive yellow paint of this literary domicile. So when you spot it, just climb those steps and go right on in!
Read more63 State Rd., Great Barrington, MA
*Updated Review* I heard The Bookloft moved locations from a supermarket plaza outside of Great Barrington to its own bright blue building, and so I had to visit. Not only is it much closer to town now (not far from the red bridge that brings you into downtown Great Barrington), but it feels much more impressive than the “pleasant surprise” I once called it in my previous review. It feels as if the shop has come into its own.
Read more11 Housatonic Street, Lenox, MA
I found a number of small town bookshops during a recent weekend tour of western Massachusetts, but only one had a wine bar, and even though I stopped in before lunch on a Saturday, I was tempted to sit down, pour a glass, and dive into a book in one of this shop’s cozy chairs. I resisted, sticking to the shelves, but this must be a fun place to take in a reading, and I can attest it’s a great shop to spend an hour or so relaxing and poking through the shelves.
Read more55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY
This small shop is set off from the lobby of a polished midtown Manhattan building by a black marble hallway lined with photos of Winston Churchill, who is heavily featured in this bookshop. They sell books by him, about him, about World War II, British history, and other books Anglophiles would love. With recent films about Churchill’s era (Dunkirk and Darkest Hour, to name a couple) proving his time in power is still intriguing to us, this shop is perfectly situated to fulfill your every Churchill curiosity.
Read more126 Black Ridge Rd., East Chatham, NY
Set back from Route 295 on a little dirt road surrounded by small farms and country cottages, you’ll find a shop full of used books piled along narrow aisles and tall shelves through multiple, winding rooms. You may not know it exists if you’re just passing through the area, or if you miss the small sign, but if you’ve heard of the shop through word of mouth or have a sharp eye, a visit to this brimming bookseller could be quite the treat.
Read more3 Depot Street, West Stockbridge, MA
On my way through the Berkshire Mountains to check out a bookshop in Lenox, Massachusetts, I stumbled across Shaker Mill Books in West Stockbridge. It looks rather unassuming from the outside, a one-floor building behind a lovely old red barn/mill right at the main crossroads in town. But when I walked inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find not just a massive array of books, but there were excellent deals all over the place. My eyes got really, big really quick, and I did not go home empty-handed.
Read more309 Main Street Beacon, NY
Beacon Reads is a small two-room shop next door to the Howland Public Library on Beacon’s Main Street, and they sell a lot of overflow titles, mass market paperbacks, and some older classics. Though it feels like a balance between a tag sale book table and a tiny bookshop, they do sell their own shirts and bags, and all the proceeds go to support the library itself, so you can feel good about dropping a few dollars on that David Baldacci book or the Michael Connelly novel you’ve been meaning to read. And to its credit, it has some other unique finds that make it worth exploring if you’re walking by.
Read more321 Main Street, Beacon, NY
When I lived in Beacon circa 2009, there really wasn’t any bookshop outside of the small library annex that sold overflow titles and well-worn mass paperbacks. This bookshop, however, puts Beacon back in the literary race. It’s a small shop, just a few cozy, compact rooms, but it packs a punch, has plenty to browse through, and gives Beacon’s Main Street some much needed literary representation.
Read more1575 York Ave., New York, NY
I came upon Logos as I was wandering around waiting to check into my Airbnb up in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. It was just before lunch on a Saturday and York Ave was quiet, matching the calm inside the store. I had the shelves all to myself, aside from the clerk up front, who was polite and let me browse at my own pace. There was a nice array of oil paintings hung up above the bookshelves, and the store had that old book smell with softly creaking wooden floors—I felt very much in my element.
Read more939 Lexington Ave., New York, NY
A weekday morning for a neighborhood bookshop could very well be a quiet affair, but Shakespeare & Co. on the upper east side of Manhattan was humming with guests on a Friday morning in March, though at that early hour, just after ten, most of the patrons were there for the coffee and pastries from their café tucked into the front of the shop. A few people took up chairs in the back to read over their steaming mugs. But I was there for the books, and there were plenty to browse through.
Read more27 Main Street, Chatham, NY
Columbia County in upstate New York is a gorgeous area of the country, with rolling hills, small farms, and quaint towns like Chatham, which has a pretty, revitalized main street that is home to a combination of chic artisan shops and longtime local favorites that have held on through the years, including a one-screen movie theater and a bookshop. The Chatham Bookstore is a gem that has survived through four decades as a literary outpost with a great selection of books and events.
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