Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Books You Don't Need in a Place You Can't Find

This Memorial Day, my husband and I took the opportunity to visit the delightful Montague Book Mill, a used bookstore in pretty Montague, MA, a ruralish town in the north-western part of the state (440 Greenfield Rd. Montague, MA 01351)

We arrived around lunchtime and settled into the Lady Killigrew Cafe for sandwiches and sodas; I had curried chicken and it was pretty good! It was a beautiful warm day and we were able to get a nice shaded table for lunch.

But then it was time to hit the store- and what a store! Used books in a myriad of subjects fill this pretty house set on a rushing river:

Naturally I settled into the fiction room, which was smallish but had a nice selection of mainstream fiction, graphic novels, mysteries and science fiction. We wandered around the rest of the store, too, perusing all the different sections. The staff were nice enough to set our books aside as we wandered so we weren't traipsing up and down stairs with our bundles!


Scattered throughout the house are cute little reading nooks and chairs set by open windows; the main entrance is filled with tables and chairs for people to settle in with a book (or a laptop). They even have free WiFi!

At the end of the day we walked off with a modest stash of books; I found a pile of six Angela Thirkell paperbacks and another random book, all of which I'm excited to have found and look forward to reading.

The complex also contains a movie and music store, a dinner restaurant called The Night Kitchen and a gallery selling higher-end crafts next door. If you're ever in the area I'd definitely recommend you stop by and spend a nice afternoon or evening in this fun place.

16 comments:

Steve said...

A wonderful post about a wonderful store. When I was an undergrad at neary UMass, I had a summer job working graveyard shift in a convenience store. I stocked up weekly at the Book Mill with fiction, history, science, philosophy, and whatever caught my interest for reading through the long, quiet nights of a college town in summer. I probably owe at least as much of my education to browsing the Book Mill as I do to anything else.

Cinderellen said...

I love the serendipity of those big rambling bookstores. Always a surprise waiting to be discovered.

Anonymous said...

I've decided I'm collecting bookstores for future vacations. I'll add this one to my list. I've never been to MA, but one day. Love the walkway to the door. Thanks for sharing with us!

Kristi said...

I love this store! I also have the bumper sticker, so aptly quoted as your post title :).

Zibilee said...

This does seem like a great little store, and like a place I would love to visit one day. The photos you took are great! Glad that you found some good books there!

Unknown said...

Sounds marvelous, I love book stores that have nooks that are tucked away so you can get lost reading.

Kathleen said...

What a delightful sounding place. I love to discover these out of the way and unique bookstores when I am traveling.

bermudaonion said...

That looks heavenly to me.

Anonymous said...

What a perfect way to spend time.

ImageNations said...

What a joy it is to discover places like this. It's almost like finding a precious stone in hay.

Brenda Buchanan said...

This is such a great place. Love, it, love it, love it.

Brenda Buchanan

Audra said...

I've heard of this bookstore! I haven't been yet but clearly need to, stat! Thanks for the pics and the little review -- what a lovely trip!

avisannschild said...

Ooh, I so want to visit this store now! (Like Kay, I'm collecting this one for a future vacation.) I love their slogan!

Anonymous said...

This is the bookstpre that I want to own someday. An old house with lots of rooms and reading nooks :)

fibrowitch said...

I will be adding a visit to the book store to the list of places my Mom and I will be visiting this year.

Anonymous said...

What bermudaonion said, that's close to what I was going to say: divine. Glad I don't live near there, because I'd be there all the time.