Literary Adventure in Boston & Cambridge
I recently visited a dear friend of mine who lives up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and it just so happened that the Boston Book Festival was on the same weekend as my trip. This post will specifically be book related (festival, book stores, library, etc) a second post will be up and that will cover food, historic locations and general toursity fun. All the information for the places visited are listed at the end of the post.
After the Book Shop we went to the Boston Book Festival. There were various events within the festival, lots of talks, book signings, etc. We went to the fair at Copley Square which is directly across from the Boston Public Library. The fair itself was small, lots of independent publishing companies and local bookshops (including Brattle Book) had tables and lots of goodies.
I absolutely adore Cambridge and all it's charm. The Cambridge Public Library quiet possibly is the complete opposite of the Boston Public Library. It's very modern and looks very industrial. Because of it's location, this library is not as touristy as the Boston Public Library but since my friend lives in Cambridge we were able to check out some DVDs.
On our last leg we went to the Harvard Book Shop on campus and it was lots of fun. They had a sale going on that weekend but by this part of the trip I had already purchased so much books that I ended up with postcard.
Until next time,
Places Mentioned
Brattle Book Shop
"One of America's oldest and largest used book shops"
9 West Street, Downtown Boston, MA 02111
Boston Public Library (Central)
700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116
Cambridge Public Library (Main)
449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138
Boomerang Thrift Store (Central Square Location)
563 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
Rodney's Book Shop
"Rare, Used & Out of Print"
698 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
For information on the Boston Book Festival please visit http://www.bostonbookfest.org/
Boston
Brattle Book Shop, Boston Book Festival & Boston Public Library
Brattle Book Shop, Boston Book Festival & Boston Public Library
On the Wednesday before my trip I actually found Brattle Book Shop in a Buzzfeed article titled 44 Great American bookstores (it's number 22!) The Brattle Book Shop then had the info for the Boston Book Festival which started this whole literary adventure.
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| Brattle Book Shop |
Brattle Book Shop consists of a main store (shown above) and an outside courtyard where they sell $1, $3 and $5 books. Brattle Book has been around since 1825 and it is a bibliophile's dream. I was very much overwhelmed by the selection of books and it was very hard to take it all in. The building itself has three floors. The third floor is where they have a large selection of rare and antiquarian books, posters, newspapers, etc.I particularly found this volumes of Shakespeare very attractive.
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| Complete Works of Shakespeare |
After the Book Shop we went to the Boston Book Festival. There were various events within the festival, lots of talks, book signings, etc. We went to the fair at Copley Square which is directly across from the Boston Public Library. The fair itself was small, lots of independent publishing companies and local bookshops (including Brattle Book) had tables and lots of goodies.
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| Brattle Book Shop Table at Boston Book Festival |
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| Boston Book Festival |
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| View of festival from Boston Public Library steps |
The Boston Public Library (Central location) is one of the most enviable library I've ever visited. It is absolute stunning. I'm not quiet sure what the actual history is but there are two buildings attached with a gorgeous courtyard with fountain and seating.
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| Courtyard |
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| Front of Library |
If you are ever in Boston near the Copley Square area, I highly recommend visiting the library even for just a quick walk through. It's near lots of shops and restaurants and we had a lovely time just sitting by the fountain for a few minutes to relax.
Cambridge
Cambridge Public Library, Boomerang & Rodney's Book Store
Cambridge Public Library, Boomerang & Rodney's Book Store
I absolutely adore Cambridge and all it's charm. The Cambridge Public Library quiet possibly is the complete opposite of the Boston Public Library. It's very modern and looks very industrial. Because of it's location, this library is not as touristy as the Boston Public Library but since my friend lives in Cambridge we were able to check out some DVDs.
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On the way home we stopped by Boomerang. Although Boomerang is not a book shop (it's actually a thrift store), it has a really cool book section and surprisingly a lot of new released books. Two blocks down there's also a book store called Rodney's which also has a large collection rare books and posters.
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| Boomerang Store Front |
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| Rodney's Book Store Store Front |
On our last leg we went to the Harvard Book Shop on campus and it was lots of fun. They had a sale going on that weekend but by this part of the trip I had already purchased so much books that I ended up with postcard.
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| Inside Harvard Book Shop |
The Unintended Book "Haul"
And finally, these are all the items I received or purchased on my literary adventure. And I know this may not seem like a proper "haul" but bear in mind this was supposed to be a weekend trip so I didn't plan on bringing 10 pounds worth of books back home.
Justice: What's the Right Thing To Do? Michael J. Sandel from Brattle Book Shop
The Queen of the Tearling - Erika Johansen from Boomerang
A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry from Boomerang
The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin from Rodney's Book Store
Postcards from Harvard Book Store
As always thank you for reading my post, all of the links and information are listed below. Stay tuned for Part 2 of my adventure which will include food and let's be honest... more food!
Until next time,
Places Mentioned
Brattle Book Shop
"One of America's oldest and largest used book shops"
9 West Street, Downtown Boston, MA 02111
Boston Public Library (Central)
700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116
Cambridge Public Library (Main)
449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138
Boomerang Thrift Store (Central Square Location)
563 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
Rodney's Book Shop
"Rare, Used & Out of Print"
698 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
For information on the Boston Book Festival please visit http://www.bostonbookfest.org/
