This is a little off-topic, and I promise we'll get back to the ending of "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" later today or tomorrow. But what I'm musing about tonight is another of Maine's literary treasures: its bookstores.

My family and I just returned from a weekend in Acadia/Bar Harbor. I lament the passing of Port in a Storm bookstore, but we still came home with way too many books (I don't want to admit how many), thanks to our stops along the way.

We cannot pass the Big Chicken Barn in Ellsworth without stopping in. I hear they have antiques on the first floor; we always go straight upstairs for the books.

I like places like Big Chicken because of the serendipity. You can't go with expectations. Good thing I didn't, or I'd have been bummed. I only found one book, a V.I. Warshawski mystery that my account on Library Thinginforms me that I already had a copy of. Oh well, at $3, I can't complain. And my husband left with an armful. He and son are very excited about "Squirrel Wars: Backyard Wildlife Battles and How to Win Them."

Our big stop, in terms of numbers, was Stone Soup in Camden. We always hope he's open when we're in town, and we were not disappointed. I walked away with a bunch of things I had been wanting to read: among them, "Waiting"by Ha Jin, "Mendocino", a collection of short stories by Ann Packer (best known for "The Dive Off Clausen's Pier") and "Whiteout: Lost in Aspen" by Ted Conover, one amazing journalist.

Can't stop in Camden without hitting the Owl and Turtle.. I picked up Curtis Sittenfeld's "American Wife," which got good reviews. I made it through part of the first chapter before husband gently pointed out that "this is not a lending library." So I bought it. Should be a good read.

We missed out on ABCD Books this time because the toddler had had enough of being carried around and was ready for a nap, and was ready to scream if she did not get it.

So what do you think of my picks this time? Any thoughts on what to start first from my haul? (Aside from our Maine books, I'm also reading "Last Night at the Lobster" and "Amsterdam".)

And which are your favorite Maine bookstores? (I should note, this entry is only about the travels up the coast, and I have many favorites here in the Portland area too.)

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