Browsing books at the museum

by Sharlene Irete

People Editor

Tucked inside the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center is a place to go for summer reading books, gift ideas and research material. It may be a secret to some, but the staff wants it known that the Main Street Bookstore is ready for business.

"We want to let people know that the bookstore is here," said Main Street Bookstore manager Bernadine Whitmore. "You don't have to pay admission to the museum to get into the bookstore."

In these days of Big Box bookstores and online shopping, a neighborhood bookstore where you can actually touch books is becoming more rare. The Main Street Bookstore resembles a special section in a Border's or Barnes & Noble.

There are books not only about Nevada, but about the region " Yosemite, Bodie, Lake Tahoe, Virginia City, the Black Rock Desert and Death Valley. There are books on Basque history, the Donner Party, mining towns, Native American culture and women in history.

"I spend a lot of time researching, which I truly enjoy," said Whitmore. "We try to keep competitive prices. The highest priced books are around $50."

Gift items include Nevada T-shirts, rocks, postcards, sticker books, gift items and Comstock Cowboys CDs and DVDs. Rotating displays of artwork by local artists are featured monthly.

There are children's books, coloring books, paper doll books, books about dinosaurs, farm animals and endangered species.

Featured books this month are about the Pony Express and Snowshoe Thompson.

Guy Clifton will be giving a talk about boxer Jack Dempsey in the next of the Douglas County Historical Society's free lecture series in July so his book, "Dempsey in Nevada," is available in the bookstore.

There are books on wildlife, birds, geology, Dat-So-La-Lee baskets, cookbooks, Nevada travels and a special section devoted to local authors.

"The bookstore is a money-making project for the museum," said Whitmore. "It's just one of many ways to support the museum."

Members of the Douglas County Historical Society and museum receive 10 percent off.

The Main Street Bookstore is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

n "Orphans Preferred, the Twisted Truth and Last Legend of the Pony Express" by Christopher Corbett

n "Sleepin' in the Bunkhouse" cowboy poetry by Ken Gardner

n "Alkali Angels" photographs by Marilyn Newton

n "Dempsey in Nevada" by Guy Clifton

n "Long Beard Warren Wasson" by Robert Ellison

Members of the Carson Valley Art Association will display their work in the Main Street Bookstore in the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center each month through August.

June: Beth Bosmans, Pam Brekas, Nancy Kilberg and Mechele Johnson

July: Anne Armijo, Janice Frost and Mark Tompkins

August: Nancy Clarke, Carolyn Denning and Helen Martin