No Spoilers

Indie Road Trip, Day Two: We spent the night in Valley Forge, PA, and then stopped in at the Towne Book Center & Cafe in Collegeville. Coolest things: The incredible painted mural in the Kids’ Books section (which was painted in four days by an artist who used both hands to paint. I can’t even brush my teeth with my non-dominant hand); and the booksellers, Jennifer and Leah. Jennifer, who writes children’s books for fun, has been reading Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell, and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Jennifer made what may end up being my favorite quote of the trip: “If I ever get a tattoo, it’s going to say ‘NO SPOILERS.'”

Our next stop was The Doylestown Bookshop in one of the quaintest towns I’ve seen. We’re talking old clapboard buildings, leafy streets, blooming flower boxes, beautiful stone churches—on a spectacular fall day. Alayna, the bookseller we talked to, is all about “Classics, to the core,” and has recently read George Eliot’s Middlemarch, Tolkien’s The Return of the King, E.M. Forster’s A Room with A View, and (so you know she’s also open to what’s current) Wool, by Hugh Howey. If you make it to Doylestown, don’t miss Vintage, 63rd West State Street, where we had a blast trying on clothes, poring through costume jewelry, and talking to owner Debi Seltzer. Stacy found an incredible 1960s ensemble, right down to the purple suede boots.

The final stop of the day was the oldest bookstore in the country, Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem, established in 1745. We had tea and scones (hey, you gotta keep your strength up on a trip like this) and talked to Kaylin, bookseller extraordinaire (and a senior biology major at Moravian College), who has recently read and loved Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments and The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. I loved Kaylin’s “Gandalf for President” button, although she admitted she’s a “Harry Potter freak” and would probably vote Dumbledore over Gandalf if it ever came down to it.

We’re in New Jersey tonight, on to NYC tomorrow!