Me, astonished by the selection. This doesn’t even do justice to the monstrous height of the bookshelves.

Old books, that is. Like Kendall, I also made a venture to expand the small library of my summer dorm room (with an expansive collection approximately 5 books strong). I made a stop at “that used bookstore on Route 7!”, or as it is more formally known, Monroe Street Books. And let me tell you, this place is phenomenal. My lit-savvy friends and I spent a good chunk of time digging through stacks on tables right outside the storefront, and after already grabbing a few choice selections, were delighted to find a paper sign indicating that all these were $1 each! I was holding an anthology of poems about an inch thick and in like-new condition, and later picked up The Golden Book of American Wildflowers–literally a guidebook on plants–because, why not? Walking inside, however, I could not believe the sheer number of books. Every corner held more volumes than one could count (I’d be surprised to hear an exact number if one exists), and the shelves seemed at least 12 feet high.

Prices seemed to float around the $10-and-under range, but varied. Somehow I ended up with a conservative four books, but paid under $7 total. Among these was, most interestingly, a copy of Poetry magazine from June 1948–yes! 1948!–for only $1.50. I am an avid poetry reader and writer myself, and own all 11 copies of Poetry that were published last year, so this was quite the exciting find. Running since 1912 by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), this is “the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world.”

My newly purchased copy of Poetry Magazine (top) and a more recent cover of Poetry Magazine (bottom), unrecognizable from its 66-year-old predecessor if not for the title.

To show you how varied my literary interests are beyond this, my fourth purchase was titled Contemporary Poetry of New England. Call it what you will.

In short, if you are a fan of books, and better yet ones with a little bit of history to them, I wouldn’t hesitate to explore Monroe Street Books.