Perhaps it’s the sweet, musty scent of ink and paper, or the promise of wisdom between the covers. The hefty weight of a hardcover between my fingers, the crispy-crackly pages that have been thumbed through by countless others, or the soft yield of the spine bending back to release its knowledge into the sun-soaked air.

Whatever it is, something about local bookstores’ mysteriousness and quirkiness has endeared them to me, so that I often find myself passing entire afternoons fingering through the yellowed, threadbare tomes in the their basements, searching for that one particular treasure or for nothing in particular.

Eljay’s Used Books is a perfect place to indulge my bookworm tendencies. Tucked between a stationary store and a bar on East Carson Street, its idiosyncratic location reflects the eclectic character of the interior. Though it looks tiny from the outside, an impressive number of paperbacks and hardcovers spanning all subjects line the walls, while Isabel the “Wonder Dog” pats around the aisles. The shop buys, sells, and trades books, meaning the stock is always changing.

There’s also Penguin Bookshop, an 80 year old establishment in Sewickley that stocks 20,000 books for all ages, as well as book-related gifts, cards, newspapers, and magazines. With staff picks, book clubs, brown lunch meetings, and author signings, Penguin is something Amazon can never offer. The store just re-opened last fall with a new LEED-certified building and a brightly lit “Munchkin’s Loft” on the second floor complete with floor pillows and a fireplace (we promise not to tell if you cozy up there yourself!). Penguin also offers $15 off your next purchase for every $200 spent — so your literary shopaholism can be marked by less guilt and more pleasure.

Sandwiched between two university campuses is Caliban Book Shop in Oakland, whose academic location is fitting considering the shop’s specialization in philosophy, Americana, first editions, fine arts, poetry, exploration and travel, and scholarly books. There are 25,000 uncatalogued volumes including rare books and over 50,000 volumes online. Think Portuguese sonnets, century-old cookbooks, countless Bibles, and leather-bound sets — items so rare you’ll wonder if you’re in a museum or a bookstore.

Just like the tomes stocked on their shelves, local bookstores seem to have lives, stories, and personality of their own. Just like a page-turner, you’ll find yourself holding your breath to see what’s in store on the next shelf over.

Photo: 0olong via Flickr