Carlson Turner Books and Bookbindery
There’s Something About Carlson Turner Books and Bookbindery
Most of the time, I shop exclusively at one local bookstore (that has multiple locations here in Maine), primarily because once I find a shop/restaurant/bar/hiking spot that I love, I don’t feel an overwhelming pressure to stray. I also frequent a handful of the bookstores in Portland, Maine – one conveniently sits next to the library and its sidewalk used book sale always draws me over. However, one bookstore I hadn’t yet visited is now one that sits on top of my list of favorites. This bookstore is Carlson Turner Books and Bookbindery.
Turn westward where Congress St. meets Washington Ave. and you’ll see a row of narrow buildings you can’t help but notice for their whimsy, as well as the cemetery facing them on the opposite side of the road. If you don’t notice the sign above the door for Carlson Turner Antiquarian Bookstore and Bookbindery, the most charming section of sidewalk in the city will beckon you, leading you right through an old door and into what I daresay is the most charming store in the city.
The musty smell fills your nostrils and lungs almost immediately; the quickness of this makes you forget that this is not how everything smells. Faced with tall bookshelves I got lost in the most perfect way.
New novels, literary classics, childhood favorites, rare collections, dictionaries, foreign language texts, maps, and even (eek!) old grammar books. I must have passed through each shelf-hallway three times, each time spotting a title I hadn’t noticed before. A typewriter sat in the back, surrounded by more bookshelves, and although the floor seemed fragile, it supported the bookstore’s contents well. I cannot personally attest to the Bookbindery services, but if I continue re-reading some of my favorite book editions to the point where my shoddy repairs don’t hold up, I’ll be happy to utilize them.
The quiet man behind the counter was working on a project and I didn’t want to disturb him, but he was kind and attentive so in no time (or perhaps, too quickly), I had made my purchase and walked back outside into the real world, hastily making plans to visit this bookstore again.
Carlson Turner Books & Bookbindery
www.carlsonturnerbooks.com
241 Congress St.
Portland, Maine
23 Comments
Jennifer
I LOVE finding a fun bookstore like this. Not many in my local area, I have to travel further out to find them.
kmac14
It sure is a gem!
Gabe Burkhardt
Makes me so happy to know that there are still bookstores out there. Such wonderful places to get lost for several hours.
kmac14
Absolutely!
Ritu
What a wonderful bookstore!!!!
Kelsey
It really is – I visited today as a matter of fact! 🙂
Ritu
I love finding places like that but inevitably I’m with my kids and they don’t let me look!
anhistorianabouttown
Bookbinding is such a fascinating trade, I was lucky enough to learn the very basics in a graduate course on medieval manuscripts (although it was a very specific form of restoration haha). I usually avoid used bookstores because I will end up walking away with 5 new books and I have hundreds of books at my house that I haven’t read!
Kelsey
Oh that is so cool! I would love to learn more about it. I was at this bookstore today actually, and overheard a conversation between the bookbinder and a customer about different options for creating and binding a photography book; an extra perk to shopping this bookstore. And same – I love used books and cannot control myself around them. 😛
Losing the Plot
Independent book stores are the best! We have an amazing one here called No Alabis that has a real community around it 😊
Kelsey
They definitely are! And neighborhood-serving bookstores are such gems. 🙂
fancypaperblog
I would sniff out this place immediately and get in there. I worked in an antiquarian bookshop for a while- one of the best jobs of my life xx
Kelsey
Oh I am so jealous – a fulfilling job, I’m sure!
fancypaperblog
It was just Hygge really
Char
How wonderful. Sounds like stepping into another world!
Kelsey
A great way to describe it! 🙂
Darlene
Sounds like a fabulous bookstore. Love places like this. I recently visited Shakespeare and Company in Paris. Delightful.
Kelsey
Ooooh I am so jealous! That is at the top of my international bookstores I want to visit bucket list! 🙂
Darlene
You would love it. I bought a Hemingway novel and they put their stamp in it. The staff were so nice too.
Kelsey
Oh my heart!
rachaelstray
There’s nothing better than discovering a quirky bookshop like this – I love the smell of books especially old ones!!
Kelsey
It’s absolute heaven!
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