Bookstores We Love: The Bookery, Manchester, NH
In celebration of the spirit of independent bookstores, in each edition of our 2026 newsletter we’ll feature a New Hampshire bookseller. This month we are shining a spotlight on The Bookery, in downtown Manchester.
Back in 2018, just before the pandemic changed the world, friends Liz Hitchcock and Liz Cipriano followed their mutual dream of opening a bookstore that could act as a community gathering space. They acknowledged that some thought it was “nuts” to open a brick and mortar establishment in the era of online purveyors, but the enterprise has been a resounding success, and serves as a focal point and gathering spot in downtown Manchester.
The Bookery’s large space is divided into alcoves that entice visitors to linger and look, read, or chat. It has a separate young adult room as well as a kids’ room with a large tree that sprouts up to the ceiling with twinkle lights, under which kids and parents can gather and read. Another nook offers a virtual fireplace with chairs to lounge around.
Visitors to The Bookery should plan to stay for beverages and a sweet or savory treat at the Proba Cafe. The store features many events–Saturday Storytime and Crafts, monthly book clubs, author visits–and you can even rent The Bookery for your own event.
The Bookery also encourages visitors to interact with books in creative ways. A recent visit turned up a wall display that encouraged readers to “Rewrite the Ending” to such classics as The Great Gatsby (“All that drama just for vibes and poor decisions”), Twilight (“The end said ‘problem solved,’ and I said, “Is it?”), and Verity, (“After finishing we immediately needed a lawyer, a therapist, and a nap”). There was also a “Bookstore Confessional,” where participants could insert their favorite books in categories like: “I read the last page first,” “I recommended this book but I never actually read it,” and “A book that emotionally wrecked me.”
Bookery Staff Picks
Sophia’s Pick
From podcast to page! In Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon, a merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars.
Cassie’s Pick
The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver delivers an imaginative and entertaining look at the implications, large and small, of whom we choose to love. Using a playful parallel-universe structure, The Post-Birthday World follows one woman's future as it unfolds under the influence of two drastically different men.
Reanna’s Pick
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai is a dazzling novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris.
