The Book Nook

05/17/2026

Want to read the book before (or after) you see the film? You can borrow from our free community lending library, located at 40 Cornell Avenue in Hobart, NY. Open daily 11 to 5.

02/24/2026

That feeling when you are unpacking library books that have been sitting for nearly 3 months in a cold, dark, abandoned building waiting for their turn to make the move and every one of them feels like a long lost friend coming home. ❤️
Find us and them at 40 Cornell Ave, Hobart. Open 11 to 5 daily.

02/12/2026

I have more than one literary role model - too many to choose a favorite. Judy Blume has a piece of my forever heart. ❤️

Happy 88th birthday to Judy Blume, the beloved author of trailblazing novels for children and teens and a long-time champion of intellectual freedom! As the author of many Mighty Girl favorites such as "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret," "Deenie," and "Tiger Eyes," Blume's influence -- especially on tween and teen girls -- has been profound and far-reaching for two generations. But what her many young fans rarely realize is that the very thing that makes her books so powerful -- her frank, honest discussion of topics like religion, puberty, and sexuality -- also made her one of the most frequently challenged children's authors in America.

Rather than bowing to the criticism, even as a relatively new author, Blume persisted in writing openly and honestly about issues affecting young people. And she didn't stop there: she became a vocal defender of authors, teachers, librarians, and others who have faced disapproval, professional consequences, and even the loss of their careers for refusing to remove books from young readers' hands. Over the decades, she has emerged as one of the most powerful champions for children's freedom to read -- and authors' freedom to write -- about topics that some find uncomfortable or controversial.

In our blog tribute to Judy Blume, we honor her both as an author of many beloved Mighty Girl books and as a determined, forceful voice against censorship and book banning. At a time when books continue to face challenges -- and when those challenges are intensifying -- her experiences, her persistence, and her powerful words about the value of trusting young readers with complex, honest stories are more important than ever.

To read our blog post, "Protecting 'The Books That Will Never Be Written'": Judy Blume's Fight Against Censorship," visit https://www.amightygirl.com/blog/?p=7425

To discover Judy Blume's much beloved children's and young adult novels, visit our "Judy Blume Collection" at http://amgrl.co/2yCpfPy

To introduce children to the woman behind these famous books, we recommend the illustrated biography "Who Is Judy Blume?" for ages 8 to 12 at https://www.amightygirl.com/who-is-judy-blume

For two inspiring books about girls fighting against censorship in schools - both for ages 9 to 12 - we highly recommend "Ban This Book" (https://www.amightygirl.com/ban-this-book) and "Property of the Rebel Librarian" (https://www.amightygirl.com/property-of-the-rebel-librarian)

For children's books about girls living in real-life societies throughout history with little respect for freedom of expression, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426

And for Mighty Girl stories that pay tribute to the transformative power of books, check out our blog post "Celebrating a Love of Reading: 35 Mighty Girl Stories about Books, Libraries, and Literacy" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11656

02/05/2026

It begins! Library Version 4.0.
40 Cornell Avenue, Hobart NY.
We are open daily 11 to 5. We have chairs and boxes of books to rummage through. You can check out and return and watch us put ourselves together piece by piece.

02/01/2026

01/10/2026

Saturdays are for live music, good drinks, and great food!
👉 https://calendly.com/bookvillageinn-info/table-reservation

01/10/2026

Come join us for breakfast! The Rotary Club of Hobart is hosting a free breakfast, Saturday February 7th, 2026, from 8-11am. Everyone's welcome to come and eat, no charge! We will be accepting donations for the SKCS backpack program. Looking forward to seeing you there.

08/29/2025

Fall is just around the corner, and we look forward to some colorful foliage before the snow flies. We are announcing some new open hours for the Hobart Book Village after a busy summer. And with the changing leaves come the following shop hours:

🍁Blenheim Hill Bookstore will be open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and occasional Thursdays beginning in September. 11-5.

🍃Creative Corner Bookstore and New York Books and Ephemera will be open Wednesday-Sunday 11-5 beginning after Labor Day weekend. They will be closed Monday and Tuesday throughout the winter.

🦉Adams' Antiquarian Book shop will continue to be open 7 days a week until Columbus Day weekend. After that, their winter hours will be weekends only 11:30-4:30. Holiday Mondays 11-3.

🍂Liberty Rock Bookstore will be open on weekends from 10-5. With occasional weekdays. If their flag is flying, they are open!

🍁Quarry Books and More Good Books are open 7 days a week, year round 11-5. These book shops are in a shared space in the Historic Hobart Inn along with and and the lovely independent Library

🍾In addition to these shops, Hobart is also proud to have and the newly opened
📚

01/07/2025

"We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel – or have done and thought and felt; or might do and think and feel – is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become… A person who had never listened to nor read a tale or myth or parable or story, would remain ignorant of his own emotional and spiritual heights and depths, would not know quite fully what it is to be human. For the story – from Rumpelstiltskin to War and Peace – is one of the basic tools invented by the mind of man, for the purpose of gaining understanding. There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories."

~ Ursula K. Le Guin, The Language of the Night

10/30/2024

Knowing how to read (being "literate" as opposed to being "illiterate") does people no good in terms of understanding unless they choose to read independently.

In this country, for example, the literacy rate is 79% (though over half are at 6th grade level or lower), but studies reveal that 17% of people in the US report do not read any type of book (e-books count as books) in the course of any given year.

My point in sharing this -and what I understand Twain's point to be -- is that a society that does not choose to read cannot be called a literate society simply because its citizens have been taught the mechanics of reading.

Reading books - whether fiction or nonfiction, and in any format -- is on the steady decline in our society (though being in The Book Village might make us think otherwise, as we regularly interact with people of all ages who have come from far away and are thrilled to be combing through 7 bookstores and heading home with armloads of books).

India is the nation that reads most these days, followed by Thailand and China. U.S. ranks 42nd worldwide.

I don't read to have an economic or societal "advantage" over others. I read to understand the physical world in which I live, and to be able to relate more fully to the other creatures living here alongside me -- human and nonhuman alike.

There is a concerted effort to discount the value of literacy, which is to say independent learning. . This trend is designed and encouraged in order to allow a few to control the many by telling them what to think and knowing that they will not question (read/research) for themselves.

A population that does not read independently even though it has been taught how to read is vulnerable to the propaganda of those who want to manipulate them for personal gain.

In that sense, then, those who seek to manipulate have the advantage over those who don't learn for themselves.