Escanaba’s Independent Book Store
The Canterbury Book Store has been a fixture of Escanaba, Michigan’s downtown for fifty years and we hope to keep the place browse-ready and relevant.
As new owners, Rebecca Bender and Jesse Traub are excited to continue the fine tradition of local books and community life.
Being Escanaba’s only book store, we hope to have titles for all tastes and ages, whether you are a long-time resident or just passing through. We love and celebrate reading in all its forms, so romance novels, in-depth historical biographies, space opera sci-fi, high-brow classics, graphic novels, crime thrillers, and more all share easy company with each other here.
We are located at 908 Ludington St, Escanaba, MI 49829. Check us out!
Books, new and used, for people, young and old
We are still in the process of going through the existing collection, and we look forward to updating our inventory to suit readers of all ages. Browse our inventory in person, make requests online, or have fun viewing our digital inventory.
Anything we do not have in stock we are happy to order for you at no extra charge (provided you are not in a rush). We even have plenty of experience in finding obscure and out of print books - let us know if there is a title you would like us to track down!
We will also buy or trade high-quality used books (subject to our inventory and topical needs). See the contact page for complete details on our policy.
Download Audiobooks through the Canterbury Book Store!
Many of our customers are devoted to shopping locally, even in the age of the internet. For many, that means resisting the convenience of Amazon and its subsidiaries, like Audible.
Luckily, we found Libro.fm, a website that gives our customers the ability to download content and keeps them connected to the inventory and programs we have here in the store. We are happy to merge our traditional store with the 21st Century - click on the button to the left and let us know how you like it!
We also collaborate with the regional and national book store community. If you cannot make it to our shop, find a local book store through IndieBound.org or we can make a recommendation to help.
The Who and Why
Co-owners Jesse Traub and Rebecca Bender
We are merely the latest proprietors of the Canterbury Book Store. Rebecca grew up in Escanaba, and after many visits to the wild North, Jesse agreed that it would be a great place to live.
We met in graduate school downstate - Jesse is a plant scientist and Rebecca an engineer - but we are both lifelong readers with a love of books and the kind of community that storytelling can create. When the previous owner, Shirley Hivala, was retiring, we could not bear the thought of living in a town with no book store, and so we lined up our ducks and made an offer on the place.
We hope to be good stewards of the fine institution that Shirley Hivala built up during her tenure. Additionally, we hope to expand the Canterbury further out into the community - by hosting meetings and events at the store, partnering with schools and educational initiatives, and working with other area businesses. If you have an idea involving something we could do, please do come by and talk about it with us!
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