Hobart Book Village
I have been SO EXCITED to share an awesome little book town in upstate NY that we stumbled upon by accident.
Last winter, Eric and I had booked a bed and breakfast weekend in a neighboring Catskills town. The owners of the B&B mentioned that there was a book village (say whaaa) a few miles away with a bunch of used book stores. Unfortunately, we had plans to meet up with friends in Oneonta that day, and along with an impending snow storm, we were only able to wander into one of the bookstores in the town. I’ve been waiting for an occasion to go back.
A few weekends ago, we had a family wedding to attend in nearby Windham Mountain and I learned that Hobart was just a half hour drive away! For those unfamiliar with upstate NY, this area would be considered upper Catskills. The village is close to Hunter and Windham ski resorts, about an hour and a half from Albany, and basically in the middle of nowhere.
Hobart Book Village has five book stores in the middle of town, each with its own specific niche. One shop specializes in antique and collectible books, another in international literature, another is solely science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, etc. There is also the Bibliobarn, which is a barn full of books in the next town over. More than one shop has a friendly cat, which, to me, makes a book shop complete (CATS + BOOKS = TRU LUV). What further impressed me was that the owners of each shop were completely supportive and complimentary of one another, which made it feel like a community. The village also holds events for writers and readers alike.
After spending much of the afternoon in the village and buying a few items at each shop, I can say that we rounded up a pretty good loot:
All-stars include Swamplandia!, my first Agatha Christie novel, and the smallest and cutest copy of War and Peace I’ve ever stumbled upon. Rowdy and Hiro had to check it out as well:
Do you know of a book town near you?
