The Green Toad Bookstore

The Green Toad Bookstore — August 2014
A nice little spot to enjoy a summer afternoon in Oneonta, NY. Book selection is mostly limited to bestsellers, though the bookseller seemed genuinely apologetic she didn’t have the books I requested. On the café side of the shop, the barista was sweet and made a solid chai latte, which was the perfect little pick-​me-​up.

It’s a really, really nice book store.
I’m a fan of ebooks (sorry not sorry), but I’ll sometimes stop in when I’m walking around Main Street. It’s attached to a café, which is very convenient. I mostly go here when I need to purchase children’s books as gifts. I know my parents shop here often because the store will always order books for them. Although its a small-​ish place, you can sit and read. They sell many things other than books, including jewelry, toys, and cards (I love buying cards from here).

Lovely place to pop in during a cold day. Grab a cup of coffee, wander around and look at some of the sweet local artisan offerings, then snuggle in one of the chairs, and grab a book or magazine to peruse. Then BUY something. Support a local business!

Day before yesterday I made reservations to fly back to the family in New York for Christmas. That it’s the time of year when people across the coast must begin planning for the winter fellowship is incredible because it seems as if I was just home for Christmas like five minutes ago but that’s the way it is and I’ll dwell on it not for a moment more.
But the planning did get me to thinking of the places I’ve visited in Oneonta (Stone-​eonta whilst I was in college moons ago down the road), places I’ve enjoyed, places I intend to darken four months hence. And …
The Green Toad is one such place. It is so cozy, with supple seating surfaces and the coffee and sammich place next door. Staff spotlights the good reads with an objective sense of humor it feels. The bookshelves appear to lean strongly neither right nor left. As with other independent booksellers, they don’t have the breadth of offerings that you’ll find on your computer, but if you call ahead they’ll order what you desire and have it waiting to proffer for a fair price and with a smile. Amazon can take care of the former. I’ve yet to receive a box with a smile inside.
Here’s a tip for you. Call the Toad and ask them to order up Daniel Ellsberg’s book entitled Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. Fascinating read on the people who risked everything to make public secrets that once illuminated are said to have weighed heavily in our decision to end the futile destructive engagement in Southeast Asia. For me, Ellsberg’s narcissism is outweighed by the lives it saved. If the former motivated the latter, so be it. The story needed to be told.
Ellsberg didn’t spend the rest of his life behind bars because the law of the land at the time he committed his act of conscience didn’t require it. That little oversight has been seen to, as will be attested by Bradley Manning as he serves the 35 year sentence handed down today. All hail to the corporate whistleblower, all hail the neighborhood snitch. But you best not pull the covers off the murder of civilians overseas or what’s gone down at Gitmo, you best not hint that Brother is reading your email and photographing your license plates lest you like the idea of living the rest of your days in the pen or in a room at the Moscow airport.
There are nuances and details to be sure, facts we’ll never learn but if we did perhaps these facts might change our minds. I’m open to that. One thing I can tell you with certainty, as far as the facts that are published are concerned, if it be Christmastime, I’ll be picking them up here at the Green Toad.

This bookstore is a nice place to hang out if you are…
a) looking to kill time
b) take advantage of their A/​C
c) avoid the cold upstate weather
d) all of the above
It is a cute little place, but definitely nothing special. My favorite thing about it is that it has a warm atmosphere, and the fact that the workers won’t bother you.

A cute local bookstore with a decent selection. The environment is warm and welcoming, and I lost several hours there on my recent trip to Oneonta.
The Green Toad hosts occasional open mic events, as well. It’s nice when a place invites community involvement like that.
I really liked this place, and I’m sure I’ll be back to browse and buy soon.

A very pleasant indie bookstore of the kind that is becoming all too rare. You won’t find every single book you might ever want to name here, but you will find a respectable sampling of children’s books, local interest, and outdoorsy stuff, along with plenty of fiction.
The fact that it adjoins the Latte Lounge adds yet another, ah, perk to the picture.

Like the new bookstore in Binghamton that I just reviewed this place is kind of smallish but it is great for Oenonta becuas eit is on Main Street and it is not part of a chain. It adjoins the Latte Lounge (which is a place I am not too wild about, but hey you got to make do with what you have– better the Latte Lounge than a chain coffee place)