Used bookstores are my happy place. I love them so much. I remember my Grandpa Asselin taking me to Annie’s Book Stop on Cape Cod so many times and coming out with a store credit and a bunch of new books. It was like a book exchange! My Grandpa would get his Western’s, my Grandma would get some mysteries, and I would get whatever I could grab.
My dream has always been to open my own used bookstore. I would move to a quaint New England town (unnamed at this time….but I really enjoyed Vermont), open up a store in an old house on some main street, and become a part of the local scene. I even have a name for it, Nicole’s Book Nook. Corny, I know. But it’s been that way for ever in my head. There would be a cat named Pages, that walks around and mingles with searchers and readers alike. My model of the ideal store really took shape when my Dad was stationed with the Navy in Mechanicsburg, PA. I never fit into the whole PA lifestyle, but one day I stumbled upon Pomfret Street Books in Carlisle. Now this was my happy place:
I know I’ll be trying to take a quick visit when I spend my HS reunion weekend in the good ol’ Mech-burg.
This is how I imagine my bookstore to be. Of course I would live above/next to the bookstore too. It’s just how it is.
So, here’s to the day when I become independently wealthy and can afford to open my little bookstore. Lord knows I have enough books to fill one up.
Nicole Asselin Writer 