Travel | R E S O U R C E S (Continued from p. 54) honored as a Publishers Weekly Bookseller of the Year. They’re serious about making personal connections, partnering with book clubs and offering a “Just the Right Book” program, in which subscribers receive books based on preference profiles they submit. Even casual browsers can be sure that every book on the shelves has been hand-selected by staff. rjjulia.com WHITLOCK’S BOOK BARN, Bethany. The turkeys and sheep were evicted 75 years ago, replaced by a vast and eclectic array of books. Whitlock’s 50,000 volumes are divided into an under-$5 group, housed in the upper barn, and rarer, more expensive books in the lower. There’s also an antique map department, strong in local coverage but also ranging across 21 states and numerous foreign countries. whitlocksbookbarn.com
MAINE BIG CHICKEN BARN, Ellsworth. The trick
is getting past the first floor, where book browsers can easily get sidetracked by 11,000 square feet of antiques and collectibles. There are 150,000 volumes up above, though, so press on—and don’t miss the Maine Room, a trove of books by regional authors. A special attraction is the Barn’s massive inventory of magazines, including extinct titles like Life, Look, Collier’s, and many more. bigchickenbarn.com CARLSON TURNER BOOKS, Portland. The age of print is alive and well at this traditional shop that not only stocks a finely curated selection of more than 40,000 antiquarian and scholarly volumes—nautical, Civil War, and Maine history are among the specialties, along with maps, manuscripts, and prints—but also offers bookbinding, repair, and letterpress printing services. It’s a place to stock a private library and keep it in top condition. carlsonturnerbooks.com GREEN HAND, Portland. This small shop on the fringe of Portland’s lively downtown carries new and used titles in a broad variety of categories, with a special emphasis on classics and new releases in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, including rediscovered works published by indie Valancourt Books. There’s a good selection of books on Maine subjects, a children’s section, and an ample assortment of tarot decks and books. greenhandbookshop.com GULF OF MAINE BOOKS, Brunswick. Independent bookstores were popping up in college towns across America in the 1970s, when poet Gary Lawless and his wife, Beth Leonard, founded Gulf of Maine Books just down the street from Bowdoin College. Surviving most of them and still going strong—and still run by Lawless and 106 |
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Leonard—the shop is robustly stocked with regional-interest books, poetry, and tomes on environmental, spiritual, and Native American subjects, along with current popular literature. If you are lucky when you stop in, you might spot best-selling author Elizabeth Strout, who lives a short walk away. bookshop.org/shop/gulfofmaine HARDING’S BOOKS, Wells. Harding’s is the literary equivalent of a corn maze—any serious browser will start wondering if there’s actually a way to get out. The shop’s 14 rooms house 100,000-plus volumes, and while the proprietors advertise strength in Americana and New England subjects, there’s hardly any field that isn’t well represented. Maps and prints dating back centuries are also on offer. hardingsbooks.com SHERMAN’S MAINE COAST BOOK SHOPS,
multiple locations. Originating as a Bar Harbor printing and stationery shop in 1886, Sherman’s now has stores in nine Maine communities—that’s more than three times as many as a certain national chain. In 2016, acquisition of Damariscotta’s Maine Coast Book Shop brought that great trove of Down East–related titles—and its Barn Door Baking Company Café—into the Sherman’s family. shermans.com
MASSACHUSETTS BEDLAM BOOK CAFE, Worcester. Don’t be
put off by the name: Things are actually quite calm at this literary oasis in a part of the state that had been lacking a serious bookshop before Bedlam’s 2018 arrival. Offerings include new, used, and remaindered books, with an emphasis on titles in the arts and humanities and a fine poetry selection enhanced by frequent readings. The cafe part? After book browsing, enjoy an organic smoothie. bedlambookcafe.com BRATTLE BOOK SHOP, Boston. When you visit this downtown landmark and one of the oldest and best-known used and antiquarian bookstores in the country, you will likely first browse dozens of bargain titles stacked on carts outside. But inside there are first-edition treasures in a special room that may go for thousands of dollars, as well as hours of browsing for both famous and all-but-forgotten treasures on the floors below. brattlebookshop.com FRUGAL BOOKSTORE, Roxbury. Boston’s sole African American–owned bookstore has become the retail star of Nubian Square, business hub of the city’s Roxbury neighborhood. Works by people of color are given special emphasis, though the shelves are stocked with books of all descriptions, from today’s best-sellers to the classics. A strong selection of children’s and youngadult books underscores the owners’ mission to promote reading at all levels. frugalbookstore.net NEWENGLAND.COM
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