On the corner of 11th St. and Mill Ave. in Fairhaven, stands Village Books, a 34-year-old book store that's been described as the heart of Bellingham and has everything an avid reader would want: the Book Fare Cafe, shirts with classic novel designs on the front, an extra side-shop that provides quirky home decorations and clothing, and - most importantly - three floors that provide thousands of new, used, and bargain books.

As employee Sam Kaas puts it: "Village Books has always been a kind of community hub that people flock to, we always have people coming in no matter what."

And he isn't wrong.

Even with heavy, continuous snow falling this last Sunday, the bookstore was brimming with people; little kids playing looking through the children's section, college students pouring over their laptops and books in secluded corners and older gentlemen enjoying historical texts while their dogs people-watch (the store is dog-friendly and proud of it).

Founded by Chuck and Dee Robinson in 1980, the store has built a very loyal customer base in the Fairhaven-Bellingham area and boasts a membership deal that promises one credit for every 20 books a customer buys. Other perks the store provides is a book reading area on the first floor where authors can discuss their publications and do readings, online e-books as well as 99 cent shipping from the store to wherever you want to mail a book. 

People who still have a deep passion for paper-bound books are lucky to have a safe haven to go to when they want to escape the e-readers, tablets, and any other digital device out there. Village Books provides this nostalgic service, and Fairhaven is better off because of it.