Imagine stepping into a bookstore where the air smells of aged paper, the shelves sag with untold stories, and each corner feels like a cozy secret waiting to be uncovered. Welcome to the Catskills, where some of the most charming, quirky, and downright magical bookstores are hiding in plain sight. From cozy cottages packed with rare finds to rustic shops filled with local literature and hidden gems, the bookshops of the region offer more than just pages—they offer a sense of place, a connection to history, and the thrill of discovery. One thing is certain: these bookstores aren’t just about selling books — they’re about creating an experience. So, grab your reading glasses and join us as we explore some of the best literary havens in the Catskills — where the only thing better than the books is the journey to get there.
In Hobart, bookstores are a way of life. On the edge of Delaware County farmland, there’s a Main Street that smells of old paper and strong tea. It doesn’t bustle. It beckons. This is Hobart, a postage-stamp-sized village with fewer than 500 residents — and six independent bookstores. In 2025, the Hobart Book Village is not just still standing in the age of digital everything. It’s thriving.
Welcome to New York’s most literary hamlet, where books are currency, conversation, and community.
There are no stoplights in Hobart. There is no chain café, no sleek coworking hub. What there is: floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, creaky wood floors, and the sense that time moves at a slower, more deliberate pace here.
It all started in 2005, when a handful of booksellers envisioned something unusual — a town of shops centered around the printed page. Today, that idea has matured into a cultural ecosystem. Throughout the year, bibliophiles from across the Northeast make the pilgrimage for browsing weekends, author talks, and hands-on events like cookbook tastings and embroidery workshops.
On the corner of Main Street and history stands William H. Adams’ Antiquarian Books, a multi-story trove of tomes printed before 1850 — along with rarities and local-interest finds that stretch the imagination.
Here you’ll find a first edition of Milton or a treatise on Roman aqueducts. One floor up, a tea tray rests beside a stack of hand-stitched poetry chapbooks. The shop specializes in Greece, Rome, Renaissance art, Judaica, and regional nature guides — but also, simply, in the joy of discovering something you didn’t know you were looking for. (Tip: Ask for the handwritten inventory.)
Just a short walk away, Blenheim Hill Books welcomes browsers. This cozy shop offers shelves upon shelves of biographies, women’s studies, LGBT literature, gardening guides, and photography monographs. Think of it as a slow browse with a side of tea and transatlantic wit. The store’s back room occasionally hosts intimate readings and poetry circles. You’ll often leave not just with a book, but with a conversation still echoing in your head.
If Hobart had a kitchen table, it would be Creative Corner Books. This specialty shop combines culinary history with craft culture, offering everything from antique rolling pins to Japanese cookbooks to knitting kits for kids.
It’s also the most hands-on of the village’s offerings: Creative Corner regularly hosts sewing classes, bookbinding demos, and tastings tied to new cookbooks. During the summer’s Hobart Farmers Market, they hand out homemade samples and family-friendly recipes.
Early risers are rewarded at Liberty Rock Books, which opens its doors at 10 a.m. for eager browsers. Housed in a sprawling 5,000-square-foot building, the shop is divided into a main retail space, an art gallery, and a lively consignment room where multiple vendors offer books and curiosities for all ages. Known as broad generalists with deep specialty collections, Liberty Rock’s shelves are packed with used and rare titles gathered over more than 45 years. Highlights include an impressive selection of 19th- and 20th-century children’s books, art volumes, science fiction, and religious works.
Frequent new acquisitions ensure that even regular visitors always have something new to discover.
Open Friday through Monday, NY Books & Ephemera specializes in all things New York. The shop offers a rich variety of new, used, and vintage books focused on the Empire State, alongside an eclectic collection of vintage ephemera.
A section of the store, “Made in New York,” showcases the region’s creative spirit with locally produced food products — including jams, honey, and maple treats — and handmade gifts such as jewelry, knitwear, kitchen linens, and tote bags crafted by area artisans.
The village’s literary life spills outdoors with spring sales and events, a women writers festival in June and book clubs that gather at various locations. And when the sun sets over the western Catskills, lighting the storefronts in a warm hush, it’s clear: Hobart isn’t a tourist trap or a marketing gimmick. It’s a love letter to literature, written slowly, in longhand.
How to Visit: Hobart is located off Route 10 in Delaware County, just over three hours from New York City. Most shops are open Friday through Sunday, with extended hours during festival weekends. Lodging options range from restored inns to quiet farmstays.
Pro tip: Bring an extra bag. You’ll need it. hobartbookvillage.com
The Lost Bookshop 120 Main Street Delhi. Independent bookstore. Books include contemporary fiction, historical fiction, sci-fi/speculative fiction, fantasy, mystery, classics, graphic novels, nature writing, science writing, history, books about the Catskills, cultural criticism, children’s books, middle grade books, and young adult books. thelostbookshop.com | 607-746-2120 | hello@thelostbookshop.com
Past Perfect Bookstore, 3460 Rte. 55 White Lake. A volunteer-run bookstore that relies on donations to keep the bookstores running. They have two used bookstores that they run. They believe in keeping their books at low prices to ensure that everyone gets a chance to own their own book. They accept donations from people who are willing to give books away. www.literacysullivan.org/bookstore | Phone: 845-583-7191
Read It Again Used Bookstore, 63 North Street Monticello. They offer language courses that teach people English as their second language. Along with this, the store offers GED classes for adults aged 17 and up with literacy training to adults. These classes are taught by trained volunteer tutors, and all these services are free of charge. Their mission is “...to foster and enhance adult and family literacy through the efforts of a corps...” www.literacysullivan.org | 845-794-0017
The Hound Books Bookshop, 3 Union St, Roscoe. Located in Roscoe, it is the first independently owned bookstore in Roscoe. They take inspiration from the nature surrounding them and their focus on poetry, essays, biographies, history and the writing craft with a dedicated children’s and young adult section to encourage and support curious minds. bookshop.org/shop/thehoundbooks | 607-290-4088
Ratty Books, 4893 NY-52, Jeffersonville. Inspired by the children’s book, “The Wind in the Willows,” this bookstore primarily focuses on children’s books and illustrations, and they are trying to expand into graphic novels as well. Although they specialize in children’s stories, they also have a selection for teens and even young adults so everyone can get their own books. Some events of theirs include a free children’s story/book club on Saturdays, yoga classes for kids, Lego club and karate classes on Sundays. www.rattybooks.com
The BookMark, 4919 Main Street, Jeffersonville. They hold rare books in their collection with varying subjects at hand. Their selections include Hemingway, Modern Literature, Warholiana, Vintage Paperback Cover Collectors, Samuel Garth’s OVID, and Children’s Books. The owner also offers horoscopes to those who ask. the-book-mark.com
Inquiring Minds Bookstore
Saugerties - 65 Partition Street, Saugerties | 845-246-5775
New Paltz - 6 Church Street, New Paltz | 845-255-8300
Founded in 2003, Inquiring Minds has been an independently owned business that sells secondhand books along with vinyl and little treats in their cafe. They currently have two locations, one in Saugerties and the other in New Paltz. www.inquiringbooks.com
Hope Farm Press 81 Ten Broeck Avenue, Kingston. They specialize in books about the state of New York and its genealogy, history, and military history. The store was established in 1959 in Cornwalllville, Greene County. It runs as a mail-order book business, and it is run out of the owner’s garage that he converted into a workspace. hopefarmpress.com/ | 800-836-7581
Golden Notebook 29 Tinker Street, Woodstock. Founded in 1978, this bookstore has gone through a lot of changes but the one thing that never changed was the community surrounding it. They often support their local businesses and even hold book fairs for the local school. Some of their proceeds go to non-profit organizations in the area as well. They have a variety of books from different genres. goldennotebook.com | 845-679-8000
Rough Draft Bar & Books 82 John Street, Kingston. It is a combination Bar and Bookstore. They offer a variety of alcoholic beverages like beers, wines, and ciders while also selling cafe favorites like pastries and coffee. They encourage people to come in and take a sip but also interact with each other. www.roughdraftny.com | roughdraftbar@gmail.com | 845-802-0027
Greene County
Briars & Brambles Books. Route 296 and South Street, Windham. Describing themselves as an Indie bookstore. “In addition to books, Briars & Brambles carries puzzles, games, stationery, table-top items, and gifts for everyone and every occasion.” They have various books clubs including Prosecco & Prose, Books & Bio, and great novels in literary history. www.briarsandbramblesbooks.com | 518-750-8599
Magpie Bookshop 392 Main Street, Catskill. Self-identified as a woman-owned bookstore, they specialize in selling secondhand books. They don’t have a website, but they do have an Instagram and Facebook page. 518-303-6035
Read & Read Again 4853 NY-81, Greenville. They call themselves “The quintessential small town bookshop.” This Greenville bookshop specializes in the perfect gift for anyone of any age. They have a multitude of genres in their arsenal. bookshop.org/shop/readandreadagain | 518-708-983
Otsego County
Cherry Valley Bookstore 81 Alden Street, Cherry Valley. They are an independent bookstore that focuses on selling used and rare books. Their collection includes fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and children’s novels. They also have an Etsy where they sell their rarer books. www.cherryvalleybookstore.com | 850-261-8715
Green Toad Bookstore 198 Main Street, Oneonta. Green Toad is an easily accessible bookstore in the Downtown area of Oneonta. They offer services where they pre-order books for customers. They also have a section where they feature authors in the area. greentoadbookstore.com | 607-433-8898
Willis Monie Books 139 Main St, Cooperstown. Located down the block from Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame Musuem, this bookshop will be sure to (Insert baseball pun). With over 100 genres in their roster, their book selection includes baseball, Americana, theology, art, natural history, cinema, music and opera, crime and law, psychology, and the list goes on. www.wilmonie.com | 607-547-8363
Catnap Books 574 W Main St, Cobleskill. Founded in 1994, walking into this bookstore will fill you with a sense of wonder. With their shelves up to the ceiling stuffed with different titles you will never run out of things to read here. catnap-books.edan.io | 518-234-4514
W. Whitman Books 304 Main St, Middleburgh. This bookstore is an all arounder. They sell used, new, and rare books along with curating art collections/antiques while also providing a space to hold concerts that feature music acts from the community. www.wwhitmanbooks.com | 518-827-3377
Speleobooks Sheldon Road, Schoharie. They specialize in books that are about caving and bats and have been in business for over 30 years. The owners often travel a lot, but they still have time to ship their books. Along with books, they also sell merchandise like clothing, household items, trinkets and more. speleobooks.com | 518 295-7978
