Montana has more independently owned bookstores per capital than any other state. A group of those shops have banded together to help promote their businesses and attract a peculiar type of tourism around the state. The Montana Bookstore Trail is the product of that effort. For the past 2 years, the Trail has raised awareness of these small businesses in our state. The concept is quite clever. Bookstore explorers get a passport, which they get stamped at each place they visit. The passport has a QR code on the back that leads to an entry form to register for a drawing to win prizes at the end of summer. The task is fun, but daunting because of the sheer size of our great state. My exploration of the Bookstore Trail this year were more limited.
2 weeks ago, my wife and I traveled to Reno to pick up books that my father left me when he passed. This was our fourth, and final, trip hauling boxes containing my parents' treasured library. I grew up visiting used bookstores on weekends, where my parents would hunt through cluttered shelves in search of obscure titles and other treasures. Our military family moved every few years, and I vividly remember my parents calculating the tonnage of their library whenever the moving trucks were coming. I relived that experience 4 times this year, hauling more than 80 boxes of books in the first three
trips and finally opting for a U-Haul trailer to finish out the effort.
I experienced more than a little good natured teasing over our decision to explore used bookstores as we left the state and on our return trip. "You're going to go book shopping on your trip to get a U-Haul full of books?" It's difficult to explain why we do it. The rationale is an amalgam of enjoyable aspects. Collecting books is part of it. Beyond that, there is the treasure hunt and exploring the different unique shops. Even more is the joy of spending time with my wife, kids, and friends as we explore. Finally, there is the future moments when a conversation about an obscure topic prompts me to dig into my collection and share a title with a curious friend. My father filled this role for me on many occasions, and I love doing the same for others.
My wife and I began our Bookstore Trail exploration with a stop in Helena to visit Aunt Bonnie's Book Company. We've actually been to this store several times over the last decade. It's a multi-generation business with a wide selection, a clean shop, and good prices. My wife and I picked up a couple of novels we had been looking for. We considered buying a few records from their selection, but passed because keeping records in a hot car for a week would likely end poorly.
Our second round of bookstores were in Butte, which we visited again on the way back home to hit the shops that weren't open on Monday, when we first stopped in. It is worth noting that 3 of the most unusual shops we visited were in Butte. The most unique was the How Novel Story Lorry. My wife texted the shop owner since it wasn't open that day. The owner gladly opened the Lorry for us to check out. The shop was in a a small camper. The owners started with a brick and mortar store, but opted to switch to the Lorry later. It was small, but delightful. The selection of books was limited due to the size, but included quite a few Montana authors and a selection of bookstore themed board games. We picked up a couple of independent author novels and a game there. On our return trip, we stopped at the Corner Bookstore, which is run by a friendly gal from Fort Benton. We talked with her for about an hour and discovered many mutual friends. The Corner Bookstore is run out of one of the oldest houses in the city. The owner researched the history of the home and proudly shared it with us. The fiction section in the shop were terrific, and they had a wide variety of funny stickers and book related novelties. I picked up a collection of essays and stories by JRR Tolkien as well as a pile of stickers for our kids. The Isle of Books was another stop on our return trip, which bears mentioning because the building was unique and because it featured a large selection. The building is downtown in a historic building that is interesting enough on its own to merit a stop.
Our trip through Montana now detoured up through Missoula to visit the Fact and Fiction bookstore. This shop is large, with a ton of books that are very well organized. The staff is friendly, and they had some unique collections for sale (including a section for local histories from small towns all over the state!).
After Missoula, we detoured off of the Bookstore Trail to visit the Montana Valley Bookstore in Alberton, Montana. This was my favorite stop of the week. I had seen billboards on several occasions advertising it as the largest used bookstore in the state and had been wanting to check it out for years. The shop itself is quite cool, with shelves that go all the way to the ceiling requiring you to use a step ladder to reach the highest shelves. They also have a concrete basement, a regular feature in truly great used bookstores. The basement is packed full of tightly arranged shelves loaded with paperbacks. Beyond that, the collection was truly terrific. I found books for some of my more obscure interests. As exceptional as this shop was, the owner was the icing on the cake. We talked to her for more than 2 hours. She introduced us to the store parrot, who shouted fun things from the back room while we were browsing. We learned all about the shop, which was started by her father. In addition, she visited with us about all manner of other topics. Montana Valley Books is easily one of the best bookstores I've ever been to, and I hope to see it added to the Trail in the future.
On our return trip, we visited the Bookstore in Dillon. This is yet another terrific little shop with a a great collection and friendly owner. The thing that stood out to me most about this shop was the fact that they featured complete and partial collections of books you could buy. The final stop on our return trip was Reading Leaves in Townsend. This book shop is housed in an old gas station/garage, which is an unusual experience. Their book selection was good, but what really stood out was their collection of games and play area for customers to hang out and enjoy themselves. The owner of this store is the organizer of the trail itself. I hope to interview her for an article in advance of the launch of next summer's bookstore trail.
There is so much more I would like to write about our trip, including our visit to the library in a 110 year old tree and stop to visit the Bed and Breakfast in a Dog sculpture. Ultimately, those experiences were discoveries brought about by our road trip and exploration of the Bookstore Trail. This year's Trail will continue through the end of September, which means there is still plenty of time to check it out.
