Dogtown Book Shop

So far, I’ve reviewed second-hand stores that were either antique stores or thrift stores, all of which carried a variety of items, even if they had their areas of greater focus.  Here’s one of our stores that specializes in only one item: books!

Bob Ritchie, the proprietor of Dogtown Books (132 Main St.), has stocked an incredible amount of books, “used and unusual”, as the sign says. He is selective – he tries to avoid cheap mass-distribution paperbacks, for example – but even so he has books representing a wide variety of genres, periods, etc.  See for yourself:

As with the vast majority of the people I have dealt with in these stores, Bob is also a really nice person (he let me take a photo of him with Flat Stanley for the child of friends of mine in New York…), and is very competent in his field.  He has helped me find some great books, and bought some from me to resell.

So if you love books, this is a great place to go to peruse the stacks and to look for treasures in print from the past or the present. And, if you have interesting books (in good condition) that you don’t need any more, bring them in, and maybe you can help keep the shelves stocked with quality content!  It’s just a couple of doors down from Main Street Arts and Antiques, so it’s easy to visit both stores without moving your car or walking too far.

His posted hours are Monday-Saturday, 10-6, summer Sundays 1-5, with the note that “actual hours may be sooner or later”.

– Matthew Green

Previous posts in this series:

Second Glance
St. John’s Thrift Shop
The Sequined Fan
Pearl’s
Junque & Disorderly
Cape Ann Thrift Shop
Main Street Arts and Antiques

And we’re not even half-way through my list of second-hand stores to review…