There’s an illustrated edition of the Jorge Luis Borges’ story “The Library of Babel” with etchings by Erik Desmazieres. In it you will find images of an infinite library – winding, endless shelves of books. Everywhere you look –up, down, sideways - books. Books,books,books.
These images automatically pop into mind when you enter A Book Barn Of Finger Lakes. This is the place where all the books you have lent out, lost or lusted after are located. There are bookstores and there is this place – a booklover browser’s dream. This isn't a bargain barn--but each book is thoughtfully priced.
Though it may seem a bit overwhelming at first, books are categorized quite nicely. If you have any trouble finding anything –owner Vladimir Dragan is more than happy to help you out. He seems to have an almost preternatural connection with what he stocks – he’s a friendly guy who most certainly knows his stuff (and loves his cats).
But back to browsing. Before the days of the internet, there was the joy of walking into a bookstore – not knowing just you wanted but knowing you wanted to read something. Sadly, there are few places you can just mentally meander around until you find something that jumps out at you. At A Book Barn my girlfriend and I found a nice edition of a professional manual for 15th century witch hunters (The Malleus Maleficarum), my favorite collection of sci-fi (100 Great Science fiction Short Short Stories) 1917's Wild Animal Ways by Ernest Thompson Seton and The Rivers and Streams of England with 75 colour plates.
Bottom line: If you love books, you’ll love this place. It’s definitely a day trip destination.
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