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We Sell Used Books
Our Many Book Barn Buildings
"Best Used Bookstore to Get Lost in" - New Haven Advocate
We refer to the original Book Barn as The Main Barn, which is a three story old barn. Ellis Island is where we house our “Book Immigration”, the newest arrivals live here until they are sorted and stocked in their appropriate building. The Annex, Hades, The Haunted Bookshop, and The Last Page all reside on the premises of The Book Barn.
Click here for a one-page guide to the Barn buildings you can print out to help you plan your visit.
The Main Barn:
In April 1988, The Book Barn opened for business in what is now called “The Main Barn”. At that time, the used bookstore consisted of a mere three bookcases, 800 books, and a yard sale couch. An unfortunate fire in the antique store above the bookstore in 1990 destroyed nearly everything. With support from loving family and friends, we were able to reopen for business, new and improved, in April 1991. In 1992, The Book Barn expanded into the upstairs of the Main Barn, and it seemed hard to believe we would ever fill all that space! That Christmas, we actually had a Christmas tree on the balcony. Click here to see the sections kept in the Main Barn.
The Main Barn is where you will pay for all of your newfound treasures. This is where our only cash register is located.
Many days you will find a number of kitties roaming the property. Some prefer to hang out in the Main Barn. Mrs. Howell, Oonah, Taback, Evinrude, and Tiger can often be found here. |
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Ellis Island:
Mr. Book Barn and his ilk buy books 7 days a week, 363 days a year. Named after that famous American landmark, Ellis is our book immigration station. We buy and sort all new arrivals here. During the summer months, we can take in roughly 1,000 books each day!!! Ellis is located just inside the parking lot. Many of our customers stop at Ellis to “browse” the new arrivals, and never get any further!
If you spend any time at Ellis, you will become quite acquainted with Frankie. He is our resident feline greeter. He is a large black cat who loves attention, and, oh yeah, whatever food is within his reach. Often times, you can find an orange tabby cat named Tiger. He is a sleepy cat that enjoys pettings, but prefers not to be picked up. A dark tiger striped cat named Casper also sits out at Ellis. |
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The Annex:
It wasn’t long before we had books packed wall to wall, floor to rafters in The Main Barn. The old cinderblock garage was converted into an overstock storage area, and The Annex was born. The overstock books found homes in their respected genres, and fiction took over The Annex. We are continually changing and stretching our shelves, so The Annex has been revamped again and again. Click here to see the sections kept in the The Annex.
Mini Mao is the little black kitty that spends a lot of her time in The Annex. She sometimes shares this space, and The Last Page with Miss A. |
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Hades:
Because we have such a large influx of books each day, it is impossible for us to sort, rearrange and shelve each book that comes in into their semi-permanent home. So Hades was created to hold paperback books, on like shelves until such time that they could be perfectly arranged. If you find that you cannot find the paperback book that you are looking for, Hades is a great place to look. These books are not in alphabetical order, however you will find them grouped together by category. You might spend days looking for that one perfect romance novel, only to emerge blinking into the sunlight with a tremendous crick in your neck and a stack of techno thrillers in your grubby hands. It’s a tricksy place, not for the faint of heart, but ohhh the treasures you might find! |
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The Haunted:
This wonderful two-story building started out as Mrs. Book Barn’s Halloween Party Spot. One bright spring day, Mr. Book Barn approached the beautiful Mrs. Book Barn and said; “ My beautiful wife, would it be okay if I were to store some boxes of books in your Halloween Barn, just until more shelves can be built?” The charming and yes, we dare say again, beautiful Mrs. Book Barn looked lovingly at her husband and said; “Of course my tired and overworked husband, you may store your boxes there!” ---Flash forward to 2007 --- The Haunted Book Barn is located way back behind the gardens, and is guarded by a herd of unruly cats. The Haunted supposedly belongs to Mrs. Book Barn, but we assert squatter’s rights. ---ahem, storage, right? Click here to see the sections kept in the Haunted Book Shop.
There is some debate as to whether The Haunted is really Haunted. There have been a number of people who believe they felt or saw something in The Haunted. Others, however, have left The Haunted with nary a paranormal twinge, we invite you to come see for yourself.
Chip is the resident kitty of The Haunted. He will sit in your lap, and when he does, he will suck on your clothes because he was separated from his mom too soon, and this soothes him. |
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The Last Page:
Originally intended to be an on-site storage of large lots we had purchased, it quickly became a last resort for many of our less desirable titles before they were dumpster bound. Hence the name the Last Page. Click here to see the sections kept in The Last Page.
As with all of our other buildings, we ran out of space. A small porch was added for the comfort of our customers to sit and read. Since we are in New England, and we do consider ourselves to be good Yankees, when we found the outhouse original to the property, we renovated it, and, of course, we stacked it with, what else?.. books. When visiting The Last Page, you will most likely run across the
elder feline of The Book Barn, Arielle, aka, Miss A. |
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The Book Barn Downtown:
Because More is Better.
There came a day when, yes we actually ran completely out of room. Although we barners are very good at finding room for one more book, one more shelf, one more bookcase, one more building; we did eventually discover that there was no room at the inn for our treasures. We knew that to keep you all in full supply of pages and pages of fun, we would have to find someplace for one more…
So our journey began to find a rentable space. We looked high, we looked low, we traveled to the far reaches of the globe, and we soon discovered that; There's no place like home!
So, we opened our second storefront in nearby Downtown Niantic. This is our 7th building, and we are located 9/10ths of a mile up the street at 269 Main St. Click here to see the sections kept in the Downtown store. |
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Browsing:
We also supply coffee, tea, cocoa, and water. And to keep up your strength while browsing, you may like to snack on some cookies, crackers and doughnuts. Feel free to pet our beautiful, big-boned kitty; Frank Downtown. We also have guinea pigs and turtles for your viewing pleasure. |
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