The Book House - Missouri

“The Book House is for people who love physically being around books. Which I do, so it’s one of my favorite places to browse.”

The Book House derived its name from its previous location, which was a historic Victorian house built in 1863. The bookstore was founded in 1986, by Michelle Barron, and it has been family owned ever since. Unfortunately, the unique original store, closed its doors in September 2013. However, thanks to the hard work of the owners, a good attempt at raising funds, and the continuous support from the extremely loyal customers who loved the bookstore and didn’t want to see it die, it has been reopened on Manchester Road, Maplewood. Since its relocation, the new store has been surrounded by local independent business, restaurants and bars, making Manchester Road a very pleasant place to spend your time.

There are more than 350,000 books on sale inside the The Book House, which have been acquired from hundreds of collections, auctions and suppliers over the last 25 years. Within this vast collection, there is an extensive collection of quality rare, out-of-print, new and used books. Unsurprisingly, there are books in all subject areas, including the latest children’s books and novels, and a large history, literature, religion, philosophy, and science fiction sections. There’s also fantastic clearance bargains on-going all year, you’re sure to find a great read at an even better price!

There are also book clubs forming all the time in The Book House, and these aren’t anything ordinary – currently there is the ‘Moon, Mars & Beyond’ club, and the ‘Bread and Bustles’ club. The former has been formed to cater for those interested in space travel in both Science Fiction and Non-fiction, and the latter is for anyone intrigued by historical fiction featuring prominent female protagonists and/or by female authors. Other book clubs include ‘All-Ages Young Adult Club’, ‘Thrillers, Suspense and Crime’, ‘Poetry/Open Mic Night’ and ‘Banned Books Club’. If these aren’t to your fancy, then submit an idea for your own group on the website!

The bookstore also ships worldwide, so if you aren’t nearby, you still have the opportunity to support this independent bookstore which has worked hard to stay open! As well as supporting a fantastic independent bookstore, you will also be supporting Second Chapter Life Center for young adults with Development Disabilities and the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition, as a portion of the proceeds go towards these charities. If you don’t want to support them by purchasing books, then take in your already read, pre-loved books for donation – as long as they are of good quality, The Book House will take them anytime during regular business hours.

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