The O-town Scene

September 29, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

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Continued from Page 10 experienced. Without an attraction like the Book Vil- lage, there would probably not be as much economic activity within the village," Kundzins-Tan said. In August 2007, Elda Stifani, a retired diplomat who worked for the European Union in New York City, moved to Hobart and bought some of Dales' book col- lections. Shortly after, she opened the Hobart Interna- tional Bookport, which specializes in foreign language books and books by authors from all over the world, in English or in the original language. Stifani also has a well-stocked aviation section, with books and maga- zines that are hard to come by in Hobart, as well as a selection of children's books, history, philosophy, non- fiction, American fiction, biographies and memoirs, art and current affairs. Shop around the corner Adams' Antiquarian Books The Adams' Antiquarian Books was the first bookstore to open in Hobart. That was nine years ago, when Wil- liam Adams, a physician, and his wife, Diana, a lawyer, bought the building in Hobart. Lifelong book lovers, the Adams have an impressive collection of books ranging from Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, art, architecture, religion and Judaica to poetry, biography and literature. The Adams also carries books reflecting local interests, including history, horticulture and wild- life. Not all the Adams' books are antiquarian, but most of them were either printed before 1850, or are about events that happened prior to 1850. Liberty Rock Books Liberty Rock Books is owned by brothers John and Jim Mahoney and their business partner Tom Liotta. The store offers an array of rare books spanning more than 300 years of history, as well as recent award-win- ning "Books of Excellence." The store will be expand- ing this winter in a nearby location, a 5,500 square- foot building that will accommodate the bookstore as well as an art gallery. Blenheim Hill Bookstore Barbara Balliet is an American cultural historian trained at New York University, and also an archivist; she has worked at Rutgers University-New Brunswick in the Women's and Gender Studies Department, and most recently as an Associate Dean of the Douglass Residential College for Women. Her partner, Cheryl Clarke, who has a doctorate degree in literature from Rutgers, is a published poet. Together, they bought the Blenheim Hill Bookstore in 2009 from Adams and Kundzins-Tan. "I hoped to learn more about books, about retail and to work cooperatively with the group of dedicated and interesting bookstore owners already in the village, who had encouraged us to buy the store," Balliet said. "We expect to develop the history, poetry, women's studies, nature and gardening and cooking sections as those are major interests. We also expect to develop new section of children's illustrated books as well as 19th and 20th century illustrated books." Mysteries & More Don Dales' Mysteries & More bookstore in down- town Hobart is in a recently restored classic Greek Revival house built in the 1830s. Inside are stacks of mystery and science fiction books, an original Loring & Blake Palace Organ made in the late 1800s, and a reproduction of a harpsichord. A Schirmer's collec- tion of Bach's "Prelude and Fugue" for the piano was recently displayed on the organ. A typewriter from the 1950s was also noticeable in the background. Upcoming events The Book Village hosts many events throughout the year, including a "Finnish Day," a day devoted to East- ern Europe, in particular Slovenia, a "Swedish Festival" and a "Belgium Day." On Saturday, Oct. 8, the book shops along Main Street will host events that were originally intended to be offered during Italian Week, which was interrupted by Hurricane Irene. The Italian Week Finale will be from noon to 6 p.m. at the Hobart International Bookport at 615 Main St., hosted by Stifani. Italian food will be offered at noon, and at 2 p.m. will be a lecture by New York based writer and translator Michael Moore. He will discuss "The Making of Italians: Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed." At 3 p.m. there will be a discussion on "The Italian Identity" with Franco Zerlenga, a former NYU profes- sor who was featured in the book "The Italians of New York." At 4 p.m., there will be a showing of the movie "The Leopard" (Il Gattopardo) by Luchino Visconti. Adams' Antiquarian bookstore owner Diana Adams said all of the owners work together to come up with events and support each other. "Ideally, in the future, the Book Village will become a tourist and book lovers' destination per se and help the village of Hobart in the process," Elda Stifani, own- er of the Hobart International Bookport, said. "I like the model of Hay-on-Wye in the UK, or Redu, in Bel- gium. I know the latter pretty well and I wish that one day Hobart will also have as many bookshops (over 20) and good restaurants and visitors as Redu has." For more information, visit www.hobartbookvillage.com. Sept. 29, 2011 O-Town Scene 11 The 'Dirtmeister' gives a presentation on dinosaur fossils at the Hobart International Bookstore. Adams' Antiquarian Books was the first of the book vil- lage's shops. Dr. Joel Schwartz gives a lecture on evolution at Adams' Antiquarian Books.

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