My first stop on the "Free to $5.00" tour was at Pageturners Used Books (5004 Dodge), followed by a visit to the Blue Line coffee shop (4924 Underwood Ave.) Both are in the Dundee neighborhood and came highly recommended by several friends. I was not disappointed.
I don't know what it is, but I love the smell of old books. There's something comforting and just...right...about it. When that smell is accompanied by a cozy atmosphere, free coffee, and friendly people who love books and love their store, it just gets better and better.
Fiction books are on the main floor and sorted by genre and then author. They have a large selection of mystery and espionage novels. (Did they know I was coming?!) As I wandered around, I overheard a sales clerk discussing Faye Kellerman's The Burnt House. A mystery buff like me, the clerk said it was a great book - one of Kellerman's best. It looked right up my alley, and I had to get it. If you don't see another Tourist blog for awhile - well, you'll know why.But my favorite section may have been the young adult/chapter book area. They had some classic series I'd never heard of before like Pizza Paradise, newer series like Animorphs, and some that I read avidly as a kid (Babysitter's Club.) Zane Grey (including hard cover editions that were older than I am), Gary Paulson, Betsy Byars - I could have stayed in that one area for a long time.
The younger children's books are on the lower level, with a toddler-level couch right in front of them. Hurry in to pick up this great find...
The lower level also houses non-fiction and a large collection of VHS tapes, DVD's, and vinyl albums.
And throughout the store - often where I least expected it - there are couches and chairs where you can enjoy some coffee and read a book in peace and quiet.
Oh, yes - and what bookstore would be complete without a good collection of snowmen? That's right - snowmen. Jeff, the store's owner for 20 years, puts out a collection of snowmen every winter. Some are in plain sight, and others you may have to look for. The competition is on to see who can locate them all and get a correct count. And some sneaky patrons add a snowman to the collection when no one is looking....Limited parking is available on Dodge street, and a free parking lot is directly behind the store. They are open 7 days a week. But as for the hours...
My next stop was Blue Line coffee, but I'd forgotten the address. I was going to look it up on my phone and use GPS to get there, but I was inspired by the atmosphere at Pageturners, so I decided to go old-school. I asked the clerk. She didn't know either, but she kindly looked it up in the phone book and gave me great directions. What do you know? Old school still works!
I'm not a big coffee drinker myself, but I got an herbal tea at Blue Line that was delicious. I think it was the Bengal blend. And for those of you who do love coffee, I took along some fellow Tourists to sample the java. They both got brewed coffee and thought it was better than Starbucks. The availability of Sugar in the Raw was a nice bonus. The prices were very reasonable, too.
We got seats in front of the window, where winter sunlight streamed in on us. There was a mix of ages in the shop - some visiting and some enjoying the wi-fi access. All in all, a nice place to spend an afternoon.
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