25 in 2025 -- Visit a new Indie Bookstore -- The Village Booksmith

 Since I had plenty of time to kill while exploring the Dells, I decided to see if I could find an Independent (Indie) Bookstore to check out since I did not get to a new one yet this year. It turns out the only Indie bookstore in the Dells area was in Baraboo and it was a used bookstore. Since I was going to the zoo in Baraboo, I figured I might as well check out the bookstore.

The Village Booksmith is located downtown Baraboo. It is open daily: 10-6 Mon-Fri, 10-4 on Saturdays and 11-3 on Sundays. Summer hours might differ. There is plenty of street parking in winter around the square. Summer might be more difficult to find a parking spot. 

The Village Booksmith is not a large bookstore but it is crammed full of used and some new books. There is a dedicated children's section.

You can find all the different genres throughout the store. I particularly liked the "Brew Crew" section within the sports section.

As with any used bookstore, you never know what you are going to find. I wandered around trying to find something I have not read. I was going to pick up a Debbie Macomber book but then I saw some local mysteries by a local author. They were autographed and it fit my rules of I can only buy autograph copies to keep. It looks intriguing. 

If I had more time to kill, I could always have taken my new book and curled up on one of the many seating areas around the store to read. They looked very comfy.

The Village Booksmth is a charming store. If you are in need of a book while on vacation in the Dells, take the short drive into Baraboo and pick one up. 

5098. Go to the Dirty Bookstore in Appleton

 One of the ladies in my book club calls the used bookstore in Appleton "The Dirty Bookstore" because the books are used. The name kind of stuck with me and I started calling it the Dirty Bookstore and I wanted to check it out for years. I am just really into buy many books. I prefer the library, audio books, or e-books. 

The Dirty Bookstore is actually called The Book Store and was originally located up by Northland Mall but moved just west of downtown on College Ave. Parking is street parking or a tiny lot. I was going to visit last year but had to cross the railroad tracks. However, this year one of our Death by Chocolate stops made Heather and I walk right by it. I advised Heather we were going to check it out. Her response "Oh. No. Not a Bookstore."

The Book Store is a very nice bookstore with lots of books. Like any good bookstore it was arranged by genre and alphabetically. There were a few chairs scattered about to read your books. 

My favorite was the mystery section with the body outline on the floor.

I did find over an entire shelf of Brenda Novak books which was a good thing since I still need 9 more books to complete my 50 book challenge. I was running out of audio books to get from the library. I picked up 2 of the Whiskey Creek series books I was missing. 

There were also new books. You could ask them to order you a book as well. I was disappointed they didn't have the new Hank Philippi Ryan book so I could take a picture with the cover. Oh well. 

The prices are reasonable -- 50% off the cover price of used books and 15% off new books. My 2 books cost my $8. Not a bad deal. I would definitely check them again and next time I wouldn't be afraid of crossing the tracks.