Mystery on Main Street in Brattleboro, Vt.

On a recent visit to Vermont, I went to Mystery on Main Street, a mystery-only bookstore in Brattleboro. It's a small space, but one filled with every major mystery author from around the world that you've heard of — and many you haven't. The British edition of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was displayed prominently (over two months before it would be available in the U.S.) and one wall was lined with books. In the back, you can find an Edward Gorey (a personal favorite) gift section, with books, magnets, bookmarks and things of that nature, as well as Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books.

Mystery on Main Street holds author events and maintains a pretty cute web site that's updated with new releases and an index of local authors. They're currently working on an online store, but for now you can place an order with them over the phone. I picked up a book there, thanks to a recommendation from the man working, and ended up loving it.

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Bookman's Alley in Evanston, IL

Todd and I recently visited the used bookshop Bookman's Alley in Evanston, Illinois. For those unfamiliar with the charming shop, it's pretty much like a museum inside, with interesting objects — armor, old military uniforms, paintings, gorgeous old desks that I coveted — filling every surface and corner.

Bookman's Alley isn't the sort of place to snag a $2 used paperback, but rather a place to go if you're able to drop $850 on a set of first edition Nathaniel Hawthorne novels. So while we left without buying anything, it was still fun to sift through boxes of old postcards and posters, try on old hats, and look at beautiful first editions.

Me leafing through Joseph Conrad's Victory, a novel that is sitting unread on my window shelf in D.C.