A Review of Nancy L. Dole Books

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20 State Street, Shelburne Falls, MA

From the waterfalls and the Bridge of Flowers to the quint storefronts and meandering river views, it’s easy to see why Shelburne Falls was one of the filming locations for a cozy New England film like The Holdovers, but it’s also home to some wonderful small, indie bookshops. Nancy L Dole Books is one of them, and it’s a trove of rare and hard to find tomes mixed in with classics and nostalgic pieces of historical kitsch.

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A Review of World Eye Bookshop

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134 Main Street, Greenfield, MA

Greenfield Massachusetts has the distinct pleasure of hosting three fine bookshops, and this is the third I visited during my travels there this last year. World Eye Bookshop is decorated with a variety of art and children’s book characters—little wildlife creatures in anthropomorphic clothes. It was very cute, and the shop’s specialty, it appears, was their selections of work from Astrid Sheckels.

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A Review of Federal Street Books

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8 Federal St, Greenfield, MA

I drove to Greenville on a sunny spring morning, delighted to find not one but at least three indie booksellers open. The first one I stepped into was the delightful Federal Street Books, easy to spot by its stylish exterior design and large pillar signage out front. I also found a cart of dollar books out front, always a good sign, and things got even better when I stepped inside.

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A Review of The Bear & Bee Bookshop

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28 Holden Street, North Adams, MA

North Adams is one of many artistic bastions in the hills and mountains of western Massachusetts, and Mass MoCA is one of it’s major draws, hosting art exhibitions, music festivals, and cultural events year-round. So for a town as interesting as North Adams, I expected a bevy of bookstores. I only found one, The Bear and Bee, a new and used bookshop, but it does a phenomenal job of representing the literary interests of the area.

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A Review of The Imaginary Bookshop

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365 Main St, Greenfield, MA

Sometimes I step into a bookstore and the first shelf I see catches me in a web. I’m stuck, peering eagerly at each spine and title, awash in desire to take home every other book I see. The next shelf is no different, and by the third I’m reading the first page of every book trying to decide which one is going be the lucky novel I pick. Yes, The Imaginary Bookshop had its hooks in me, and for one very good reason. All the books most shop hide in the back—the creepy horror novels, the gothic nightmares, the apocalyptic anthologies, and the ghoulish haunted house stories—were right up front, greeting me as I entered. I knew right away this was the store for me.

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A Review of Gabriel Books

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121 Market Street, Northampton, MA

How much more convenient can a bookstore be than three doors down from our Airbnb, which was also a two-minute walk from the heart of downtown? Yet the block and the shop itself felt pleasantly quiet, quaintly set back from the hustle and bustle, allowing for a leisurely browse through the narrow aisles stacked and jammed with books. The number of books they have piled about in this small shop is impressive, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a look!

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A Review of Amherst Books

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8 Main Street, Amherst, Massachusetts

Amherst Books quickly reminded me of some of my favorite bookstores, the multi-room shops full of eclectic displays and a selection of books that will always surprise and keep you guessing each time you walk through the door. With books new, used, and vintage, this two-floor shop has something for everyone, even if your wallet is a little lighter than it used to be with these gas prices.

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A Bookshop Interview with Karen Schoemer

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I met Karen Schoemer at a recent St. Rocco’s Reading Series event, where we talked poetry, bookshops, and how we’ve crossed paths in the literary and bookshop worlds twice without my remembering. But I do remember that Karen read some great poems that day and has a fascinating background as a music writer and performer (details on that below), and so I asked her about her favorite bookshop for my interview series. She came up with a good one! I need to check this place out!

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A Bookshop Interview with Tim Suermondt

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Poet Tim Suermondt has five full-length collections to his name, the latest JOSEPHINE BAKER SWIMMING POOL from MadHat Press, and he took a few minutes to share his favorite bookshop with me. I still haven’t made my way to Boston to visit any bookshops, and this makes want to go even more. Thanks, Tim!

Favorite Bookshop: The Harvard Coop Bookstore (Cambridge, MA)

Tim: My favorite bookshop is the Harvard Coop at Harvard Square. I actually came to the Coop a bit late, initially spending a lot of time at The Harvard Bookstore (which is not affiliated with the University) and Grolier’s (which surprised me by its tiny space when I first went there.) As for the Coop, I noticed how rather large it was when I went to check it out, especially when compared to the feeble MIT Coop. And seeing a lot of books is always inviting.

Browsing is easy. There are four floors (counting the basement), accessible by elevator or the nice winding wooden staircases. There’s a café on the second floor—can’t say I’m a fan of these outposts, but they’re here to stay. There are chairs for reading, though a few more would be better. I always feel smarter when I’m there; it’s the Harvard air I’m sure.

I quickly came to realize that the Coop has a terrific assortment of books, especially their poetry selection which is the best in town for the latest poetry. My wife, Pui, and I have bought a number of books from the Coop. Just a few days ago we bought Rilke in Paris from Pushkin Press. It’s the type of book I don’t think you’d find elsewhere. I really like the way the poetry anthologies lead in to the poetry books, and from there into essays on poetry then music and travel—a smart, good threading.

The Coop also has a decent section of poetry journals and magazines, along with other fare. I don’t know if it’s unique, but the blending of the students, the locals and the out-of-towners who go there makes for a bustling but most satisfying vibe.

BIO: Tim Suermondt is the author of five full-length collections of poems, the latest JOSEPHINE BAKER SWIMMING POOL from MadHat Press, 2019. He has published in Poetry, Ploughshares, The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Stand Magazine, Galway Review, Bellevue Literary Review and Plume, among many others. He lives in Cambridge (MA) with his wife, the poet Pui Ying Wong.

A Review of the Montague Bookmill

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440 Greenfield Rd. Montague, MA

How absolutely perfect that this shop’s motto is “Books you don’t need in a place you can’t find,” as we had to twist and turn our way through memory and Google directions to finally emerge from the wooded glens of the Pioneer Valley and pull into the large dirt parking lot across the street from this former mill bustling with activity and creative offerings. I was taken by the Montague Bookmill at first sight and thought, Oh how very much I want all the things within that I don’t need, and so will you when you track down this wonderful bookshop.

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A Review of Raven Used Books

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4 Old South Street, Northampton, MA

Walking through the clustered bars and busy restaurants of downtown Northampton long after dark, long after our first, second, maybe third drink, we came upon the storefront for Raven Used Books by accident, as I was only in town for the night and had no idea it was waiting for me. We eagerly detoured our journey to the next bar to explore the rooms and aisles of this lovely, lively shop. My only regret was that we couldn’t stay long, because the sheer volume of interesting books at excellent values could have kept me for hours.

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A Review of Chapter Two Books  

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37 Spring Street, Williamstown, MA

Williamstown is a gorgeous little spot tucked into the rocky hills and sweeping valleys of northwestern Massachusetts. The town is home to prestigious institutions such as Clark Art and Williams College, the latter being particularly important as Williams is Williamstown, and vice versa. At least it always felt that way to me. Driving through town you find regal older homes, towering brick halls, and stylized glass structures, all seemingly connected to one of the two organizations that make the town so unique, and they all surround the small downtown strip that makes up the social and commercial hub: Spring Street. With cafes, gift shops, a college bookstore, an ice cream stand, a small movie house, and a pub, Spring Street has enough to keep most students and locals occupied on any given day, but with the addition of Chapter Two Books, a new bookshop in Williamstown, there’s an extra reason for bookworms in the area to drive out and enjoy a few hours in this picturesque college town.    

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A Review of The Book Nook (Lenox Library)

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18 Main Street Lenox, MA

This bookshop review is a little different because The Book Nook in Lenox, MA is actually part of the town library, a little alcove just inside by the front desk. But what it lacks in size, it greatly makes up for in quality and value. I happened upon it while attending the annual Lenox Apple Squeeze, just a few minutes after purchasing a taco-in-a-bag, munching away and halting in my tracks when I saw the Book Sale sign. For anyone who knows me, you understand my feelings of exalted joy. 

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A Review of Yellow House Books

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252 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA

I stopped into Yellow House books on a busy Saturday afternoon before catching a movie in downtown Great Barrington, and though it was only a few rooms large, Yellow House was filled up with book lovers and casual shoppers giving it a lively feel. The shop shares a porch with a small clothing store, but there’s no missing the distinctive yellow paint of this literary domicile. So when you spot it, just climb those steps and go right on in!

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A Review of The Bookloft

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63 State Rd., Great Barrington, MA

*Updated Review* I heard The Bookloft moved locations from a supermarket plaza outside of Great Barrington to its own bright blue building, and so I had to visit. Not only is it much closer to town now (not far from the red bridge that brings you into downtown Great Barrington), but it feels much more impressive than the “pleasant surprise” I once called it in my previous review. It feels as if the shop has come into its own.

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A Review of The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar

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11 Housatonic Street, Lenox, MA

I found a number of small town bookshops during a recent weekend tour of western Massachusetts, but only one had a wine bar, and even though I stopped in before lunch on a Saturday, I was tempted to sit down, pour a glass, and dive into a book in one of this shop’s cozy chairs. I resisted, sticking to the shelves, but this must be a fun place to take in a reading, and I can attest it’s a great shop to spend an hour or so relaxing and poking through the shelves.

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A Review of Shaker Mill Books

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3 Depot Street, West Stockbridge, MA

On my way through the Berkshire Mountains to check out a bookshop in Lenox, Massachusetts, I stumbled across Shaker Mill Books in West Stockbridge. It looks rather unassuming from the outside, a one-floor building behind a lovely old red barn/mill right at the main crossroads in town. But when I walked inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find not just a massive array of books, but there were excellent deals all over the place. My eyes got really, big really quick, and I did not go home empty-handed.

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