As an English major and profound book nerd, I have visited my fair share of bookstores during my 21-year span, but none match Midtown Scholar, located in Harrisburg, Pa. Throughout my time at Elizabethtown College, I have heard about it a million times but didn’t venture there until Nov. 19, and I am severely upset it took me this long.

The greatest attribute of Midtown Scholar is the amount of levels to the store. You can go down staircases, up ramps and around dozens of corners and still find more to explore. In fact, in the archive section, there is a sign that points customers to where the exit is. My friend, junior international business major Meghan Murray, and I spent three hours browsing all that the store offered.

One part of the bookstore (well, two parts) that I didn’t check out were the cafe and the P&R Bakery. At the cafe, you can get a drink to sip while you browse for books or sit down with your new read. Murray had one of their teas and quite enjoyed it. The bakery also had a wide selection that I was fascinated with, but I saved it to try a different day.

During my trip, I found dozens of books I wished to purchase, but I settled on three. One was a signed copy of “It Starts With Us” by Colleen Hoover, which will be a Christmas gift for my mother. The second book I bought healed my inner child: a signed copy of “Diary of Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney. Overall, I was very shocked by the amount of signed books that this independent bookstore had, and they were relatively inexpensive as well. The final book I got is “The Dictionary of Lost Words” by Pip Williams.

The only thing I was intentionally hesitant about with Midtown Scholar was the parking situation. If you ever drove in Harrisburg before, or any city really, and tried to park, you understand the absolute pain of trying to parallel park. When I took my driver’s test, I aced the parallel parking section and then immediately forgot how to do it. Luckily, behind the store is a parking lot for Midtown Scholar customers. Thus, you don’t need to struggle to park!

If my wallet allowed it, I would be traveling back to Midtown Scholar this weekend, but unfortunately, I am a college student with a limited budget. Fulfill my dreams for me, and head down to Midtown Scholar for some fun reads and to support an independent bookstore!