Bookseller Review: Bookends

Bookends

80 Maple St.

Florence, MA

413.585.8667

www.abebooks.com/bookends-northampton-ma-u.s.a/62006/sf

Bookends offers selections from the expected to the unexpected in virtually every category. Its strengths are in history, biography, natural history and particularly in literature-fiction, poetry and literary criticism. Bookends also has a sizeable collection of foreign language books. 

What we like: Any book store with a cat is good by us. Plus, the selection is solid (two stories), the owner is extremely nice, and the prices are reasonable.

What we don't like: We visited once while we were living in Northampton and there were cookies. On this visit, no cookies? 

Would we go again? Yes. It's too good of a book store, and we like the town of Florence too much, to not go back any time we can.

Not likely to be the 'Last' for us

Third on our stop in Northampton during our 48-hour stay was Gabriel Books, on Market St. Tucked among various antique shops, Gabriel had been recommended on our visit to Old Book Store on the other end of downtown.

We've already posted perhaps our best find at Gabriel Books on this visit, this sweet bumper sticker. It's not that we didn't find books to add to our collection. But whether it was because of spending fatigue after visiting Old Book Store and Raven Used Books, or if it was just plain old physical fatigue after carting around a bag full of books from those two stores, we only left Gabriel Books with one new item. Yet another copy of James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, our second on that day alone!

Much like Deborah with Pride and Prejudice, I often can't resist picking up a new copy of a "Leatherstocking Tale" whenever I find one. But sometimes I can resist. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the visit to Gabriel Books on this day was getting a chance to check out an N.C. Wyeth-illustrated edition of Cooper's The Deerslayer. Very cool, and in really good condition for being such an early copy of this particular edition (not a 1925 first edition, I don't think, but not far off). But at $150, it was too rich for our blood.

Still worth getting a look at, all the same.

Book added: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Years: 1940

Where obtained: Gabriel Books

Price: $4.00

Bookseller Review: Gabriel Books

Gabriel Books

21 Market St.

Northampton, MA

413.586.5596

www.abebooks.com/gabriel-books-northampton-ma-u.s.a/182084/sf

Books of all types bought, sold, and appraised. The book buyer is in the store on Fridays and Saturdays. Housecalls can be made for larger collections. The bookshop was started as The Madeleine in Isla Vista, California in 1972 by John and Patty Riley. It continued as The Globe in Northampton, Massachusetts, and now is named Gabriel Books after the owners' son, Gabe.

What we like: Cozy space, books everywhere, a healthy section of classics, friendly owner who gave us a great bumper sticker.

What we don't like: No real complaints other than some of the things we really liked were out of our price range.   

Would we go again? Absolutely. Given a bit more time, I am sure we'd walk out of there with more than we did our first trip.

Not bad for being lazy

After a successful visit to Old Book Store, we made our way next to Raven Used Books in downtown Northampton. We had already made a long drive that morning and eaten a yummy lunch at one of our old favorites, Bueno y Sano, so by the time we made it to Raven, I was feeling a bit tired and ready to be done. I did a lazy scan of the fiction section -- so lazy in fact that Kristian picked out a Riverside -- a good one, The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot -- on his way through that I had missed. He playfully chided me for my laziness and I defended myself by producing a nice hardcover edition of Collected Stories of William Faulkner, published in 1950. We both enjoy a good collection of short stories, so I was pardoned.

As he continued to retrace my steps along the fiction shelf, he mentioned that he had noticed a smaller shelf of old hardcovers behind the cashier's desk, so I wandered over to check it out. When they keep books behind the counter it usually means they are out of our price range, but it is always fun to see what they may have hiding there. My eyes fell immediately on a very interesting old spine for Bleak House. Now, Bleak House is one of my favorite books -- the story is amazing, with so many layers. I highly recommend it. Dickens was genius, a magician with a pen. But back to this book. I asked to take a look at it and was delighted to find that not only was it in great shape, but it was printed in 1883, and it was $15, which is absolutely in our price range. So that rounded out a nice little purchase at Raven Books -- not bad for being lazy.

Books added: Bleak House by Charles Dickens; The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot; Collected Stories of William Faulkner by William Faulkner

Publishers (in same order): Estes and Lauriat; Houghton Mifflin Co. Riverside Editions; Random House

Years: 1883; 1961; 1950

Where obtained: Raven Used Books

Prices: $15.00; $5.50; $6.00

Bookseller Review: Raven Used Books

Raven Used Books

4 Old South St.

Northampton, MA

413.584.9868

www.ravenusedbooks.com/raven_site_002.htm

Raven specializes in academic and scholarly titles, and offers a wide variety of children's books, poetry, fiction, gardening, philosophy, cultural studies, cookbooks, eastern and western religions, fantasy and science fiction, mystery, Native American studies, women's studies, African American studies, Greek and Roman classics, linguistics, history, science and nature, and much, much more.

What we like: Raven is the quintessential college-town used-book store. A solid wall of fiction, always-changing inventory, good people-watching, good deals, and -- last, but certainly not least -- a location next door to one of the best ice cream shops on the planet.

What we don't like: On occassion, the collection can be a bit too "college course newer used book" and therefore lacking in older editions, but this is picking nits (specific to our goals) about a really good used-book store.  

Would we go again? Of course. Raven was a must-visit while we lived in Northampton, and it'll continue to be any time we are passing through.