by Shari Randall
When friends visit my corner of Connecticut, I take them to see my favorite sights – the lighthouses, historic buildings, and unique shops and restaurants that make this a fun place to live. We’re also lucky in this small corner of the world to have some great independent bookstores.
One of my favorites is, well, a bit quirky.
The Book Barn in Niantic, CT has been delighting booklovers since April 1988, with a hiatus in 1990 when a fire nearly destroyed the building. The store recovered and has been going strong, so strong it has outgrown its original home and now has two outposts, Downtown (Audio to UFOs, Manga, Parenting, Children’s, Comics) and Store Four (Everything from Astronomy to Writing, with Mystery, Thriller, and True Crime), and over 500,000 books.
And yes, "Store Four" wasn't a typo. The store grew to four separate buildings, but my favorite outpost, a small third storefront that was devoted to mostly mysteries, was folded into Store Four, so mystery lovers should head there first. I never left that collection without a find – a paperback The Elusive Mrs.Pollifax and the short story collection The Cat Who Had Fourteen Tales by Lillian Jackson Braun. Each only $1!
Along with knowledgeable booksellers, several bookstore cats, and free coffee, the main Book Barn also has goats you can pet and feed. I kid you not! Sorry! There’s something about the sense of humor at the Book Barn that is infectious. The signage alone is worth the trip.
The main barn is so busy it even has a parking lot attendant to direct traffic. When you leave your car, you pass a table where staffers will evaluate and perhaps buy your books. “Ellis Island” is the first stop where stalls of shelves hold new arrivals. Everywhere are fun touches – a Hobbit door, a playground, benches, an oversized chess set.
You can visit The Underworld, aka Hades, (see photo above), pass through two graveyards full of Halloween decorations to a building called The Haunted for mystery and horror books, through to The Annex for poetry and essays, to the last outbuilding, the Last Page, for nonfiction.
Then the Main building awaits – three levels of well-organized book nirvana.
Kids’ books? Yes.
Teen books? Yes
Military history? Art? Arthurian Legends? Psychology? Women’s Studies? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And more!
Is the Book Barn worth the trip? You bet.
The Book Barn, 41 West Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357
Downtown, 269 Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357
Store Four, 55 West Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357
What’s your favorite bookstore?
Sounds just like my kind of place. I remember going into Bar Harbor, Maine. The thing I enjoyed the most was the library there. It looked like the library right out of the movie "Music Man." They were having their annual book sale. That's what i think of when I think of Bar Harbor.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known about these stores during my CC years. Great write-up.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures, Shari. What a unique bookstore! Good to know all the mysteries are part of the Underworld...
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like such a fun place! Thanks for the introduction. I hope to make it there someday.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite bookstore is Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont PA (near Pittsburgh). They've hosted all of my book launch parties.
Grace, I went to Bar Harbor years ago but didn't see the library - now I want to go back!
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret, you just have to check it out when you come for reunions!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, mysteries are perfect for the underworld....
ReplyDeleteHi Annette, I've heard a lot of people talk about Mystery Lovers Bookshop - it is on my bucket list for sure. How lucky you are to have a local mystery bookstore!
Alas, there are no bookstores near to me in the U.P.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that, Jim. I guess you have to stock up on books before you settle in.
ReplyDeleteMy two favorites are the Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop, in (where else?) Mechanicsburg, PA, and Mystery Loves Company in Oxford, MD. I can get to the Mechanicsburg store easily. The trip to Mystery Loves Company, on Maryland's eastern shore, is an adventure, but well worth while. Oxford is a great place to visit.
ReplyDeleteKM, these are now on my bucket list! How wonderful that there are mystery only bookstores!
ReplyDeleteI wish I lived close enough to go to that bookstore. However, I do have one that isn't too far away to go to. Sometimes I think I'd like to start a bookstore. I certainly have enough books to do so except I don't want to leave my home and critters and I don't have the space to build a book store, either.
ReplyDelete