Midtown Scholar Bookstore; An Amazing Bookstore Unlike Any Other

Midtown Scholar Bookstore

When a Guest wants to explore something “different and engaging”, we often direct them to an amazing bookstore.  Not your typical shopping center store. Not a chain. Instead, a bookstore unlike almost any other, one that the New York Times said was “almost a religious experience” to visit. 

Book topics of every thought and discipline from humor to academics are shelved here. Visitors from distant regions plan entire trips around a visit to his bibliophile mecca.  Annville Inn frequently hosts Guests who are coming from Washington, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia to name a few. They are making a journey here with a single quest…to visit the MidTown Scholars Bookstore.

The Perfect Blend: Books & Coffee

A bookstore unlike any other. So large, visitors are handed a map of where to find book stacks that are interesting to them. One can spend an entire day…and often return the next… for an extended journey through the shelves groaning under the weight of paper, leather and ink.  Long rows of bookshelves built of wood stretch high, creating what some have termed, “literary canyons!”

The air…as soon as you step in…is a delightful aroma of old paper, coffee from the absolutely perfect coffee bar (not one shoehorned into a store, but one that is perfectly capable of standing on its own merits as an exemplary coffee experience) and leather…plus old world wood scents, and a bit of excitement stirred in…the perfect essence of the perfect bookstore.

Multiple levels + towering shelves + an entire section behind iron cages of very rare books = hidden literary treasures just waiting for you to discover them!

One reviewer wrote about the MidTown Scholar, “Walking through the front doors feels like stepping into a novel where you’re the main character and every book is a potential plot twist in your story.”

Step Inside and Explore the History

Once you step inside, you are greeted by soaring ceilings with exposed architectural elements. Sunlight streams in through massive windows, and you wonder, “where do I begin?”. You sense history, the passage of time, and appreciating all the architectural appointments from a by-gone era, you instinctively know the very building itself has a history should you want to dig deep and explore.

Every topic you can imagine, from academic to philosophy to religion and history and humor as well as fiction, science (and of course, science fiction), biographies, history, art, poetry, and on and on…it is all here.

Here at Annville Inn, one of our favorite memories is of a young couple here to explore and relax.  The young lady really wanted to visit Midtown Scholar while her husband wanted to go to our theatre and watch football. Finally, he agreed to a short trip to MidTown Scholar.   “Back in two hours!” he exclaimed. 

They were gone ALL DAY, not arriving back at the Inn until after 9: p.m.  It turns out the person who didn’t want to leave once they entered MidTown Scholar was him! “I just couldn’t get him to leave,” his wife said, both astonished and amused.   MidTown Scholar Bookstore has that kind of drawing power.

As you explore, you’ll find reading nooks scattered throughout where you can slow down, read, relax.

Genres for Everyone

It has been said the Midtown Scholar Bookstore blends both serious academic resources with pleasure reading and a welcoming community gathering hub.  From young professionals darting in for a literary fix to college students researching, to families making a bee line toward areas of the kids’ interests, there is something for everyone. 

One can often enjoy spoken word poets performing on the little stage, or authors speaking about their latest publication and signing autographs.  You will find book clubs, academic lectures, and much more.  The Midtown Scholar truly is a community hub.

Revolutionary?  At a time in the digital age where information is both fragmented among various platforms and AI gives us “Cliff Notes” versions, it seems almost outside the norm to encounter such a place that you think must harken back to more analog times.

Books, Bags, T-Shirts, Mugs, Sheet Music and More!

Among the treasures to find is the “merch”.  From t-shirts and mugs to book bags (people walk out with BOXES of books more often than bags it seems!), the store’s merch with its brand has become a badge of honor for some, signaling that they, too, are vested in books, books, glorious books!

Another area we haven’t mentioned is the music section.  Here one will find both sheet music and writings about musical history and theory.

Lingering into the evening as streetlights come on, and the sun begins to fade from the large windows,  your experience gives way to warm lighting, creating a cozy atmosphere.  Maybe you’ll want to linger a little longer. “Okay, just one more cup of coffee while I look at that section over there…I missed it the first time. I’ll just settle in and page through a few more….”

Enjoy your stay here at Hershey’s Five Star Annville Inn, famous for

• Rosalie’s breakfasts and hospitality
• Our quiet country elegance
• Amazing views…

And more amenities than most inns: 

• Full sized in-ground swimming pool
• Six-person hot tub
• 20-seat movie theatre with Dolby 7.1 Surround just like at the “movies”
• Plant conservatory glassed in on all sides with a wood burning fireplace for winter
• Three acres of botanical gardens with over 600 roses and 10,000 bulbs. 
• Large game room with pool table
• Three dining areas for breakfast,
• Jacuzzis in Guest Rooms,
• Most rooms with private entrances and decks
• Fireplaces in all rooms
• King and queen beds throughout
• …and much more to enjoy at Annville Inn!