Literary Travel – Wisconsin, Northern Michigan, and Canada Edition

Hi Everybody,

Over this summer, I went to a few places that I have never gone before. Each of them had a bookstore that I had to check out. Today, I’ll show them all to you. All of the photos used, except for one, were ones that I took.

First up is the Elkhart Lake Public Library in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Just like the last two years, I went to Wisconsin right before Memorial Day Weekend with my husband. But, this time, we decided to go to the Village of Elkhart Lake together, which is where Road America – one of the world’s fastest permanent road racing tracks – is located. The town itself is between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

While he spent his time driving cool cars on the Road America tracks, I took some time to explore. Even though some stores were closed during the time that we were there, it was still a nice area.

And of course, I had to check out their local library. It’s in the heart of the town right next door to the Village Hall. The library is all on one floor. It’s not as small as the Meadows Library in Las Vegas, yet it still packs in a lot of items while still being spacious.

A good example of this is the children’s area. The area is very organized with well-placed shelves, tables, chairs, and a rug while adding lots of color. This certainly would attract plenty of kids during the summer and after school. In fact, it did since when I was there, there was a group of children completing a scavenger hunt to find certain items in the library. Summer Reading started the week I visited Elkhart Lake.

I especially love the dinosaur in the background.

Every library needs a gigantic stuffed animal like this elephant.

Oh hey, Pigeon! What are you doing up there?

The adult section also had well-organized shelves. For instance, there was an orange sign on some to indicate that they were fiction. Similar signs were in the children’s area.

In addition, they had some neat displays like for new releases and for other themes.

Furthermore, I liked how the library cared about hygiene. They had these signs in the computer area.

The library also had a puzzle that people could work on. I spent a good chunk of time there trying to put the pieces together. It was so much fun.

My favorite part of being at the Elkhart Lake Public Library was their historical and vintage collection. There wasn’t a whole lot of items in them, but I can easily see people coming in to do research and read from very old books.

You know how I mentioned that Road America was in Elkhart Lake? There’s documents regarding its creation and even a DVD of footage filmed from the early days of the race in the 1950s that patrons could check out. Later on when I had dinner at a bar, I told the locals about this, and they couldn’t believe it. They didn’t know that the library held accessible artifacts relating to the history of Road America.

Lastly, the library housed a framed letter entitled “The Library Resolution,” which formally established the facility in 1906.

While the Elkhart Lake Public Library was a relatively small place, it still contained a lot of things that people could do, whether that being reading books, playing puzzles, or researching local history. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Instagram. There’s more to Elkhart Lake than Road America.

The second book place is Plot Bound Books in Gaylord, Michigan. This is the first time that I’ve reviewed a bookstore located in my home state.

Soon after I got back from Wisconsin, I was traveling once again. This time to Gaylord, Michigan, where a dear friend of mine invited me to stay with her at her parents’ house in the nearby town of Johannesburg during Memorial Day Weekend.

One day, she took me to downtown Gaylord. I’ve never been to that city, and it was a very pleasant experience. We went to the Alpine Chocolat Haus to have ice cream and lots of chocolate. Then, we walked over to Plot Bounds Books.

According to its website, it’s an independent bookstore that strives to provide customers with high-quality books that inspire, educate, and entertain as well as to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere among book lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

I immediately felt the cozy atmosphere when I walked right into the shop, which was the size of a living room. Even the Meadows Library in Las Vegas was slightly bigger than this. In addition, we managed to explore the place prior to the shop moving to a different location. Don’t worry, it’s still in Gaylord.

One of the first things that we noticed was the crafting table, where people could make their own bookmarks.

This was pretty cool, and it allowed anybody that walked in to make them. Plus, the bookstore was celebrating its birthday when we went, so I wonder if it was their way of giving back to the community. We made about two each. I made the ones seen below.

Most of the books on sale were located along a wall and a half, and many of them were popular titles. This makes sense for a smaller bookstore if they want to make a profit.

At the same time, Plot Bound Books offers some unique items like Michigan-based story books and stuffed animals. These can be seen below in this adorable display.

They also got bookmarks with really cool designs. I’m glad that Plot Bound Books also sells them and not just allows customers to make them.

And don’t worry parents. They got books for the littlest of kids seen here.

Additionally, the bookshop carried wrapped books. These are ones where customers can buy them based off of certain descriptions and then find out what the title is.

As much as I was tempted to purchase a “mystery” novel, I had my eye on Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange. I’ve been wanting to read that book ever since I found out about his follow-up to his debut title There There. I managed to get it at a discount since it was the bookstore’s birthday.

While Plot Bound Books may be small, it absolutely carries high-quality materials for customers to read and enjoy. Above all, it creates a warm and welcoming environment with ease. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Instagram. Birthday or not, come into their store the next time you’re in Gaylord, Michigan.

Finally, towards the end of summer, my husband and I went to Juniper Books in Windsor, Canada.

Located in downtown Windsor, Canada, Juniper Books sells used and rare books. According to its website, it also contains maps, prints, and ephemera for all kinds of readers. And no, it’s not related to the Juniper Books based in Boulder, Colorado.

This was our second trip to the bookstore since we made a visit to it earlier this summer. We were in Canada for our 10th dating anniversary, and he wanted to check out a game shop that had a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament. When the conversation with one of the clerks turned to books, he recommended checking out Juniper Books before the event began, and so we did. I didn’t take pictures the first time since we were on a time crunch, yet we knew we wanted to come back.

And, we did in August. The photos I took were from our second trip there.

As seen in the picture above, it’s covered in leaves, which makes it a magical place. I can’t think of many bookstores that have that kind of aesthetic. In addition, the bookshop was apparently a house in the past, and it shows. Each room has books nearly from the ceiling to the floor. Don’t worry, there’s enough space for customers to walk through as seen in this photo. My husband – a tall man – had a much better experience navigating this shop than he did when we were at Arcadian Books & Prints in New Orleans.

They also had a cat named Alfred roaming around the store when we were there the first time. He was very cute. Sadly, he wasn’t present when I took these photos because the owner was away, and he took the feline. Nonetheless, we still had a good time exploring the place.

Another thing that makes the shop stand out is that each room has different kinds of books. For example, the study room was filled with titles about religion. Two other spaces had popular adult as well as juvenile and young adult titles. Even the kitchen and the back room contained cookbooks and food-related books in the former and gardening ones in the latter.

They also had books in the basement and in the upstair rooms. The former had biographies and more nonfiction, while the latter contained science fiction, fantasy, and horror paperbacks. People can even look out from the window when they are on the second floor. While in the basement, my husband had to duck his head, so he wouldn’t hit it against the ceiling.

I loved the decor at Juniper Books. It’s a bit haphazard, but they are well-placed and add to the charm. Even the stairs had some nice artwork on them.

Moreover, the bookstore had movie posters as part of its ephemera, including this one of the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Juniper Books does more than sell books and other items. It also does bookbinding, free delivery, appraisals, and events.

In the end, I purchased Too Much Happiness by the late Canadian author Alice Munro, Fan-Tan by Marlon Brando (yes, that Marlon Brando) and Donald Cammell, and Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James. Coincidentally, my husband bought another book written by James titled No Cats Allowed along with car-related content.

Juniper Books is undoubtedly one of the quirkiest bookstores I’ve ever been in with the amount of books it had and how it looked. It also was one of the coziest since it was in a house. The chairs were very comfortable, and if I had my way, I could have sat in them all day. Regardless, it appeals to every reader in creative ways. I know I plan on going back when I’m in Canada again. You can check them out on their website.

And that concludes the sixth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. There might be another one down the pipeline, so stay tuned for that!

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