On Saturday, the beau and I decided to take the trip to Niantic to visit The Book Barn and have a nice lunch by the shore. I decided to go prepared this time and I made a list of books to look for. I still took my time browsing the shelves but it was nice to have some authors in mind. I am pleased to say that I was able to find almost every book I had on my list at The Book Barn for only $1.00 each!! You just can’t beat that.

If you live in New England, I highly recommend you take a drive to Niantic and visit The Book Barn. It’s lovely in all seasons, though I prefer to go in the Fall. The “About Us” page on their website provides some insight regarding their mission: “The primary mission of The Book Barn is, of course, to serve as a provider of books, uniting people and books together in biblioholic bliss.” That sums it up but really, The Book Barn is so much more. It’s one of my favorite places to be, even if you aren’t a bibliophile, it’s worth taking the drive.

Besides the amazing books that you will find, The Book Barn also hosts some other fun perks, such as:

• They have a plethora of kitties on the grounds! Their website even offers a handy “Guide to Finding Our Cats” This is one of my favorite things about The Book Barn and I have to give a little shout out to my dear friend Frank who passed away last year. He was my buddy, and we had quite a few snuggle sessions over the past few years.

• There are comfy chairs all over the place so you can lounge and browse and/or read!
• They provide treats like donuts, tea and COFFEE
• They have a goat!
• There is a secret basement that houses SO MANY BOOKS and some very quiet corners if you need to curl up and read for a bit.
• The grounds are gorgeous, flowers everywhere and they have picnic tables so you can bring your own lunch!
• There are now three separate locations! My favorite categories are as follows: The Book Barn: Fiction and Young-Adult, The Midtown Store: Children’s and The Downtown Store: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Cookbooks and SHAKESPEARE. There are, of course, many other genres and maps with all of this nifty info can be found at the main barn!
• The staff is amazing and unique, and they are always happy to chat! In fact, Jim from the Downtown store and I were partaking in some “book people” chat just this weekend, mostly to confuse the boyfriend but also just because we can!
• Speaking of the staff, they’re hilarious. I sometimes feel as if I belong to this awesome “book people cult” when I laugh out loud at their left-handed humor. An example can be found in this blog post regarding their shelf labeling.

I bet you’re actually wondering what I picked up on this trip? Here is a picture of the haul I picked up this time – keep in mind I held back as books are currently taking over the apartment:

Being a collector of all things Wizard of Oz I obviously had to buy that one.

The Gates by John Connolly

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier

Into the Green by Charles de Lint

Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint

Also, not present in the picture, I picked up some books for friends and family.

So there it is, my weekend day trip that I look forward to a few times a year. It is a wonderful place to visit for both book lovers and lovers of book lovers – you need someone to help you carry your books, don’t you?

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