The Village Bookstore, Warrenton, Missouri

Valerie Hays, owner
The Village Bookstore
Warrenton, Missouri

It is always a great pleasure for me to visit used bookstores on my travels. I was not disappointed when I walked into The Village Bookstore in down-town Warrenton, Missouri last weekend.

The bookstore is well lit and not only services those who like a good literary bargain, but also has a coffee bar, comfortable couches, and tables scattered about for those who want to linger. 

The owner, Valerie Hays, is a woman with a welcoming smile. She told me that she opened the business three years ago. It sprang from her involvement with Mercy's Hope, a program that she and her husband started in Githunguri, Kenya. There they are working with an orphanage that serves over 50 children and one of their main missions is to make sure every child gets an education.  In the store, she also sells jewelry and bags made by women of the village.

I had a ball browsing her collection of over 20,000 books. In addition to the regular fiction and non-fiction sections, she has long shelves filled with first editions and vintage books. 

I was fascinated with this mural (painted by someone who works in the store) showing elephants walking across the Kenyan plain. Quite an eye-catcher, don't you think?

As June was Customer Appreciation Month I got a discount on the six books that I bought. Lucky me! I will tell you about those tomorrow.

Adventures along the Mississippi

Photo source: Bill Herndon
flickr

The past few days I have been visiting friends who live along the Mighty Mississippi west of St. Louis. There has been much rain recently and the river knows no bounds. Flooding has created waterfront property where, until recently, there was none. The sign above was erected along Hwy. 79 in Missouri after the 1993 flood and states: It's called Flood Plain because it is Plain that it Floods. 

(I am delighted that I found a photo online to share with you as I didn't think to take one.)

Further up Hwy. 79 from where I was staying is Hannibal, home to Mark Twain and a place I visited a few years ago on the Fourth of July. It seemed fitting to be there on that particular day. Now the road is closed in places due to high water. 

On that Independence Day visit to Hannibal, the whole town was out celebrating the holiday. It was quite festive with bands and booths and bunting. I tried at quite a few stores to purchase a hardback edition of Twain's Life on the Mississippi but could only find it in paperback which surprised and disappointed me. 

On this past weekend trip, I did manage to make a pilgrimage to The Village Bookstore in Warrenton, Missouri and walked away with a sack full of books. No surprise there! It is a great three-year-old store located in the heart of old downtown and is owned by Valerie Hays. 

I will have more to report on that adventure tomorrow, so stay tuned.