Common Good Books

My husband and I dropped our son off at the Science Museum to hang out with his friend today and then we checked out Common Good Books (Garrison Keillor, prop), a bookstore I've been wanting to go to for some time now. I love going to the big chain book stores because there's so much to look at but I also enjoy shopping at the independent bookstores, not only because they have charm and you feel like you're supporting the common man, but I always feel like an important or delightful discovery is just around the next bookshelf.

Common Good Books didn't disappoint. The main body of the store is in one large open room but to get to Fiction and Travel, Religion and a few other topics, you're required to pass through doorways to narrow hallways lined with bookshelves, like a funhouse, and at one point, the wall recedes to an alcove with a couch surrounded by posters and books where you can sit and peruse to your heart's content. After months of searching for The Girl With No Shadow, Joanne Harris' sequel to Chocolat, I finally found it here. My husband found Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life and a few other treasures.

CGB supports local authors by carrying many of their books and hanging posters celebrating their work. I know they hold many book signings throughout the year.

As it's a bit of a drive from our home, Common Good Books probably won't be a weekly visit, but I'm sure we'll stop by again...and again.