The Book Exchange is in Plainville, Connecticut. (For those who remember, it's not where it used to be. It's now on the Southington border.) It was one of the first places I discovered when I moved here six years ago. When I first moved to the area, Connecticut has a rather generic feel to me, so I was looking for something with a bit of character, and one day I stumbled on this bookstore.It's a used bookstore with an impressive inventory. In this day and age I have no idea how they stay in business. There are books there that I think probably haven't moved in years. I picked up a book the other day and brushed off the dust like I was in some kind of old movie. But then the store does have that fantastical quality. It's the kind of place where you wouldn't be all that surprised to trip over an old lamp and have a genie pop out.
But what you'll definitely find is over 40,000 hand-picked titles--which is impressive enough--but it's not just books. They also have everything from LPs to DVDs. If you're still looking for CDs, they have the most extensive and eclectic collection for sale that I have ever encountered.
At this writing, there isn't too much more to say about Plainville. Little seems to have ever happened in Plainville and little of what happens today sets it apart from other spots in the state. Even the town's website (at this writing) doesn't offer much in the way of town history. Instead, it suggests visiting the town's historical society website and all the links on that page are broken. Plainville does have a town balloon festival and the oldest private airport is also located here. So, we'll come back and check those things out. But, on the whole, Plainville is a lovely town, but aptly named.
Plainville stats:
Population: 17,382
Size: 9.8 square miles
Villages/Other Communities: n/a
Historic Places: Charles H. Norton House, Farmington Canal-New Haven and Northampton Canal, New Haven District Campground
1 comments:
thanks for your post on this cool independent bookstore. i haven't been there for a few years, but just recently thought of it and wondered if it still existed. google took me to your blog, and here i learned they'd moved. like you, when i moved to CT a decade ago, the store was one of the first places i found here, and i loved its funky uniqueness. cheers!
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