More than half a millenium ago Chaucer wrote about the Clerk (or learned man) of Oxenford. He wears threadbare clothes, his horse is as thin as a rake, and he himself is so thin he looks hollow.
*Ah, but he has books… TWENTY books, in a day when every one was painstakingly copied by hand, and hardly anyone could read. Few institutions had twenty books back then. His “library” (kept right next to his bed) represented a fortune, and whenever he scraped up some money, or even when he could borrow some from friends, he bought even more… not as investments, but because “Gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.”
*Books are far far cheaper today, but no less wonderful. If like the clerk (and like me) you like to prowl around ferreting out more books to buy, where can you go?
*Well, if you want the big-box big selection, complete with cafe, there are Barnes & Noble stores in Elmira/Big Flats, in Ithaca, and in Rochester. The Rochester selection is a little smaller, since it doubles as the U of R bookstore, but also includes a nice sampling of books by U of R faculty and alumni. Besides, you can just walk up the block from Strong Hospital, if you have someone spending time there. (This store also makes a good break if you have to drive up to Rochester to meet the train or do some business.)
*The only independent new-book store in the four-county region is Long’s, on Main Street in Penn Yan. If you like bookshops, take a ride out there. You’ll be impressed by their selection. There’s also a very good local-history section, and a large selection of cards, gifts, and office supplies. If you’re there on a summer Saturday, you’ll find a sidewalk farmers’ market out front.
*Across the street is a used bookstore, Belknap Hill Books, though in my experience the hours there can be whimsical. A block or two down Main is Books Landing, a friendly used-book place in a welcoming space, with a great selection of used jigsaw puzzles.
*Also on the used-book side, try The Paperback Place on Main Street in Canandaigua, or Autumn Leaves on The Commons in Ithaca. Autumn Leaves has a magnetic effect on me whenever I’m in town. It’s a large store for used books in a university community. There’s ALWAYS something interesting.
*That’s also true at Book Barn of the Finger Lakes, out between Dryden and Ithaca. Just prowling through the place is half the fun.
*Over on Geneseo’s Main Street, Sundance Books has held its own for decades.
*Henrietta Library has a year-round book sale room. Dormann Library in Bath has its Wednesday “book barn” on the grounds whenever weather suits. Libraries in Corning, Ithaca, and Hammondsport have significant sales from time to time.
*If you want graphic novels, go to heroes Your Mom Threw Out (Elmira Heights), Comics for Collectors (Ithaca’s Collegetown) or Pulp Nouveau (Canandaigua).
*Each of these towns is interesting in and of itself, and there’s always someplace not too far away to get ice cream. Take a ride. See the sights. Buy some books.