Shop
The Marginalia online shop
A small, careful selection of what we sell in the shop: new books, local authors, staff picks and a few gifts. Pick up at the counter (usually ready in two hours) or have it shipped. Don’t see a book? Ask us for a special order.
Fiction
Novels we’ve read and loved, from a drowned orchard to a Lake Erie ferry.
The Orchard Under the Lake
$28.00Marguerite Aldous’s quiet, strange novel about a drowned apple orchard and the three sisters who inherit the shore. Nell’s pick of the fall.
Choose formatNine Lamps on Packard Street
$17.95Anil Raman’s debut follows nine neighbors on one Ann Arbor street through a single winter power outage. Our November book club pick.
See detailsWhat the Ferry Carried
$26.00Odalys Fenn’s historical novel about a Lake Erie car ferry in 1926 and the people who worked it. Walt says it’s the best thing he’s read in years.
See details
Nonfiction
Field guides, essays and a cookbook worth reading in bed.
Birds of the Huron Valley: A Field Guide for the Distracted
$22.00Priya Nandakumar’s pocket guide to the 90 birds you’ll actually see here, with notes on where, when and how not to confuse them.
See detailsThe Long Table: Recipes and Stories from a Midwest Kitchen
$35.00Ruth Okafor-Lind’s cookbook-with-essays about feeding a lot of people on very little: church suppers, potlucks and one very long Thanksgiving.
See detailsThe Weather Inside: Essays on Staying Put
$24.00Tom Havlicek’s essays on small rooms, long winters and being content in one place. Good company for November.
See details
Children’s books
Picture books and a first chapter book, all read aloud at story time.
Bartholomew Counts the Stars
$17.99A sleepy bear who can’t get past “seven” tries to count the stars before bed. A lap book for ages 2 to 5, with Marisol’s seal of approval.
See detailsThe Moth Who Wanted a Lamp
$18.99Ines Calloway’s picture book about a small moth who loves the porch light and learns what the moon is for. Ages 4 to 8.
See detailsJuniper and the Very Large Dog
$8.99Hattie Brandt’s first chapter book about a girl who is not afraid of her neighbor’s enormous dog. Ages 6 to 9, with pictures on every page.
See details
Local authors
Writers from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and the Huron Valley, many of whom read at the shop.
Huron Bend: Poems
$16.00The second collection from Ann Arbor poet Celia Wren, about rivers, rentals and growing up three miles from where she lives now. Out November 5.
See detailsThe Arboretum Year: A Walker’s Almanac
$24.95Marcus Dellinger’s year of walks in the same Ann Arbor woods, one short entry for each week, with his own pencil drawings.
See detailsThe Kerrytown Cipher
$16.99Nora Pell’s cozy mystery in which a retired codebreaker and a bookstore clerk look into a strange note left inside a returned library book.
See details
Staff picks, wrapped
Can’t choose? Let one of us do it for you.
Blind Date with a Book
$14.00A used hardcover chosen by one of us, wrapped in brown paper with three clues on the front. You pick the kind, we pick the book.
Choose what kindWalt’s Used Paperback Box (five books)
$22.00Five used paperbacks packed by Walt to your taste, for about the price of two new ones.
See details
Gifts and gift cards
Totes, notebooks, a candle that smells like the back room and gift cards that never expire.
Marginalia canvas tote bag
$18.00A sturdy cotton canvas tote with a long handle and room for a dozen paperbacks. Screen printed in town.
Choose colorMarginalia gift card
From $25.00A gift card for the shop, emailed to you right away. Good in the store and on this website, in any amount, and it never expires.
Choose amountPickle the shop cat enamel pin
$8.00A one-inch enamel pin of Pickle, our window cat, asleep on a stack of books. She is not available for pinning, but this is close.
Bookmark set, six
$9.00Six sturdy illustrated bookmarks from a printmaker in Ypsilanti, in a paper sleeve.
Cloth notebook with elastic band
$14.00A hardcover notebook with a ribbon marker, an elastic closure and a pocket in the back. 192 pages of thick paper.
Choose pagesBack Room candle
$22.00A hand-poured soy candle that smells like our used-book room: cedar, old paper and a little vanilla. Burns for about 40 hours.
Choose scent
How ordering works
The same books and the same booksellers as the shop, with the checkout on your phone.
- 1
Choose your books
Add books and gifts to your cart. Add gift wrapping for $4 a book, or write us a note at checkout.
- 2
Pick up or ship
Pick up at the front counter, or have it shipped in the U.S. for a flat $5, free on orders over $50.
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We pack it with care
A bookseller packs every order by hand and emails you when it’s ready or on its way.
Ordering questions
Can I order online and pick up at the shop?
Yes. Choose pickup at checkout and we’ll email you when your order is ready, usually within two hours while we’re open. Bring your email or your name to the front counter.
Do you ship, and what does it cost?
We ship to addresses in the United States for a flat $5, and shipping is free on orders over $50. Orders placed by 2 pm go out the next business day.
What’s your return policy?
New books can be returned unread within 30 days with your receipt, for a refund or store credit. Used books, wrapped Blind Dates and candles are final sale. If anything arrives damaged, tell us and we’ll replace it.
Do you charge sales tax?
Yes, Michigan’s 6 percent sales tax is added at checkout on books and gifts. Gift cards aren’t taxed.
Do gift cards expire?
Never. You can buy one online in $25, $50 or $100 and we’ll email it right away, or get a paper card at the counter in any amount. They work in the shop and on this website.
Can’t find the book you want?
We can order almost anything in print, usually in two or three days.