My bucket list this summer is to visit all of the independent bookstores in the Cleveland Area (last summer it was coffee shops). So to begin my adventures, last Friday I took a trip to Black Cat Books and Oddities in Medina, Ohio. It is a place that has been featured on the news quite a bit recently, however, I first learned about the shop from my independent bookstores punch card challenge (Loganberry Books in Cleveland). I had not been to Medina in years and was blown away not only by the bookstores, but also the other fun places and overall charm of the town. Medina is about 45 minutes south of Cleveland.
https://www.blackcatmedina.com
The shop has numerous rooms, each with a different motif ranging from the occult, to magic and Mythology, to a children’s playland and mystery room upstairs. The initial building is a 20th century brick home that has a wonderful front porch and friendly and knowledgable staff. I was enthralled when I found a small volume of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems which was my purchase for the day.
After checking out the mystery room and the banned book closet, I decided to head to the second location, which I was told had a “Shire Room” which did not disappoint. The second building is behind the first, located diagonally from the parking lot. It is in a grayish purple Victorian, with a small sitting area in the back of the first floor. It bodes a room designated to romance, fantasy, science fiction, and my favorite “The Shire Room.”
The creativity and care with which the owners show in cultivating the world that we all imagine in our heads when reading, is magical and there for everyone in the flesh. I commend them for the beauty of their imagination. Imagination is the fruit of creativity, but also of hope and fulfillment. Thank you Black Cat for adding to my literary journey and making my imagination run wild.
Token Tolkien 
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