Saturday in The Book Village of the Catskills

On one of the most beautiful days of August (after our ninety degree heat passed!), Glenn and I traveled to Hobart, NY. This small village at the northern edge of the Catskills is known as the Book Village of the Catskills. It boasts five independent bookshops within a two block area. Visitors come here from New York City to find books available no place else.

On Saturday, the town had its third annual private seller day where individuals who have new and used books for sale can become a book dealer for a day. I had never atteneded the event before, but now that I have my book, I decided this might be the perfect place to sell it. And it was. All the traffic past my little table (see picture above) were people who loved books. What better place for a writer to be. Not only were we surrounded by readers, but the people in town from the Rotary Club who sent around an individual to take orders for lunch and deliver the food back to the sellers to the book shop owners and book sellers were the friendliest folks. The shop owners provided us with coffee and date nut bread in the morning and wine and cheese after the event.

I met Don Dales there and, not only did he buy my book, but he's opening yet another book store in the village, a store that will stock the kind of books I love, mysteries. He's calling it Mysteries and More. The more will be coffee and perhaps even wine and beer. I can hardly wait until next spring when he's invited me to come and do a program.

I will certainly come back to the Private Seller Day next year as well as drop in to see how Don's shop is coming along and visit the other book stores in the near future. Perhaps one of these fall days we can jump in the car and drive over the mountain for a browse through the book shops there.

The village is close enough to Westchester County and New York City for a day trip. Visit their website www.hobartbookvillage.com. You can click on the logos for each of the shops to see what types of books they carry.

Now there's a weekend adventure for you: the breweries around Cooperstown, NY and the Butternut Valley near Morris, NY and the book village in Hobart. Sounds like autumn fun. And the kids will love the Baseball Hall of Fame. There's something for everyone in Upstate New York.