Find The Best Book Shops

I am a shopper. I like to shop for everything from apparel to gifts to groceries. My husband teases me that I am the only person that he knows that spends time browsing at the gas station. Of all the shopping and browsing I do my favorite places to go to are book shops.

I can spend hours in book shops looking through new arrivals as well as children books and reference books. When I was in high school and college I spent time working in the library. I could not believe that I was being paid to spend time around books. In college I worked in the government document section of the library. This was prior to the computer age so students would come and request the different government documents. I was the only student that remained working in this section for the full four years, the other students thought it was too boring working with the dull government documents, but I found it fascinating how much research and money went into doing studies on anything and everything. It was this early expose to a wide variety of printed materials that created my love of book shops.

Because I enjoy all kinds of printed materials I also like a wide range of book shops. My favorite book shops to visit however are the small shops that are located in smaller neighborhoods and small towns. The proprietors tend to be very knowledgeable and often a bit eccentric. I have found that they are often the most knowledgeable about the area that I am visiting. Many people go to gift and souvenir shops when they are visiting a new place, but I look for the local book shops. In these shops I am able to learn about the history of the area as well as where to eat, stay and what to see while I am in town. Most book shops are not as busy as the gift and souvenir stores, so the clerks will generally take as much time with you as you want or need. I have also found many special gifts and other items in these shops. Many of the small book stores carry unique items for people that like to read. These include a wide variety of book markers as well as specialty gift books and journals.

I have spent so many hours at different book shops across the country that I have regular correspondence with several different shop owners. I make it a point to let them know if I am going to be in their area so we can spend time together. I do not spend money in every shop I go into, but the owners share my passion of printed materials so they like to see me come to their stores even if it does not mean a large sale for them.