At some point during every trip to Bar Harbor, I make it a point to visit Wikhegan Books in Northeast Harbor. This exceptional bookstore, which is also stocked with eclectic antiques as Pine Bough Antiques, sells rare, out-of-print, and used books with an emphasis on the LOCAL Mount Desert Island region. Now in its 33rd year, I know I will inevitably find something special there or that something special will find me. Somehow though, I always do have something specific in mind and serendipitously, they always have what I am looking for.
Last year's mission was Walden by Henry David Thoreau and they had a flawless 1950 Modern Library edition. This year I thought, because I wanted it so much, they would never have Mastering the Art of French Cooking, especially with the current craze which I admit I am participating in. But I didn't want a new copy. And I had other requirements too: gently used, published before the 1980's revamp, not so precious that I couldn't cook with it... So I crossed my fingers and walked into Wikhegan. I looked on the shelf, no Mastering. Then, as you are instructed to do upon entering the store if you can't find what you want, I asked if they had a copy. Five minutes later, like an angel, the store-keeper's wife appeared with a 1963 book club edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I almost cried. It's perfect.
This store is kept with so much care. Going there, browsing, and discovering is a such a pleasure that even after I've found what I want, I find it hard to leave.
(Read more about Mastering the Art of French Cooking making it to the best-seller list HERE! It is so exciting!!)
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