Explore the magic of books! We buy books - sometimes. At the moment we have a large surplus of books so we are being very selective about the books we're buying.
Nestled in the heart of the Scenic Sylvantide Valley in beautiful Deep River, Connecticut Bennett's Books is a community-focused bookstore that provides affordable used books in an awesome, old-school atmosphere. Please contact us for more information. When we can afford to we also buy certain toys and collectibles (for decoration, not for resale). Examples include items related to Harry Potter, L
ord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Donations are also gratefully accepted and help keep us in business. Feel free to send a message if you have any questions.
02/15/2025
This is horrible, even for our dumpster fire of a timeline.
Hopefully more folks, especially those of us who have been largely (or entirely) directly unaffected by the chaos are realizing that "resist" means so much more than a bumper sticker, a stern phone call to a legislator, or even showing up to march.
Do those things, but do so much more, before it's too late.
The website deleted all mentions of "transgender" and "q***r" in its history of the Stonewall riots, and only referred to the riots' impact on le***an, gay and bisexual people.
01/02/2025
Some good news from Canada.
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Independent bookstores are being revived across the country as the market shifts from big box bookstores back to quaint and niche neighbourhood shops.
12/24/2024
Bummer š
12/17/2024
ICYMI - we are closing forever (in this location). As such, here are our final hours.
We hope to reopen sometime soon in a different location but with scumbag developers and other property hoarders doing their best to destroy our country, that seems unlikely.
Also, while weāre at it, with all possible emphasis: F**K Amazon and all other parasitic corporations.
12/14/2024
Very likely our last new arrivals ever* š
12/13/2024
There's always room for books :)
11/30/2024
Award Winners and Infamous Love Stories...
11/23/2024
Have you read Jon krakauer's books? They are riveting! Especially "Into Thin Air"- a must read! Perfect chilly weather read :)
11/16/2024
Poetry, art and photography, birds and comfort food
11/09/2024
A little Ireland and New England for you...
11/03/2024
Folks, Iām so sorry for the late notice but my mom is back in the hospital and I have no one to work at the bookstore today.
Iām especially sorry to anyone who traveled to visit our wonderful store.
Iām struggling to maintain a positive attitude in these deeply troubling times but with hope, my mom will recover and the store will be open for normal hours next weekend.
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I started Bennettās Books with a simple goal: to help make the world a better place. With the exception of a few part time and short-lived gigs working in restaurants, the vast majority of my adult life has been dedicated to service - either as an educator, working or volunteering for non-profits, or via my service in the United States Coast Guard. Considering that, becoming an entrepreneur might seem somewhat out of character for me; why would a person with very little interest in money or personal wealth start a business? The thing is, Bennettās Books is not now, nor was it ever supposed to be, a profit-driven endeavor; as stated, the goal of Bennettās Books is to help make the world a better place - not only as a bookstore but a safe and welcoming place for all people.
Having spent so much time in the nonprofit world, I saw with great clarity the biggest challenge that almost all nonprofits face: lack of funding. So many organizations are out there attempting to do good work but with limited funding available, worthy organizations and groups end up competing against each other for scarce resources. Having dealt with that firsthand, I came up with the idea of Bennettās Books - a business that would directly serve its community (and, ideally, help to build a new economic paradigm based on cooperation over competition). Specifically, the plan is for Bennettās Books to operate as a (somewhat) traditional business but a business where all profits would go back to the community. The inspiration for this largely came from the Newmanās Own model but unlike that business, the goal of Bennettās Books is to invest in and be an active part our specific community (in this case, Deep River, Connecticut and the Lower Connecticut River Valley).
Unfortunately, although I believe that the model of Bennettās Books is sound, sustainably realizing its vision has been exceedingly difficult. The reasons are myriad, not the least of which being that fewer and fewer people are reading (a tragedy in and of itself) but our biggest barrier to success is the fact that, by necessity, we are a part-time bookstore. What I mean by that is that so far, in order to keep the bookstore open (pay the rent, utilities, insurance), I need to work other jobs and the time I spend at those other jobs is time that the bookstore is not open. As such, in order to continue operating, last year Bennettās Books launched our Community Supported Bookstore program (CSB). Similar to community supported agriculture, people that sign up for our CSB become bookstore members and receive benefits throughout the year in return. This program is the only such program program In Connecticut and one of only a few in the entire country. So far it has been relatively successful but if the bookstore is going to stay open we need (a lot) more members.
I have the put the vast majority of my time and effort over the last three years into building Bennettās Books and using it as tool to help our community and Iām committed to continuing this for as long as I can. Unfortunately, without help I will not be able to sustain the endeavor for much longer - specifically, without in an influx of support (in the form of new members) the bookstore will have to close sometime this year. Considering the state of the world, especially the concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands, I believe the loss of Bennettās Books would be a true shame. As such, Iām asking you for your help. If you believe in or support the vision for Bennettās Books, please become a member - not only will I be eternally grateful, youāll be investing in a better future for all of us.
To become a member stop by the store or sign up here: Bennettās Books Membership
You can also learn more our bookstore and what we are working to accomplish here:
āHelp Us Survive - Become A Member!ā
āBennettās Books Launches Community Supported Bookstore Programā
āThe Magic of Books in Deep River With New Bookshopā
