On the Road
On The Road There's Something About being on the road. For this feature, I write about places I visit, including libraries, cafes, bookstores, favorite reading places, and more bookish locations. I'll always let you know ahead of time if I'm travelling, and always welcome recommendations for your favorite places to visit.
-
Another Read Through – Portland, Oregon
There’s Something About Another Read Through At the end of June, I made it to the West Coast for the first time in my life. It was hot but beautiful, and I was visiting a friend who moved out to Portland, Oregon last fall so that made it all the more enjoyable. I told her I wanted to visit Powell’s Bookstore, and maybe one or two other bookstores if time allowed (I was there for just three days). Luckily for both of us, she lives the dream of inhabiting an apartment just up the street from a bookstore. That bookstore is Another Read Through.
-
Raymond H. Fogler Library at The University of Maine
There’s Something About Fogler Library Another Homecoming has come and gone, and after a beautiful weekend of football, hockey, filling the steins, and catching up with friends, I somehow love my Alma Mater even more. The celebration wouldn’t be complete without a drive around campus, and a quick visit to Fogler, or officially, Raymond H. Fogler Library.
-
Portsmouth Book & Bar – Portsmouth, New Hampshire
There’s Something About Portsmouth Book & Bar Surrounding the Custom House in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire are restaurants, a gourmet grocery store, a handful of banks, and charming greenery contrasting the red brick of historic buildings. It’s like a lovely daydream, really, spending a sunny day in Portsmouth. What turns that daydream into a Utopian reality, however, is what is inside the Custom House. Blending the beauty of a bookstore with the refreshments of a bar is one of the happiest places on Earth: Portsmouth Book & Bar. Step inside this wondrous place and you will see a couple of table-height bookshelves as well as a few full-length…
-
Outside Brattle Book Shop – Boston, Massachusetts
There’s Something About [Being Outside] Brattle Book Shop On my most recent trip to Boston, I stumbled upon a bookstore that has been on my must-visit bookstore list. Yes, stumbled upon it. I was in the city for a Bachelorette party, and we were on our way to an Escape Room on West St. To my absolute elation, the building in which the Escape Room was situated happened to be a few steps away from the Brattle Book Shop. I may have loudly exclaimed that since we were early for our scheduled activity we should visit the Book Shop, which includes an outdoor sales space full of carts of books.
-
The Mustard Seed Bookstore – Bath, Maine
There’s Something About The Mustard Seed Bookstore Always trying to get as many errands done during the week as possible, as to ensure a more enjoyable and often carefree weekend, I recently found myself leaving the apartment to run errands on a Saturday. This perhaps had a lot to do with taking a vacation day the previous Wednesday, which threw an already busy week into a much more tightly scheduled timeline, leaving me little time and energy to get anything done after work. Anyway, this particular Saturday was cloudy, although warm, and after running said errands I couldn’t bring myself to spend the rest of the day cleaning or picking…
-
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…
