Every year I go to Bend, Oregon with several friends for a girls’ weekend. We sit in our pjs long into the day, eat well (very well) and hike. Once over the weekend we clean up and go into town. We eat French fries and pine nut tart at Merenda and then head over to The Book Barn.
When I first went three years ago and asked the owner for a recommendation, we discovered we had similar tastes, everything she liked I had read. That made for a terrific conversation, and I spent an enjoyable half hour talking about books with her; but this is in part a community experience and in part a quest. Finally, she found The Brothers K by David James Duncan, a New York Times Notable book from 1992. As a Dostoevsky fan, I was immediately intrigued. This find feels extra special because people rarely talk about a great book they read ten or twenty years ago, to the extent they talk about books, it’s mostly classics or current fiction. Sometimes I’ll ask a clerk is there an older book you loved, not a classic, but something terrific you haven’t thought about in awhile and come up with a great read.
When we visited the store last spring, there was a tall bookshelf with staff recommendations, we bought five of them. The owner mentioned that she doubted the store would continue and she was right, it no longer exists as a storefront. After 35 years in Bend, The Book Barn is now a virtual store located at bendbooks.com. Their specialties throughout the years, local history, literary fiction, young adult, local authors, can be purchased online (with limited free shipping). Staff picks appear on the opening page and they send out a monthly newsletter with book recommendations and events held locally. I’ll feel the loss next year when I’m in Bend, but I’ll drown my sorrows in an extra piece of pine nut tart while reading their newsletter.
The Book Barn
541.389.4589
Tags: Bend, Bend bookstore, Oregon, Oregon bookstore, unique
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