For more than thirty years, Wooster, Ohio has been home to a used book store called Books In Stock.
The street view is cute but the inside of this store left me gobsmacked. In fact, my fella and I enjoyed it so much, we went two days in a row! There are books upstairs and downstairs – about 80,000 of them – in all varieties of fiction and nonfiction.
I found a stack of out-of-print Sharyn McCrumb books. Adam barely left the corner with the old west non-fiction during our first trip because the inventory was so rich and this area is one of his favorite genres. He gave off kid in a candy store vibes every time I walked past.
The kids room upstairs features a nice mural. Everything is in good condition, it’s organized, and the prices are fair.
We were barely a mile down the road before I was plotting a summertime return.
How fortunate for the people of Wooster they have such a nice bookstore! Find more about them here!
When we decided to visit Cody, Wyoming, I was stoked to learn there’s an independent bookstore in this legendary city’s downtown. It’s called Legends Bookstore, and friends, it’s like someone built a bookstore around the reading tastes of my fella and myself.
Really, their nonfiction section is robust, they have lots of local interest books and the fiction section was not bad either. I spoke with an employee who said they mainly stock bestseller fiction but they pay special attention to nonfiction because that’s what most local readers seek.
We were there on a breezy, chilly, rainy day and had allotted plenty of time to browse. It’s cozy and welcoming with nice lighting and lots of interesting displays. I found a solid stack of books including one about the first female Hollywood stuntwoman. By the way, she was a pioneer, making movies in the nineteen-teens.
I would have bought more but was worried about suitcase space so I will just encourage you to go shop there and buy lots if you can.
They do have a small coffee bar, a few gift items, and some children’s books as well so there’s literally something for everyone.
Stepping inside a bookstore is like walking through the wardrobe into the land of Narnia. Every book represents an opportunity to travel, to learn or to simply escape reality. They are collections of big ideas and familiar stories. They hold new ideas and stories so foreign you marvel at their originality.
I get excited at the sight of a bookstore but it’s rare to find one with atmosphere as exciting as the contents of all those books they sell.
Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar in Asheville, North Carolina is incredible.
With thousands of books packed into two levels of space, it’s a book nerd’s paradise. The space itself is eclectic and fun with interesting art to enjoy if you aren’t completely preoccupied by the eclectic variety of titles.
There are comfy couches and chairs available for settling in with a drink and a book. There are also nooks and crannies with chairs to settle in and get to know a book before you buy.
The title I selected is a gorgeous photography book called “The Face of Appalachia.” This is a superb book of photography by local resident Tim Barnwell. It’s signed and the images, along with their accompanying stories, are exceptional. The photographer made the pictures of people in their own environments and he wrote snippets about the people’s lives. These black and white images are rich with detail and nearly every image is worth a slow study.
I am good at getting people to talk but I am in awe of how this man convinced Appalachian people to open their doors and invite in a stranger to take photos and listen to their stories.
When I went to pay, the store’s proprietor waited on me, flipping through the book and providing some insight into the photographer. He seemed as excited about my choice as I was!
He was delightful.
Don’t be fooled by the name of this place, they sell other libations besides champagne along with some food and deserts that looked amazing. They also have some outdoor seating where, on that night, live music kept people engaged with toe tapping tunes.
If I lived closer, I would be there all the time. Want to know more? Click here to visit their website. You can also follow them on Facebook. Battery Park is located in The Grove Arcade in a historic neighborhood of Asheville. Click here to read about that place.
