Field Library Bookstore (Peekskill, NY)

My mom wanted to pick up some paperbacks for an upcoming trip, cheap ones that she could leave places she stops along her way without compunction.  I recommended my go-to used book store, the Field Library Book Store in Peekskill, NY.

The Field Library Bookstore is an offshoot of Peekskill's public library (Field Library, in case that's not obvious). The books (and videos, etc.) for sale at the Field Library Bookstore are a combination of items that have been withdrawn from the Field Library and those that have been donated by library patrons and bookstore customers. Russell and I donated boxes of the books we weeded from our collection and I got a huge kick out of seeing some of my books on the shelves today.

In addition to serving as a vehicle for getting rid of items that have been weeded from library collections, the Field Library Bookstore also raises funds to support the Field Library.  According to the library website, "Bookstore proceeds have so far helped the library to purchase special computer equipment and new library furnishings as well as to support children's programs and services" (Library Bookstore)

The store's prices are cheap (for this area of the country) and reasonable given that some of the books are quite well-thumbed and/or library discards. While some items are specially priced, the standard pricing is as follows: hard covers are $2, trade paperbacks $1, mass market paperbacks 50c.

While the Field Library Bookstore is heavy on fiction, it does have a few small nonfiction sections (now full of books we donated) as well as sections dedicated to children's literature, classics, coffee table books, and videos (there may be others that I've overlooked). Romance novels are housed in a separate room.  I'm sure that the organizers of the bookstore were just utilizing preexisting architectural details, but I'm not all that keen on segregating romance in this way because I think it perpetuates the idea that reading romance novels is cause for embarrassment.

The store has a few seats where shoppers can sit to more fully investigate books the are considering buying as well as a small play area for children.

While I have shopped at the Field Library Bookstore before most of our trips have involved donating books rather than purchasing them.

As for today's trip, my mom ended up with 11 mass markets as well as one trade paperback and one hard cover.  Even though I need more books like a hole in the head, I picked up some as well.

Since I've sure that the photo isn't completely clear, here's what a got (in the order in which they appear):

• The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman
  (I couldn't remember whether I'd read this one before.  It turns out that I have, so I'll be passing this copy on to my mom)
• Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
• Pandora's Bottle by Joanne Lessner
• Tersias the Oracle by G.P. Taylor
• The Girl with the Botticelli Eyes by Herbert Lieberman

The Field Library Bookstore is located just around the corner from Bruised Apple Books & Music (see post), making Peekskill a great one-stop-shopping location for used books.

Field Library Bookstore
934 South Street
Peekskill, NY
914-736-7030
http://www.peekskill.org/library-bookstore/
Monday-Saturday, 10 am-5pm
n.b. occasionally the store is closed when it is scheduled to be open so if you are making a special trip, be sure to call ahead to check that they are indeed open

The Bookworm (Poughkeepsie, NY)

Last weekend Russell and I checked out The Bookworm in Poughkeepsie.

The store is a bit out-of-the-way on a curvy two-lane road. We had to turn around and backtrack because we'd driven past the driveway for the store before we even noticed it was there.

The shop is brightly lit with a large front counter and a spacious entryway where new stock is displayed. There were two salespeople working on Saturday. The guy manning the front counter was friendly and asked us whether we needed assistance. There is a small side counter where the second salesperson was sitting. I didn't pay much attention to her or her counter, but Russell thought that she was peddling jewelry.

Romance makes up about 35-40% of The Bookworm's stock. That's an guesstimate and it does seem like it might be an exaggeration, but seriously the front door is in the center of the shop and if you turn left, that side is audio books and romance. Only audio books and romance (and a small table of marked-down hardcovers). Everything else is on the other side of the shop.

Per Russell, The Bookworm's nonfiction selection was miniscule and not particularly well organized. For context, it seemed like the nonfiction section was about the same size as the children's section (not including YA books).

There was a good selection within the various fiction sections. And lots of little notes to point shoppers in the direction of their favorite authors (ie. look for so-and-so in paranormal, with arrow).

Overall the stock was on the newer side, in good condition, and strongest in romance and non-genre fiction. I suspect that it gets refreshed frequently because of The Bookworm's business model.

Individual items are not labeled. I was very confused by this until Russell showed me the big sign that explained The Bookworm's buy/sell policies (strangely, the sign isn't by the front counter, it's near the audio books).

The store's pricing is standardized, but high. 50% off list, plus a 25c handling fee. So they'd sell a $16 trade paperback for $8.25. They buy books (ie. give store credit) at 25% of list. The Bookworm seems like the kind of place that caters to regulars who treat it like a library, trading in their recently-read books for new reading material.

We didn't buy anything. Russell didn't find anything in the nonfiction he wanted and I didn't find anything I liked well enough to buy at their prices.

The Bookworm
1797 New Hackensack Rd.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
845-462-3873
hours: 10am - 5pm
closed Sundays
open 'til 6pm on Wednesdays

Bruised Apple Books and Music (Peekskill, NY)

As I mentioned, I'm going to start featuring local (and not-so-local) and independent (used and not-used) bookstores on the blog. This is the first of those posts. Let me know what you think.

Last weekend, Russell and I visited Bruised Apple in Peekskill. And, my, my, it is a wonderful shop. It's just the kind of used bookstore that I like best. It has a huge selection (50,000 titles, according to its website). It's organized, uncramped, and infused with mood-setting, but not distracting instrumental music. It's the kind of shop where you could spend an afternoon browsing and there's little surprises around every corner, including the postcards, notes, and clippings that decorate the endcaps.

Russell and I both browsed. My primary focus was the fiction sections, while Russell checked out the music (that section included movies as well) and nonfiction with a particular focus on history and biography.

The selection was quite good and the main sections each had multiple subcategories (urban fiction, Chinese history, etc.). Historical fiction is segregated from the general fiction/literature section and is referred to as something like "fiction inspired by history," which I thought was interesting. The YA section was overstocked with Stephenie Meyer (which isn't completely unexpected; I momentarily considered picking up a hardcover copy of The Host). The local-interest/Hudson Valley section is the only one that includes both new and used books. On the tops of the cases in the fiction/literature section I noticed old leather- and cloth-bound sets of Shakespeare, Dickens, etc, most priced for the entire set, but some available to purchase by individual volume. There are some rare books, but the bulk of the stock was standard modern used (which isn't a bad thing).

Russell thought that the music was overpriced, but the book prices were generally. quite good. I didn't buy anything, but Russell picked up a signed copy of William Pitt: the Younger by William Hague for $9.50. If you follow the link, you'll see that Powells is selling a unsigned used copy of the book for $24.

Bruised Apple does buy used books (not sure about music). Russell called prior to this visit to ask about whether they bought (remember all those books we've been weeding?) and the owner told him that they were pretty full, but that they might consider literature and local history. We didn't bring any books when we made our weekend visit, wanting to see what kind of items they stocked before making any offers. Russell went back during the week with some books, but they didn't buy any of them.

The image below will give you an idea of how big the storefront is (it's also quite deep). I don't have any inside shots since I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Luckily, though, the shop has lots of interior shots on its photo page AND a blogger from the local newspaper has an image-rich post on the store entitled Old-school works for me, every time.

Bruised Apple Books and Music
923 Central Ave
Peekskill, NY
914-734-7000
http://www.bruisedapplebooks.com
Established 1993
Open daily, call for hours