A reading lover's guide to the Door Peninsula By Norbert Blei For The News-Chronicle One of the quiet pleasures of being on vacation is reading. Be it a delicious spring day beckoning one to a chaise lounge with book in hand; a summer afternoon at the beach - warm sand, beach chair. and a thick novel; hiking a golden trail in an autumn woods with a paperback copy of "Walden" in your back pocket; or deep winter, late night before a cabin fireplace, all wrapped up in a story you hope will never end. One of the unsung wonders of Door County is its bookstores, which rarely clamor for the attention gift shops, restaurants, and other attractions do. If a good man is still hard to find, so is a good bookstore to many a visitor. But seek and you shall find bookstores here, there, everywhere in Door. Sturgeon Bay lays claim to a statewide bookstore chain, Book World, at 30 N. Third Ave. Another Book World serves locals and visitors the year 'round in Sister Bay at 326 Country Walk Lane. And yet another, called Pages, 7828 State 42, can be found in the Main Street Market Shops in Egg Harbor. All Book Worlds handle national best sellers, Door County and other regional books, popular (and some literary) paper and trade paperbacks, children's books, and the largest selection of magazines to be found anywhere in the county. The granddaddy of all Door County bookstores (most fiercely and proudly Independent) is Passtimes Books on the main drag (527 Bay Shore Drive) in Sister Bay, owned and operated by the Grutzmachers - son, Steve, mother, Marge, the lingering memory of father, Hal, poet, writer, teacher, reader, friend (true book people all) - who always point you in the right direction. You name it, they got it. Or will get it. Open all year. This is their 25th season of dedicated service to visitors and locals alike. And we who live, breathe and read here can't imagine Door without a Passtimes, a cultural landmark. For true bibliophiles at heart, whose craving for the printed word knows no satisfaction as sweet as the search for old and used books, the Door offers some unique book haunts to while away the hours, days, and weeks. For openers there's Donna Lash's dream of a bookstore and coffeehouse, The Bridge, at the north end of Egg Harbor (7881 State 42). You want a bookstore with a view like the top of a lighthouse (overlooking Green Bay), a handcrafted interior, a great cup of coffee, a small but satisfying collection of books to browse, a spot for local writers to do readings É a place to call home in all kinds of weather? This is it. And Donna is a delight. Then there's Baybury Books in Ephraim. Blink and you may miss it - 3058 Church St. (County Q) just off 42 - but by all means, don't. Keep looking. Open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Wednesday, June through October. Quality used books indeed - for all ages. Fred Schwartz, in charge, a most affable book man indeed. A superb collection of used books (fiction, nonfiction, history especially) all in beautiful condition at very reasonable prices. You can't afford not to stop and visit. If "The Little White Village" (Ephraim) continues to exude its celebrated charm to visitors, its because of little businesses like this, and shopkeepers like Fred. Perfectly in place. Farther up the peninsula in Ellison Bay, just past the authentic Pioneer Store, just past the Viking Restaurant (home of the fish boil) É there it sits, one-of-a-kind, one of the largest and truly great used bookstores in the state of Wisconsin (100,000 titles in stock!): Wm. Caxton Ltd., Kubet Luchterhand, proprietor. "Kubie" himself, also one-of-a-kind. Kind of a kindly, crusty curmudgeon - on the outside. A "recovering academic" (he calls himself) and true raconteur. An anthropologist at heart. Fifteen years in the book trade in Door and still counting. Whatever Kubie doesn't know is either not known or probably not worth knowing. His bookstore, a community service of sorts. A Northern Exposure gathering place for the local word in all its manifestations - news, genuine news, hearsay, gossip, balderdash, or pure bs. Local writers, clerics, pundits, politicos, working stiffs, quasi revolutionaries, even those "from away," with nothing better to do but hang out in old bookstores (and be abused by the owner), can often be seen browsing or grousing on the premises. Thinking about buying a used book. The newest used bookshop and youngest book dealer in the county is Peter Sloma of The Peninsula Bookman (Used, Rare, and Out-Of-Print Books) at The Settlement Shops in Fish Creek. Tucked into the back of the compound, this partially brick building exudes old-world architectural character, inviting anyone partial to book lore to step inside and feel at comfortable. One is reminded of intimate bookshops in London, Wales, and Ireland. Book lovers all É browse to your heart's content. That kind of coziness. Peter Slomar, gracious, informative, at your service. With about 7,000 books in very fine condition, at very reasonable prices, may the Peninsula Bookman continue to grow and find its place in the hearts of visiting and local book folk looking for a small, good place to browse and buy. Books to be found in/above and beyond traditional bookstores in the county include a full rack of books and magazines at the Main Street Market in Egg Harbor; a selective but superb collection of books in the Butik/Gift Shop of Al Johnson's Restaurant in Sister Bay, and a nature-oriented selection of good reading in the bookstore at the Jensen Center of The Clearing in Ellison Bay.