The online experience of shopping for books, or of reading scanned books, usually suffers the lack of those fortunate accidents; there is no substitute for going from book to book in the flesh.
In New England, especially in cities and college towns, the independent bookstore hangs on and in a few cases thrives. Here are seven great ones, harboring the used and new and rare, but all individuals.
(Text by Jonathan Levitt for the Boston Globe; Montague Bookmill photo)
