Hello again friends! I’m back with another bookstore review for you, this time of Bookery Manchester on Elm Street in Manchester, NH.

The moment you walk into this store you’re met with this hip, book-lovers’ heaven of decorating. They have incredible honeycomb shelves to highlight new releases and favorites, open tables of displays everywhere, light fixtures made of book pages, walls of windows, cozy nooks for kiddos, and tables everywhere to sit with your coffee and read – including outside on their patio. It’s a great use of the space they have, and it feels both clean and simple, but also cozy.

One big thing I’ve noticed about the Bookery is that you can’t come with a list in mind. The Bookery doesn’t tend to carry current bestsellers, or books you see on bookstagram – but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. They’ve got a really cool collection of books that are well curated and fit the vibe. I definitely feel like if I pick up a book, the staff has put extra care into making sure it’s quality or indie, or maybe they’ve even read it themselves. I love that, and I love that it tends to highlight the kind of staff working in a store as well, based on their selections.

That being said, I don’t read like the staff at the Bookery, lol. I did find some books I wouldn’t have found otherwise, but not everything in the collection speaks to me and my reading taste. The books I’ve picked up at the Bookery over the past few years have been books I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise: not to say that they’re bad, but if you read like me, you might find yourself in the same situation.

I was feeling extremely blessed that Thursdays are my days off when I saw recently that the Bookery has a BUILD YOUR OWN PB&J BAR on Thursdays. Obsessed. I dragged my sister and my mom along for this excursion, and we were all very excited for sandwiches. The food I’ve had at the Bookery before was fantastic (bacon avocado wrap, anyone??) and their coffee is absolutely mouthwatering. This trip, I enjoyed a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich with one of their specialty brews: a Fangirl iced latte in honor of bookstore romance day! It was STELLAR. Our sandwiches were so full of peanut butter, though, we could hardly finish them. No joke. Yummy, but filling!

Speaking of bookstore romance day, they had an AWESOME display out with some of their favorite romance books, all COLOR-CODED and marked with the corresponding trope!! Thought that was awesome. Some of my favorite book blogs over the years have broken down their reviews to their tropes, particularly of romances where it really matters to readers. It was awesome to be able to pick something up and already sort of know what I was going to get. I grabbed one off the table on my way to the register simply for this reason! I had read most of the books on the table so I was pretty confident they were all great picks. I’m super excited to read this one.

During my trip to Bookery Manchester, my book haul included Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam, and Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science by Erika Engelhaupt. Stay tuned for those reviews!

So, to summarize: love the staff, love the thoughtfully curated collection, and of course: love the food and coffee. I think, for the store’s size, its thoughtful picks make more sense than stuffing it to the brim with bestsellers or “the next big thing”, but I do miss the ability to walk in and get exactly what I’m looking for. Bookery Manchester remains to be a book shopping experience I enjoy on occasion or for browsing, but I wouldn’t seek it out as my regular haunt. Hope that adds up!

Check out the Bookery online or in store on Elm Street in Manchester!