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Paula Swaine opened the her bookstore in 2000 after her husband suggested that a shop would be a perfect place to put the hundreds of books cluttering their house..Handout

Second Story Books

Where: Rosseau, Ont.

Paula Swaine opened the her bookstore in 2000 after her husband suggested that a shop would be a perfect place to put the hundreds of books cluttering their house. “I think he was hoping to get rid of them, but it didn’t quite work out – because now I get first dibs on things and, of course, I go book shopping,” she says. Swaine moved to her current location 11 years ago, and mostly caters to cottagers and tourists. “I close up in the winter, but I do leave a sign in the window with my phone number in case anyone has a book emergency.” This summer, her stash of Louise Penny mysteries (which she thought she’d stocked up quite well) sold out “on my first weekend. I was totally cleaned out, so I’ll have to make sure to get even more next year.” Swaine says Penny is so popular because cottagers tend to love mystery novels – and also because “Penny is amazing.” The other perennial bestseller is Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. “Everyone seems to be watching the miniseries, so of course they want the book that started it all."

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