The quaint commercial center of Washington Depot makes for a delightful afternoon of browsing. Start at the Hickory Stick Bookshop (2 Green Hill Rd., Washington Depot, 860/868-0525, www.hickorystickbookshop.com [1], 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Mon.–Sat.; 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Sun.), the area’s cultural hub with well-stocked shelves of contemporary fiction and nonfiction books. The shop also hosts numerous local-author readings. Authors with Litchfield Hills [2] homes who have read here in the past include Arthur Miller, Madeleine L’Engle, and William Styron.
If getting lost in the hills makes you feel far from home, stop by the nearby Archway News (64 Bank St., New Milford, 860/355-1557, 6 a.m.–7:30 p.m. Mon.–Fri.; 6 a.m.–6 p.m. Sat.; 6 a.m.–3 p.m. Sun.), a luxury tobacco and cigar shop that stocks more than 2,000 periodicals from around the world, including magazines from Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany, and even Korea and Japan.
Links:
[1] http://www.hickorystickbookshop.com
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-england/connecticut/western-connecticut/litchfield-hills