We recently took a trip to the Poconos in Pennsylvania and while on a day trip to Jim Thorpe, we stopped at Sellers Books, a small independent bookstore that has been located in the historic downtown area since 2008. This store is literally jam-packed with books from all genres, with space for only two rows of books, plus a small nook in the back. It didn't feel cluttered, but rather quaint and charming. A sign in the store lets browsers know that while they used to focus on used books, the pandemic and trying to compete with Amazon has led them to stock mostly new releases now. I ended up buying two contemporary romances that looked cute to me, as well as a book about trains for Henry (he and Tom took a scenic train ride while in town). I definitely recommend stopping here if you're ever in the area!
I also wanted to mention one other place we visited during our Pennsylvania trip - Library Express Bookstore! Not a traditional indie bookstore, this branch of the Scranton Public Library is located at the Marketplace at Steamtown (basically a mall, but it also has a small aquarium and even a dentist's office!). It acts as both a library and a bookstore - on one side of the store, patrons can check out library books and other materials, and on the other side, there are books for purchase, both used and new. All proceeds benefit the public library system. They also have lots of fun bookish merch, such as socks and tote bags. Their creative window caught my eye, as the display (along with another inside) is made out of book pages! I bought yet another book for Henry, this time the newest Little Blue Truck book (shhh!).
Have you visited any cool indie bookstores recently?
