Get lost in 32 rooms of books in Columbus
COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you’re longing to lose yourself in a good read and happen to find yourself in Columbus, Ohio, you might consider getting lost in a 32-room bookstore, The Book Loft of German Village.
The independent bookstore, which opened more than 40 years ago, is a maze of literature, selling everything from the latest releases and best-sellers to children’s and bargain books, from manga and horror to history and memoir.
The Book Loft is south of downtown Columbus in the German Village neighborhood, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The store is in a small strip of handsome red brick, pre-Civil War buildings. Visitors will see a “Willkommen” sign and a garden path lined with park benches, reminiscent of a European outdoor cafe. The interior is a warren of interconnected rooms. The shop provides a map to guide readers on their quest. Every inch of the 32 rooms is filled with books on wooden shelves.
Open seven days a week, and brimming with 150,000 individual titles and over 500,000 books in stock, The Book Loft also brims with shoppers. At times almost cramped with bookworms, it is one of the nation’s largest independent bookstores with a unique feel unmatched by big chains or even smaller indie bookstores.
It’s a few blocks from the state capitol building and also near some of the city’s best restaurants, such as Lindey’s and G. Michael’s, and the tourist favorite Schmidt’s Sausage Haus.
Patience and perseverance are required. But there’s nothing like that feeling you get browsing in a physical bookstore: a love of books among both shoppers and staff, and pride in keeping a beloved indie store going.