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589 Congress St., Portland, ME
While other nearby bookshops were closed on a blustery Tuesday afternoon, Yes Books was there for us when we trudged through the snow and sleet to push through the doors and enter a world or precarious stacks, narrow aisles, and floor-to-ceiling books that kept going and going, a literary pack-rat’s dream shop.
Read more17 Backstreet Landing, Damariscotta, ME
As noted in my review of the other bookshop in Damariscotta, this little town is the picture you form in your mind when you think of coastal Maine quaintness, complete with piers bustling with boats and trawlers, oyster shacks, gift shops, ice cream vendors, pubs, a department store with a lunch counter and soda jerk, and lobsters advertised everywhere you look. And, of course, amazing bookshops. While Sherman’s is the “new” bookshop in town, Skidompha is the other side of the coin, selling used books at fantastic prices.
Read more225 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY
I have wanted to visit this bookshop for a long time, long before I heard it mentioned by John Hodgman on his Judge John Hodgman podcast (which I highly recommend), but it was Hodgman who finally compelled me to go. You see, I was buying a certain special someone a signed copy of his latest book, Medallion Status, for her birthday and he frequently signed personalized copies for this shop, so it was a fantastic excuse to not only order a couple of signed books, but to travel to NYC to finally visit the shop itself. In both cases, I was not disappointed.
Read more145 Main Street, Hoosick Falls, NY
Out among the rolling hills and farms of eastern Rensselaer County is the small town of Hoosick Falls, and tucked behind a house on Main Street a few blocks from the brick storefronts of downtown you’ll find Red Well Books. You’ll know you’ve found it by the little red well on the front lawn, painted bright to catch your eye. It’s a relatively new shop, just a few years old as of late 2019, but there’s a nice enough selection inside to make you think it’s always been here and you just overlooked it, as I had until just this October.
Read more874 Route 43, Stephentown, NY
Formerly known as Down in Denver Books, this revived and redesigned shop in Stephentown, NY is as lively as a used bookshop can be. Owner Louise and Orson the bookshop cat do their best to ensure booklovers have a good time browsing, whether they leave with an armload of books or just a great experience and a story to tell. If you’re heading out to find the shop, look for the bright red building on the side of the road way out on Route 43. It’ll be hard to miss, and you’ll be glad you stopped.
Read more158 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME
This bookshop is located on the quaint-yet-bustling commercial strip alongside ice cream shops, a movie house, an oyster shack, a department store with a real soda-jerk counter, and assorted gift emporiums, not to mention one that specializes in ye olde candy and Moxie paraphernalia. But despite the many places one can wander through in town, this bookshop is a robust nexus of culture and commerce in Damariscotta, which is pronounced dama-riscotta, not damara-scotta; a handy pro tip given to me by many a local during my first visit many years ago. And as such a nexus, I cannot recommend it enough.
Read more18 West 18th Street, New York, NY
If you’re in New York City and you’re looking for a new or classic children’s book, or you’re simply looking to take a trip down Nostalgia Boulevard, you’d be hard pressed to find a better shop than Books of Wonder. I stopped by this branch on a rainy Wednesday afternoon after running around the city all day, and it offered a very enjoyable half hour of respite from the downpour.
Read more240 Westminster Street, Providence, RI
I came across Symposium Books quite by accident while wandering downtown Providence, Rhode Island, while searching for the indoor arcade where the Lovecraft bookshop is located. But after a quick look around inside this store, I got the feeling that this might be one of my Go-To bookshops if I lived in Providence, or Rhode island for that matter.
Read more72 Avenue A, New York, NY
While browsing around online for bookshops on the lower east side of Manhattan, I saw this one pop up not far from Tompkins Square Park, where I figured I could take a break and read in the shade with an iced coffee. Not a bad one-two punch. So I cut my way over from the Union Square area where I’d been visiting two old favorites, Alabaster and Strand Books, and I eventually came upon this minimalist shop. It reminded me of a bookstore for an art gallery, one that straddles chic and experimental, and it used a lot of open/white space to offset its artistic and avant-garde collection.
Read more35 West Main Street, Wilmington, VT
I never imaged I’d find myself standing in a yurt full of books tucked behind the row of shops on Main Street when I started out for Wilmington, but that’s sure where I ended up. It wasn’t the only surprise of the day, either, and I’m glad I made it back after skipping this used shop when I was last in town to review Bartleby’s Books. If only for the drive out, Wilmington has certainly proven to be a cute destination spot for bookhunters and antique shoppers alike.
Read moreSoutheast corner of Central Park
Every now and then I’ll bend my own rules enough to review a quirky kiosk, off-shoot, or library nook that sells books as opposed to a full fledged independent bookshop, and when I do I hope you know it’s because finding these little extras out there in the world will be very much worth your time. This outdoor “bookshop” is a satellite of the gargantuan and epic Strand Bookstore down near Union Square, but being so close to Central Park and its shaded benches, aromatic food trucks, and bright open skies reflected on rippling ponds, I wonder: is it possible that this kiosk is even better than the mothership?
Read more65 Weybosset Drive, Providence, RI
I’d like to say it was a dark, blasphemous night full of rain and eldritch horrors when I stumbled across the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences bookshop deep in the heart of the New England city of Arkham, but it was a bright, cool summer morning in Providence when we poked our heads inside, right before we headed to the beach. Still, it was a fun visit, though a quick one, and if you’re a fan of Lovecraft and passing through town, it’s a required stop.
Read moreUPDATE: I believe this shop is now closed for good, but I’ll leave this up for posterity.
450 Columbus Ave., New York, NY
Book Culture has a few locations throughout New York City, and the one I visited was a short walk from the American Museum of Natural History, or as I always called it, “the museum with the dinosaur bones.” A very technical and precise term. But anyway, this bookshop felt like the kind of store you’d go to in order to get a book for yourself and a gift for someone else, or vice versa. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all, because if you don’t find a book you want, there are almost as many gifts as books, about a 50/50 split, making it much harder to walk out the door without something someone in your life would enjoy.
Read more440 Greenfield Rd. Montague, MA
How absolutely perfect that this shop’s motto is “Books you don’t need in a place you can’t find,” as we had to twist and turn our way through memory and Google directions to finally emerge from the wooded glens of the Pioneer Valley and pull into the large dirt parking lot across the street from this former mill bustling with activity and creative offerings. I was taken by the Montague Bookmill at first sight and thought, Oh how very much I want all the things within that I don’t need, and so will you when you track down this wonderful bookshop.
Read more217 W 84th Street, New York, NY
There’s a special kind of charm that children’s bookshops have, something about the mix of nostalgia for the books you loved to read when growing up and the new books waiting for the young audiences of today and tomorrow all shelved together. I like browsing kid’s bookshops because I have nieces and nephews who like to read and a mother obsessed with Nancy Drew and shopping for them is fun, and that’s not to mention my own appetite for the books of my youth. I have a list of them on my phone that I watch out for, and you can bet I had that list at the ready when I walked through the doors of Books of Wonder.
Read more4 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.
Read more2246 Broadway, New York, NY
I hadn’t wandered the Upper West Side of Manhattan in about ten years, and I mean really wander, spiraling the blocks on foot, coming into sight of Central Park before turning back toward the Hudson River, reaching squares and intersections midway where you can spin in place and see both boundaries. In that regard, the UWS really does feel like its own separate world, its own town, connected to Harlem and Hell’s Kitchen by the 1, the A, and so on. And if that were the case, Westsider Books would be the home of the literary fringe element in town, the place where hopeless poets, serious antiquarians, outsiders, punks, professors, and meticulous collectors would gather to browse and feel at home among the towering stacks of books.
Read more37 Spring Street, Williamstown, MA
Williamstown is a gorgeous little spot tucked into the rocky hills and sweeping valleys of northwestern Massachusetts. The town is home to prestigious institutions such as Clark Art and Williams College, the latter being particularly important as Williams is Williamstown, and vice versa. At least it always felt that way to me. Driving through town you find regal older homes, towering brick halls, and stylized glass structures, all seemingly connected to one of the two organizations that make the town so unique, and they all surround the small downtown strip that makes up the social and commercial hub: Spring Street. With cafes, gift shops, a college bookstore, an ice cream stand, a small movie house, and a pub, Spring Street has enough to keep most students and locals occupied on any given day, but with the addition of Chapter Two Books, a new bookshop in Williamstown, there’s an extra reason for bookworms in the area to drive out and enjoy a few hours in this picturesque college town.
Read more467 Rodman Road, Hillsdale, NY
It took us a while to weave through the countryside of Columbia County, backtracking down a few wrong turns on dirt roads, but at long last, we stopped in front of the unassuming wood barn along the edge of the road with a sign out front reading Rogers Book Barn. The sign included different summer and winter hours, but it’s a solid bet to be open on a Saturday afternoon no matter what time of year you arrive. And I’m very thankful they were open, because this shop wasn’t just worth the drive, it was a delight to explore.
Read more200 Main Street, Saugerties, NY (I have also seen the address listed as 68 and 65 Partition Street)
This shop more than any other has come up as a prime recommendation by most locals I talk to, so I was happy to finally drop in on a rainy weekend this winter. Located on a busy corner in downtown Saugerties, NY (which has a lot more going for it than I expected), Inquiring Minds Bookstore falls into what I’ve come to think of as the “Ideal” type of bookshop. Not only are they an excellent supplier of books, but they feel like the kind of community bookstore that also serves as the social hub of town, and that’s how a shop can go from great to magical.
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