The small-town bookstore with the big-town selection.
A Wolfeboro bookstore, The Country Bookseller, located in the Durgin Stables building, is much bigger than it looks from the front window. With 18,465 books on-hand, there is something for everyone. Karen Baker, founder and owner, hand-picks titles based on customer preferences and what she thinks will sell locally. She always includes poetry and Shakespeare which she feels are important for every bookstore to have.
Since opening in 1994, the bookstore has had a commitment to promote literacy in the community and support local organizations. The bookstore promotes local authors in the store, has a Book Club, supports the local humane society, partners with the Governor Wentworth School District in-school libraries, offers coffee, gelato, and baked treats from local and regional businesses (gelato in summer only), and works with the Wolfeboro Library to promote out of area authors with large audiences.
The bookstore has many loyal year-round and summer-only customers. Some of those customers are book-loving grandparents who bring their grandchildren to browse and purchase books from the store. They want their grandchildren to feel, touch, and read non-digital books. It has become tradition for many to shop with their little ones and to choose books when they visit. This has made the children’s section very popular.
In order to better serve the growing children's customer base the bookstore wanted to expand that section. That expansion would require remodeling to repurpose an office area. This project was more expensive than what would fit in the budget. That’s when Karen decided to apply for a grant through James Patterson’s Foundation. She applied and won a grant. The expanded children’s section is now roomy and almost 25% of the square footage of the bookstore.
The Country Bookseller has everything that makes a bookstore great: expansive inventory, variety, a friendly staff that are avid readers, a community-oriented mission, classics like poetry and Shakespeare, a casual atmosphere, and a place to have coffee and a chat with your friends.
For those that like audiobooks Karen suggests utilizing the newly created Libro. Libro.fm is the first audiobook company to make it possible for you to buy audiobooks directly through your local bookstore.
If you do enjoy non-digital books but don't want to collect them, Karen says "You can choose to buy it, enjoy it, and then give it away.” Once you step inside the cozy yet expansive bookstore you will likely be tempted to buy and take Karen up on that advice.
The Country Bookseller is located at 23a North Main Street, Wolfeboro, NH
You can also shop The Country Bookseller books online here.
There is an exclusive parking lot for Durgin Stables shops which makes for easy access due to the busy nature of the on-street parking in downtown Wolfeboro. Access the parking lot from Mill Street.
