Yesterday, I traveled down to Niantic, Connecticut to visit the Book Barn for the first time. The Book Barn is straight out of a fairytale! As an avid book lover, I always take time to go into a bookstore whenever I can, especially if I am visiting a new city or place! After making plans to meet my friend Courtney for a night of nerdom, I immediately checked out their website and learned that they have over 500,000 books to peruse in four different locations. Game on.

Courtney and I met downtown and we had dinner at the delicious Main Street Grille. Full and satisfied, we walked over to the midtown location to check out the children’s books, antiques, and collectibles. We took our time, wide-eyed and excited as we looked at the spines of old antique books. It was magical! I found this 1911 copy of Little Women—my favorite book! It was only $4!

I also found some books to add to my children’s collection—Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. They were $1 each! I quickly discovered that this was going to be a difficult endeavor—I already had to put away 10 books that I wanted to purchase, and this was just the first stop!

We got in the car and drove over to the Main Barn. All of the locations are within one mile of each other, which is not only super convenient but also gives you that serendipitous feeling of being inside your own literary world.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I knew that this was my place. The Main Barn was established in 1988 and has other buildings accompanying the barn, including the Haunted, a building filled with mystery and thriller novels. It was spooky, and I found out it has its own creepy story of origin! Fun!

All I can say is books. books. books! We spent a few hours perusing the shelves from poetry to fiction, visiting all of the spots, walking through the gardens, petting the adorable cats who came up to say “hello,” and filling up my reusable bag with literary treasures!

At the Main Barn, I discovered some great finds, including some classics I have been meaning to add to my shelves! Again, I made the choice to put some books back, but it only gave me more motivation to come back!

After making our purchases, we traveled to Store Four to take a look at memoirs, travel books, and some incredible antique and leather-bound books. I surprisingly made no additional purchases, but gawked at the beautiful Franklin Library leather-bound books, again, resisting the temptation.

Needless to say…I was spellbound! For those book lovers out there who haven’t been to the Book Barn yet: GO! And take me with you! It’s such a relaxing place where you can grab a book (or two…or 12!) and relax in one of their many cozy spots to read. They have the nicest staff who are always willing to help you find a book or offer recommendations. Families can also come and enjoy a picnic, play some giant checkers, chess, or Connect Four, meet and feed some friendly goats (!), and escape the busy demands of life. I can’t wait to visit again soon.