Best 5 | Used Bookstores
Saving the rural New England bookstore is more than a pastime for Richard F. Wright; it’s a passion that drives him to visit, patronize, and write about local independent bookshops. Here are his five favorite venues selling used and rare volumes, plus ten honorable mentions. Share his interest at richard-wright.blogspot.com.
The Montague Bookmill
This shop fulfills the true definition of “destination” bookstore. After 25 years, visitors still commit to traveling to western Massachusetts to browse among the Bookmill’s 30,000 used and rare volumes. Its cafe and art shops make it a pleasure to bring the family along, too. 440 Greenfield Road, Montague, MA. 413-367-9206; montaguebookmill.com
Shire Book Shop
After 30 years, the owners still offer to brew you a cup of tea, making your stroll among the 100,000 used and out-of-print books in this former mill building even more of a pleasure. Each purchased book is carefully protected with an archival dust jacket. 305 Union St., Franklin, MA. 508-528-5665; shirebookshop.com
Pleasant Street Books
In a nicely restored barn, close to the middle of Woodstock, Pleasant Street has been a used- and rare-book collector’s dream for more than 25 years. Volumes are stacked floor to ceiling, but the ladder and stools make your search comfortable and convenient. 48 Pleasant St., Woodstock, VT. 802-457-4050; pleasantstreetbooks.com
Drake Farm Books
This barn, built in 1830, offers books published in 1830 among its 45,000 volumes. Its 15 rooms are well sorted, and desirable first editions are wrapped in plastic to preserve their condition. Since 1995, these well-cared-for volumes have been looking for loving homes. 148 Lafayette Road, North Hampton, NH. 603-964-4868; drakefarmbooks.com
The Book Barn
This southeastern Connecticut shop has grown over the past 23 years and now spreads across three locations, which is understandable, given that the barn alone couldn’t handle the 500,000 volumes on hand. Bring a book to sell and find your next treasure among the fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and rare volumes on offer. 41 West Main St., Niantic, CT. 860-739-5715; bookbarnniantic.com
Want more? Click here to see Richard’s Ten Honorable Mention picks for Best Used Bookstores in New England.
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YES! We love all these places, many our old haunts when my husband and I lived in New England. We’ve brought that spirit and sensibility further south. If you’re too far to travel to these spots, or if you’re en route, stop by our fantastic store in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafe is open daily and actually now includes the stock of that great urban New England bookstore, McINTYRE AND MOORE, as well as books from Boston’s GOODSPEED’S & stock from other favorite used bookstores travelers may miss from CA to TX to DC. Online at MidtownScholar. com.
My husband is a regular at THE LOCAL BOOKIE in Conway, NH. He always shows up with a biscuit for the owner’s dog, appropriately named “Bookie”.
I guess one of my favorites, which is no more, was the Old Mystic, CT bookstore of Charlie Vincent (who we always called Charlie Bookstore) . It was a great place to spend an afternoon.
Awesome! I was sad to see that Parnassus Book Service in Yarmouthport, MA did not make the list though. http://www.parnassusbooks.com/pbsphoto.php
Parnassus Book Service in Yarmouthport is a wonderful shop. I included it in my Guide Book: A Vacationer’s Guide to Rural New England Bookstores. You can read more at http://www.GuideToNewEnglandBookstores.com.
Of course, opinions are opinions. And I suppose it largely depends on just what kinds of books one is looking for.
I’m happy to see the Shire Book Shop on your list (though it’s been a seriously long time since I’ve been there). But Drake Farm? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found some gems there, and he’s knocked a little off the total the couple of times I’ve been there, but I don’t think I’d ever accuse it of being “well-sorted”.
Neither my wife nor I were particularly impressed by the Henniker Book Farm, either. Two other stores in that area that we much prefer are Old #6 Book Depot in Henniker and Books by the Lake in Bradford. Both are a bit cramped, but we always find a pile of books whenever we go there. Ian & Helen Morrison, the owners of Old #6 also have another store, Northwood Old Books in Northwood, NH, that we frequent.
From your Honorable Mentions list, we are especially fond of the Big Chicken Barn in Maine and the Book Bear in Massachusetts.
You make a good point; I generally don’t know what kind of book I’m looking for. Rather, I’m delighted to find the book I “didn’t” know I was looking for. That’s the real charm of all used book shops. Your suggestions of Old #6 Book Depot and Books by the Lake are excellent. I like these shops too. We’re fortunate to still have this many choices. Let’s hope they all survive well into the future. I still have a lot of books to find.