We discovered the book barn while we were on our way home from a different adventure but on that particular evening we only had about twenty minutes before it closed and it was not the kind of place that twenty minutes would be even remotely sufficient! So the next week we returned, with books in hand, hoping to trade them for store credits. My companion who brought a bunch of graphic novels did well in this venture getting over $50. I… did not. I figured they probably wanted known books so most of my choices were well known hard covers in good condition. Most were quietly slipped back to me. I got $7 or $8 in store credit for my efforts but I was happy because they took Honoring Echo, the book I wrote and signed, without a second glance. It was then I learned this place is looking for unique books.
The entire property is clearly what used to be a farm where a three story barn and several out buildings, all of which have been turned into little mini bookstores in their own right. And the pathways between each of these buildings? Also filled with outdoor shelving full of books. In the middle of this village there’s also two jungle gyms and some goats to keep the kids occupied as their parents enjoy the books. There’s even a little place to sit that’s in the shape of a TARDIS. I thought I took photos the first time I came here but forgot that I didn’t have my phone that day so I apologize that this entry is so light on photos, especially for a place that really deserved more!
This place was WILD. It had so many niche resource books. A whole corner devoted to books written on fishing. And here I though fishing was just a way to escape society and personal responsibilities for a few hours while doing basically nothing on a lake. There was also a huge section on hunting, another on gardening, and even a section for permaculture! But the largest sections were probably the ones on history and location. I was surprised to see such a robust collection of books on indigenous cultures and of course black culture as well. I tried to find some books in French but only was able to find one. Books in foreign languages didn’t have their own category which is astounding considering some of the other category titles such as, “Radicals, Anarchists, and Other Trouble Makers,” “Wealth and Glamour, or the Life-Styles of the PAINFULLY Wealthy,” and “Memoirs and Self-Help” (Why is that a combined category?!) I noticed the copy of The Art of Making the Deal I had noticed in the previous trip was gone and seeing as it wasn’t far from a huge section on Tarot I had to hope some witch bought it to use in a hexing. (Come on ladies and crones, we need all of you in on this!)
By the time we left we had found the rare first edition books behind glass and had used all our credits plus some but we weren’t done. You see the missing categories weren’t actually missing, they were in two other locations, one just down the road, and one in town. So we obviously had to check those out too.
The one down the road called “Chapter 23” had it’s own book mobile filled with conspiracy theories and alternative belief systems. One nook was categorized as “Oversized UFO books.” Because they had so many UFO books they had to start sorting them by size! It wasn’t all Ancient Aliens, although that was a good chunk, some of this was new age stuff, others were books on reincarnation or manifestation. Inside the actual book store building we found a huge cache of DVDs and I was even able to find one in French! They had a whole section on foreign films. It was interesting that the majority of them were Bollywood movies. Beyond this was a huge room of religious books of all persuasions, guarded by a very friendly calico cat.
Upstairs I found the gender studies and LGBTQ+ books as well as puzzle games and local interest as well as two more adorable shop cats on a very dramatic looking sofa.
After poking through all this and petting each and every cat a few times we moved onto the bookshop in town which is where all graphic novels, foreign language children’s books, and popular pulp paperbacks lived. SO MUCH TOM CLANCY. And classics. But really Tom Clancy. Just oodles of it. I had to bypass that to find a French copy of the Little Prince which I’d always hoped I’d find somewhere one of these days. I am trying to learn French and I also love the Little Prince.
Being in town this shop was lacking any cats. But it was still nice. I think depending what you’re looking for each of these locations had something different to offer. It was definitely a lot of fun and I do believe we will go back… likely with more books to trade for credits!
