A Bookish Place: The Book Booth at the Murphy Flea Market

Something you will quickly learn about me (Lesley Anne) is that photography and travel are two of my first loves. One of my favorite things to do while traveling is check out local bookstores - they are so full of character and I love seeing how they reflect the personality of their home city. Even though local bookstores tend to be more expensive, I would like to make more of an effort to support them in the future. Hence the idea for A Bookish Place was born! In this new feature, Jenny and I will share photos and write about the local bookstores/bookish places we visit throughout the year. If you have an idea for a bookstore or a bookish place you think we should feature, feel free to email us and we'll add it to our Bucket List! :)

A few of the local bookstores I visited in 2013: Alexander Books in San Francisco, CA; Sundog Books in Seaside, FL; and The Book Loft in Amelia Island.

The first place we're going to feature can only be properly introduced by Jenny, since she has much more of a history with it. So take it away, Jenny!

Before I tell you about the hidden gem of Decker's Flea Market in Murphy, NC, I have to tell you one important fact about my husband. He is a picker, like from the TV show American Pickers. This, fortunately, is a hobby rather than his full-time job. Whenever we go out of town, especially on a weekend, he is searching for yard sales and flea markets to visit. I have very little patience for this. I realize with the rise of Pinterest and Etsy I should be more into turning junk into super cute home decor, but that is just not my forte (Lesley Anne, on the other hand, is very good at that sort of thing!).

So, back to Murphy. Matt managed to talk me into going to this particular flea market because it is a) very large and b) has very eclectic things. I figured I could give it a go. I was wandering along the aisles, skimming over millions of VHS tapes and cell phone covers, when I saw it. A book booth. Correction. It was four booths, made into one and it was ALL books. Heaven. There were books crammed every which way, sorted (kind of) by genre. It provides the best kind of book hunt. I literally spent an hour there the first time I went. My favorite books I have gotten there are The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer. I am now just as excited to go to the flea market as Matt, which is really saying something.

[Quick note from Lesley Anne: When buying books from a flea market or any outdoor location - beware of book bugs! When Jenny, my sister, and I were browsing through these books, we noticed a couple had tiny red bugs crawling on them. Just to be on the safe side, I would follow these instructions from the Library of Congress on how to get rid of them before you put books that have been outdoors on your shelves.]

So what are some of your favorite local bookstores? Do tell!