Keep it simple, please, I'm from Illinois.

Seen at an auction: A selection of books for the pious ...

... and a selection of books no library should be without.

A reading from the New Catechism of The Steam Engine, First Book of Baldwin, Chapter 1, Verse 1-10

A portrait of Matthias Baldwin, patron saint of steam engineering.

A Little Bit Of Heaven at the End of State Street

The front window of Paul's Book Store, just one block short of Library Mall.

As I wandered the stacks at A Room Of One's Own, the bookstore on Johnson St, I felt as though I were being watched ...

I don't know a thing about this book, but the title certainly is eye-catching.

There is no frigate like a book to take us worlds away ...

No better destination than a book store ...

Paul's Books stands at the other end of State Street from the square, on the very edge of the UW campus.

There aren't many places like this left. I happily spent as much of my lunch hour as I could before I had to head back to work.

A Warm Welcome

Eight-foot-high stacks of books ... throw rugs across the floor ... a fancy pressed-tin ceiling above ... the cockles of my heart couldn't be gladder.

The room is filled with twists and turns

Ends of book shelves are gloriously festooned with old fly leafs, newspaper clippings, post cards and photos. It's a warm, cozy place.

Shakespeare's Book Store, Carroll Street, Madison

It's got just about everything I want in a book store, starting with truckloads of used books jammed into shelves going nearly all the way up to the tin-plated ceiling. The shelves stretch at least twice again this length to the back of the store — not quite infinity, but it feels like it — and there's more downstairs!

Shakespeare's also has plenty of books behind glass, if the bargain books aren't to your taste. I try not to look too closely at the books in the locked cases. Last time I stopped to browse, I found a bound copy of the history of passenger railroad coaches. I knew I'd kick myself for months if I passed it up, so I asked if they'd take twenty bucks a payday until I paid it off, and to my surprise they agreed. You can't get customer service like that at Barnes & Noble.