It’s rare for upstate bookstores to make the pages of the New Yorker, but Rodgers Book Barn got its own tribute in 2010, with Meredith Blake describing it as “an enchanting, warrenlike atmosphere. One reviewer calls Rodgers Book Barn, “an absolute gem of a used bookstore.” Owner Maureen Rodgers, who has been running the shop since 1972, offers an array of uncommon and vintage fiction, criticism, memoir, biography, and history books for bargain prices––and self-serve coffee upstairs. This whimsical wooden cottage in Hillsdale is straight out of a fairytale, with a lush garden surrounding the house, books stacked to the top of every wooden shelf, cozy nooks throughout, and a friendly staff to greet you. The Spotty Dog Books and Ale also hosts live music nights, book signings, and multimedia performances.

You can also order bar snacks like locally sourced cheese plates from Olde Hudson, served with olives, sesame flatbread, and sopressata. At the bar, you’ll find a selection of craft beer from local brewers, sustainably sourced white and red wines, French-press coffee, and craft sodas. In addition to uncommon volumes, toys for children, and an expanded section of local writers, there is also a newly renovated art section in the back of the shop, with supplies for everyone from kids to professionals artists.

Evans firehouse on Hudson’s Warren Street, the Spotty Dog offers up plenty of antique charm alongside a selection of over 10,000 new books, ranging from vegan cookbooks to feminist manifestos, Pride celebrations to the the latest novel du jour and beautifully illustrated children's editions. Spotty Dog Books and Ale was the first to send boozy bookworms into fits of delight, when they pioneered the winning bar/bookstore combo locally in 2005. (All through Zoom until further notice.) Order in the online shop for pick-up and local deliveries of coffee beans, DUB pies, growlers, canned beer, Rough Draft merch, and best-selling books.Ī post shared by The Golden Notebook Dog Books and Ale Nightly events feature local authors, special guests, trivia, and book club discussions. This community living room serves as a meeting place for everything from first dates to job interviews to study groups. And finally, when the end of work is nigh, order your first beer or hard cider from the impressive selection of local drafts. When you need a stand-and-stretch browse the selection of new and bestselling books from fiction and non- to children’s books, historical dramas, and curated collections on themes like antiracism. Then, when lunch rolls around, order a DUB pie (perhaps lemongrass chicken?). Roll in at 9am, plug in your laptop, and work away while you sip on a Counter Culture latte or Nitro cold brew (on tap) and munch on a croissant. Rough Draft has everything you need to post up for the whole day. When bar-meets-bookstore Rough Draft opened in 2018 in a historic stone building in Kingston’s Stockade District, it was rapidly embraced by longtime locals and visitors alike. So skip the box store and head to one of these book shops. Whether you’re in Greene County or Dutchess, there is always a local indie bookseller nearby.

In 2020, amid pandemic economic pressures, local bookstores teamed up to create the Hudson Valley Book Trail, an effort to collaboratively promote local independent bookshops and uplift one another in a challenging time. The nearly two dozen independent bookstores scattered throughout the Hudson Valley are part of the cultural fabric of the area, as much for the events they host as for the minds they cultivate.

They cast spotlights on local writers, put new wind in B-list authors’s sails, host book clubs and writing clubs, foster relationships, and stock our home libraries. These brick-and-mortar shops, run by passionate individuals who champion the books they love, are meeting places for the community. For bibliophiles and history geeks, literary types and plain old nerds, there are few places more comforting than the stacks of a local bookstore.

Rough draft bar and books