On a recent trip to Dublin, Ohio, I was driving down West Dublin-Granville Road, through the Linworth area of Worthington. I noticed an old church building and a sign out front – Village Bookshop. The word “book” compelled me to stop and visit this treasure.
I soon learned that the white frame church construction was completed in 1889 and for 68 years was the home of the Linworth United Methodist Church. The congregation finally outgrew the old building and moved to Bent Tree Boulevard in Columbus.
As I walked through the entryway, I was immediately captivated by the sight of wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, and tables of books. Books of all kinds, everywhere – a book lovers dream. It's the kind of place I could spend hours (days) in just perusing the many shelves and tables for new adventures.
The shelves in the foyer contain used paperback books. Just inside the main building to the right is the cashier's counter and you are greeted by a woman named Carol with a friendly “Hello, welcome.”
I began my tour by looking from shelf to shelf to behold the vast collection of new books of every genre at discount prices. Before I knew it, I was picking up one from here and one from there until I had several to carry. While making an inquiry of a topic, Carol asked if I would like to put my selections on the side counter to be held for checkout. A small sign was placed atop my stack indicating that these had been chosen, awaiting sale. Mine was not the only stack on the counter. There were several other customers milling about the store.
As I reached the rear of the main area, I saw four comfortable looking recliner chairs with a coffee table in the middle of a reading area. A rather homey looking place to sit and read in silence. I must admit, I did check it out. After choosing a book entitled Battlefields of the Civil War, I sat down to look through the book to make sure I found the narrative inside I was looking for regarding the Battle of Chickamauga on the Tennessee/Georgia border.
Beyond the main area, there was a hallway with more bookshelves leading to yet another room and a sign indicating the stairs to the second floor where more and more books could be found. The place was like a library with an enormous collection of subjects and rare titles I've not even seen on Amazon.com.
On a shelf behind the front counter, I spied a statue of a civil war soldier. Carol told me her husband painted it many years earlier. It just seemed to fit in so well because of their large civil war book section, and they also feature many civil war military prints for sale, which adorn the walls of the old church.
My mother was an avid reader and I remember selling about 14 boxes of books after her death. Of course, I kept a few boxes of certain titles for myself. Some are still packed away, yet my four living room bookcases show my inherited love of books of many kinds. The most astounding remembrance from my youth was my distaste for history class in school. We change as we age and now I love books about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era, the Presidents of our country, but I have not lost my flair for intrigue with a good John Grisham murder mystery.
For an adventure through the pages of time, for book lovers everywhere, I recommend a trip to the Village Bookshop to find your next treasured experience in words – for reading is the stair to knowledge and knowledge is the key to the future.
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