Magpie Bookshop — Local services in Town of Catskill

Today has turned hot in Catskill, where I have walked down to the water front and along the shopping district sidewalks. I really am frustratingly urban. The closest I've been to being immersed in nature occurred when I walked out over Catskill Creek on a pedestrian bridge that once carried rail traffic. The idea of visiting Hudson across the river has taken a back seat as I explore this smaller village. At Magpie Books, I found a quiet upstairs with open windows and a dining room table, round and refurnished good as new. The owner's dad sits downstairs, in an armchair, greeting guests, for his daughter has stepped out. It took a pile of money to make this two story bookstore beautiful, and I'm betting dad's retirement nest egg bought the building and convered the renovations. In a switch of that theme, a daughter manages Salem Moon, greetings guests and booking spiritual readings while her father sells herbal remedies and magick at a festival in these mountains where Rip Van Winkle lost twenty years asleep. I joked, "What good is a boring father anyway"? She laughed. She keeps her father's books, orders the ingredients he turns into exhilars for any need. "You do the books? Keeping paperwork straight is deep magick". She laughed again. "Yes, you're right. Keep the taxes paid and no one messes with ones business. That's powerful".

A daughter helps to keep a father centered. And so, a father does well to do what he can for a daughter?

More raw space awaits city money and city designers, two and three story buildings with businesses prospering on the first floor, nothing but emptiness awaiting on the upper floors. Entire buildings are under massive rehabilitation, including what had to be a factory on the creek.

In another sign of local character, a few stores have surveyed the art of naive artist who have lived in the hills, creating according to an idiosyncratic vision, just like the first breakout "art brut" artist, Howard Finister. My mother, your Grandma Bobber, would have sold better in...

Loved this little bookshop! There's two floors, downstairs has lots of variety, fiction, biographies, nonfiction, historical, local interest stuff, and upstairs has even more and a big children's section too. We all found something we liked and my kids loved the cute little birds that live upstairs too 🦜🦜 The woman that was working that day was very friendly and helpful as well. The location is perfect, right on Main Street and walkable to coffee shops, other local businesses, benches to sit on and read your new book. I will definitely visit this shop again next time we're in...

This shop is one of my favorites, of all time. The owner is highly knowledgable about numerous genre, and she is very approachable if one were to have a query. The shop itself is very consciously layed out with a community table, creative window displays, and overall, a warm aesthetic. If you want to have an enjoyable book buying experience I highly recommend...