Loome's

Speaking of books, while I was in Minnesota recently I visited the neatest bookstore in Stillwater called Loome's Theological Book Store. The book store is set in a beautifully restored Old Swedish Covenant Church and is the largest secondhand dealer of theological books in the world! They supply institutional libraries, monastic communities, churches, clergy, scholars, and collectors with a vast array of books in theology, religion, and all related areas.

I was surpirsed to read this: "When most people in the upper Midwest think of Stillwater, they are thinking of great food, antiques and the beautiful St. Croix Valley. When people in Vienna, Tokyo, Oxford or Manila think of Stillwater, they are thinking about books.Stillwater, North America’s first Booktown, has been the destination of countless book collectors, librarians and bibliophiles from all over the world for twenty years. They often fly over New York, Chicago or L.A. to get to us. In the world of books, Stillwater is serious business.King Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed monarch of the first Booktown in the world, Hay-on-Wye in Wales, personally named Stillwater a Booktown at the first annual Stillwater Book Fair held in October, 1995."

Fascintating! This famous theological bookstore is located in the town of my birth and as such a book lover I am ashamed to say I never even knew it! Even though a large majority of the books seemed to be Catholic it was really neat to walk around in this very old church, on the creaky floors, and go up the narrow staircase that led to the balcony which overlooked where the pulpit would have been and to be surrounded by tons and tons of old theological books. The only thing that could make it better is if they had coffee in there- I could be lost for hours!