Black Cat Books

Lee and I took the day off yesterday and messed around. We found a house with two sphinxes in front and a gigantic iron birdbath...we found a German deli with Happy Hippopotomus candy...we found Black Cat Books.

Black Cat Books is a hole-in-the-wall bookstore up in Manitou Springs. The part of the place that's upstairs holds kids books, a wine bar, and a couple of coffee pots (donations, please). Most of the books are downstairs.

There's not really any rhyme or reason to the books. A copy of Asimov's Foundation omnibus sat next to The Secret Life of Bees. Couches, overstuffed chairs, a dining-room table, and a window nook padded with pillows provided almost as many places to sit as there were racks of books. A den of books.

Next door--only to be accessed through the bookstore--is a metaphysical shop. Native American, Buddhist, and Christian influences sit side-by-side. I found a teal-and-pine spice rack decorated with turtles that I'd like at some point. A spiritual-healing room dedicated to the Archangel Michael. A painted meditation maze on the floor.

Altogether, an odd but enjoyable place. We picked up a used Agatha Christie paperback, Amy Tan's Saving Fish from Drowning, and Tom Robbins's Jitterbug Perfume. Very Manitou Springs.