Book Barge

Oh to live closer to a body of water! Then things like this might be possible:

"Bookstore on Barge is One Hull of an Idea"

Yes! It's exactly what that article title implies - a bookstore on a barge! On an actual river! There are not enough exclamation points in the world to contain my excitement!

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read about it in this morning's Shelf Awareness:

Books ahoy! Although we mention business and book launches routinely here, the word launch is literally appropriate for the Book Barge. The Express & Star reported that the "canal bookstore . . . moored at Barton Marina, Barton-under-Needwood . . . is the brainchild of Sarah Henshaw. She has transformed her 60-foot narrowboat into a haven for book lovers wanting something different from high street chain stores with the help of her trainee carpenter boyfriend." "Opening my own bookshop was a childhood dream but I began to fear it would never come true," she said. "I didn't have the money to rent a high street shop. Then we came across Barton Marina and loved it, it's so pretty. But when I inquired about units there weren't any available." The inspired solution to this dilemma was to take to the water. "I very much want this to become the community bookstore, not just a gimmick, and the locals are being very supportive," she added.

Brilliant, no?! As I gear up my own business plans and drool over locations I'll never be able to afford, I can't help but be awed/jealous by the utter coolness of a bookstore on a riverboat. I want one! Also, now I know where I'm taking my next vacation.

Here's their official website - go check 'em out!