Not only are the staff of PUP’s European office fortunate enough to have an office right outside the grounds of Blenheim Palace, but since May 2008 we’ve had the excellent Woodstock Bookshop right across the road.

The building itself is reassuringly old and creaky, as all good bookshops should be, unlike the purpose-built industrial estate warehouses that typify the big chains these days. The interior is newly fitted to take full advantage of the limited floorspace, so with wall-to-wall books, there’s always something interesting on offer. The shop is rightly devoted to books rather than coffee and trinkets, and is so tiny that only one chair could be crammed into a corner for those who like to try before they buy.

The packed children’s section in the back occupies about a third of the shop, and the shop’s owner Rachael Phipps is as happy to dispense advice on kid’s titles as she is on Birdscapes and Hezbollah (both of which she’s placed in the window, presumably to keep the Press staff happy as we wait at the bus stop outside).

What I really like about this tiny bookshop, though, is the fact that there’s rarely more than one copy of any given book on the shelves. Browsing through the titles, you frequently feel as if you’ve spotted a rare gem, and – canny sales technique, this – I usually end up with a stack of books to take home because I can’t bear the feeling that I might be missing something brilliant. This is really where Rachael has the advantage over the giant bookshops in Oxford, where multiple copies will be heaped up all over the place on 3-for-2. And besides, if you really need a coffee, there’s always Blenheim Palace round the corner.

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Senior Production Editor Ellen Foos takes on the question “Have you been to a good bookstore lately?”

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As a life-long book lover I have many favorite stores. Two come immediately to mind. In the heart of a revitalization neighborhood in downtown Trenton, meet Classics Used and Rare Books. Owner Eric Maywar bends over backwards to draw people to his eclectic array of previously owned books. He hosts weekly chess and Scrabble matches, invites partnerships with local authors, organizes events with Trenton’s Downtown Association, and generally works hard and cheerfully.

I was recently in the small town of Johnson, Vermont, where Ebenezer Books has the market cornered for new books, with a nice children’s section. Owner Brad Fox brings books to sell when visiting writer’s come to read at the Vermont Studio Center. He is canny enough to bring exactly the right books for any particular audience. And he has also read many of them—a trait I find in most bookstore people (unlike the blank looks you get from sales staff in almost any other type of store these days).

Classics Used and Rare Books
117 S Warren St
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609) 394-8400

Ebenezer Books
2 Lower Main W
Johnson, VT 05656
(802) 635-7472

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Rob Tempio answers the question “Have you been to a good bookstore lately?” with a virtual walking tour of Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA with some diversions up to Montclair, NJ and NYC. Oh yes, and his cute beagle, Wendy, is along for most of the ride.

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