Summer is the season for swimming, eating ice cream, and spending hours outside with a good book. But there is a particular kind of book that, I find, readers are looking for in the summer months. It should be easy to read, but not vapid; light, but not mindless. You want to take it to the beach/lake/river to relax, but it should give you something to talk about over the barbecue/picnic table later. The wonderful thing about books is there's a nearly endless number of options that fit this description. The wonderful thing about booksellers is we can help narrow down that list. Here are three ..read more

As a senior citizen, I - like many others - am concerned by the CDC stance that it is now OK for me to shop without a mask. I was privileged to get my vaccine early when it was distributed in age bands. Many others who work in retail and public-facing jobs are just now eligible for their first or second jab. It will be a few weeks before they reach full immunity. The politicians and press call these younger workers essential, yet they are treated as expendable. Telling each town and business to set its own rules harks back to the confusion of the early days of the pandemic when small busine ..read more

Penny and I were so happy to fly the flags, open the doors, and welcome folks back into the store on Indie Bookstore Day! I teared up when, for the first time in over a year, a child ran in the door and up the stairs, excited to discover new books. We got to catch up with old friends who we hadn't seen in months. We also made new friends! Families who moved to town just after the pandemic hit visited the store for the first time. Thankfully, we did not need to control traffic; you all seem to have become pretty good at social distancing and respecting one anothers’ space.  The weather c ..read more

Assault rifles have one purpose. I have heard the argument that fists, bats, knives, and, yes, even books can be used to hurt and kill people and we don't call for banning them... But fists can be used to punch down bread dough, bats and balls provide hours of entertainment, knives are used on food, and books entertain and enlighten! High capacity guns do not have a positive function in our society, period. Let’s use books - fiction and non-fiction - to learn about mental health, our constitution and the law, to understand and combat racism, extremism, and exclusion. And then let us act ..read more

The folks who publish Dr. Seuss have pulled six titles from their catalog because the stories “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” This echoes Theodore Geisel’s own revisions of his work as he himself evolved. For the same reason, earlier this year, for the 20th anniversary edition of Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo switched the book her characters read together. David Copperfield replaced Gone With the Wind. I was dismayed -- at first. These are classics! Upon further reflection, I realize that although these books show our society at a ..read more

What with the pandemic, politics, and personal challenges, I have been somewhat distracted these past few months… Many of you may be in the same boat which may explain the many unclaimed packages waiting for pick up! You head out to do errands and then get home and realize you drove right past the bookstore and forgot to stop for your package. Or the weather took a turn for the worse and you felt you better head home before it got dark and the roads became slick. Whatever the reason, we have a growing backlog of book orders waiting for their readers! We try to reac ..read more

Making February break plans for your family? If the snow lasts, sledding and skiing nearby will be fun. If it's cold, you can curl up by the fire with a good book - and we have some great recommendations!  Or you can attend The University of Wonder and Imagination hosted by our friends at the Lebanon Opera House. Sign up for an interactive adventure through a set of mysterious classrooms with surprises at every turn. This is a ticketed, limited-capacity Zoom theater experience presented by LOH, in partnership with Cahoots NI, Northern Ireland’s leading children’s theater ..read more

A note from our 1.15.21 newsletter... We’re back from our brief break and look forward to the new year! Hopefully, we'll all discover great reads, join interesting author presentations, and maintain careful interactions, and get through these challenging times. Thank you all for your continued support and incredible flexibility last year as we pivoted to virtual shopping and online events. Your willingness to check out our porch displays when the weather was warm and continue to browse - with quick glove removal - during these frigid months. While our website has evolved quickly as demand ex ..read more

What a month, what a year!  In recognition of the extraordinary efforts of our bookselling team to get your holiday gifts to you in these challenging times, Penny and I have decided to give them a needed break between Christmas and New Year’s Day. This unprecedented schedule change will give us all time to relax and rejuvenate to begin 2021 with gusto - and most likely great new reading recommendations as we will all be hunkering down with a stack of forthcoming books! As usual, we will be open until 3 pm on Christmas Eve. We will be at the store on Saturday, December 26th, 9 am - 2 pm ..read more

For the past several years we have celebrated Cider Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving as an alternative to the much touted Cyber Monday. We served local cider and cookies and invited you to step away from your computer… This year it is necessary for safety reasons to embrace online shopping - but that does not mean turning to big box stores or behemoth retailers!  We are working hard behind the scenes to simplify the process of ordering from this website. We're adding lots of the great items on our shelves that were not listed before: calendars, socks, cards, games, and toys. It is ..read more