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Wednesday 20 April 2011

The bookshop from heaven

Welcome SheWriters from the blog hop.

I have recently moved house to a lovely historic village, and our nearest small town is only five minutes drive away. Having spent a few weeks heaving boxes of books and then trying to find shelf-space for them all, I vowed to buy less books.

No sooner had I said this than I went to the supermarket in our local town and almost next door was this  - Aargh! the lovely Carnforth bookshop with its 14 higgledy-piggledy rooms of 100,000 second hand books! As you can see, the door is wide open, and who could resist? When I got inside I found there is coffee on the boil and a downstairs section with new books. You can even buy the gift-wrap and cards if you want to buy a book as a present, or for the musical - indulge in reams of sheet music.

Needless to say, I was in there more than an hour (the appropriate for Lent idea of "shall I try giving up buying books" forgotten) and I came out with three books. As an antidote to internet buying, it is a true bookaholic's browsing experience. Particularly delightful is a room of hardback fiction all at £1.

Though I have to say the writer in me is reluctant to buy second hand as I know how much work goes into a book and how the royalties from it stack up, but I forgive the Carnforth bookshop as it has a very good section of new fiction that you come to first before going upstairs to the used books.

As a reader of course I can't resist cheap second hand books, and the smell of leather and old paper. And the charm of exploring narrow stairways and inter-connecting rooms all stacked floor-to-ceiling with mostly one-offs.

Guess I'll be needing a few more shelves.
And if you are searching for a rare out of print book, why not try them www.carnforthbooks.co.uk

13 comments:

  1. What a lovely bookstore! We don't have any used bookstores in my small town, but some thrift stores that occasionally sell books and the discards from the library.

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  2. Yes you can get great buys in thrift stores - here they are usually called "charity shops" and are run by Oxfam, Save The Children, Age Concern etc. Thrift store is a very evocative name for them.

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  3. I'm here with the SheWriter Blogger Ball. I wish I had a bookstore like that near me. I love your site. I'm a new follower.

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  4. I'm stopping by as part of the She Write blog hop. I'm also following you now.

    I wish I had an indy bookstore by me. That would be glorious.

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  5. Talk about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. What a find after the drudgery of moving.

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  6. I love the idea of living in a small town, as long as my whole family moved with me. I love exploring bookstores and love antique children's books. Here with Blog Hop as well. :)

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  7. Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for following, Dawn.Janel - that is a beautiful dog!And Tanya, a lovely family photo. I'll stop by your blogs over the next few days. Have a nice Easter!

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  8. Deborah, your blog is beautiful, and congrats on finding such a quaint lil village to live in. Sounds heavenly. The rejections post is hilarious. Thanks!

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  9. Sounds like this bookstore has so much more charm and character than the Barnes & Nobles and Borders around where I live (Virginia USA). Not that I haven't spent hours in B & N and Borders.... By the way, I am visiting from the SheWrites Blog Hop. I enjoyed this post and look forward to reading more.

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  10. Can't help loving book stores... at least it ignites the writing spark and sets it burning! May even be a tax deduction for some...
    Just love the background on your blog, mmmm!

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  11. Hello. I am visiting from She Writes. Such a fantastic sounding bookstore in your neighborhood. It reminds of one my mother used to take me to when I was younger. I hope you enjoy the blogger ball!

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  12. Oh, I have made the same promise to buy less books myself. Many, many times. But you're right. That bookstore is irresitable:)

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  13. Thanks for visiting everyone, I enjoyed my hop round most of the sites - got square eyes now!

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