The floorboards creak, the shelves are stuffed to the ceiling with yellow, yellowing, and yellowed paperbacks and hardcovers some new most used, it's the perfect place to browse and buy books, welcome to Rivendell Books in Montpelier. Just like the kingdom of the elves that it takes its name from, Rivendell Books is a somewhat magical place outside the "borders," and the "barns" (noble though they may be) of chain book stores. There's a great vibe inside that invites browsing without trying to force it by having a café or some other contrivance a faux community. Like J.R.R's Rivendell, there is a sense of peace and calm that one finds inside Rivendell Books, away from the hustle & bustle of Vermont's quaint capital city. Hunting through the stacks and shelves at Rivendell, I always seem to come across a book that I intend to read or another that I heard about and more often than not I take home with me to my own shelves of the yellow, yellowing, and yellowed.
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