Steal My Crawl: Andrea Quinn
Need ideas for your crawl? We asked some folks to share how they participated last year, or what they’d like to do this year. Take inspiration or copy them outright–we won’t tell!
Andrea Quinn, South Jersey’s most devoted citizen (self-appointed)
Andrea Quinn is a communications coordinator and podcast producer (Beautiful/Anonymous, professionally; The Watchers, recreationally). She has a dog named Pacey, who is her whole world; a cat named Toby, who must be divine retribution for some past misdeed; and a cat named Kevin, who is generally pretty chill. She currently lives in Philadelphia, but more importantly, is moving back to Jersey this summer.
Andrea’s 2025 Crawl
I am a staunch South Jerseyan who has lived or worked in just about every county south of Trenton, but for the last five-ish years I’ve been living over the bridge in Mt. Airy. So last year, I used the New Jersey Bookstore Crawl as an excuse to revisit some of my old stomping grounds.
My friend Robin and I started at Ren’s in Blackwood, right up the street from where I lived in high school. Ren’s is exactly the kind of place teenage me would have been obsessed with. I’m so glad it exists. From there, we visited the always-appreciated Inkwood Books in Haddonfield, popped into House Finch in Collingswood, where I sadly did not get to meet their shop cat, Loon, and then headed to Second Time Books in the dreamy Rancocas Woods, which had that perfect old-book smell and where I bought two books about Jersey that I somehow didn’t already own.
After that, we stopped at The Novel Realm in Columbus, which was quiet and airy, and I managed to leave with two board games instead of books (another thing I keep buying despite having not enough time for the collection I already have). Our last stop together was the accurately named Old Book Shop of Bordentown, where the highlights for me were a well-worn leather armchair and a curmudgeonly sign reading, “This Is Not a Research Library.”
After Robin and I parted ways, I headed farther south to visit a friend, and I convinced him to take one last ride out to Pitman for Words Matter Bookstore. I remember the folks working there being especially kind, although I have to say one of the things I loved most about last year’s crawl was how friendly everyone was, everywhere we went: not just the bookstore staff, but the other crawlers, too. What a joy to be around so many strangers engaged in the same project. Some we crossed paths with more than once, others we only shared a few words with while waiting in line. Not enough opportunities anymore for those tiny but meaningful connections with people you might never see again.
Andrea’s 2026 Crawl
This year, I am thrilled to report that I’ll be moving back to Jersey this summer, though to the mythical land of Central Jersey (I am a late-in-life though on-the-record believer in the region). For the 2026 crawl, I’m using the weekend to get a better lay of the land a little farther north.
My one regret from last year’s crawl was that I didn’t make it to Howling Basset Books in Lambertville, because the only thing I love as much as books and Jersey is dogs, and I hear Howling Basset isn’t just a clever name. Even though the route might not make perfect logistical sense, the plan is to start there and then fan vaguely outward. There are probably more efficient ways to learn a place, but I’m not sure there are better ones than driving around somewhat aimlessly and seeing where the road and the day (and in this case, the bookstore map) take you.
So far, the ambitious, had-I-all-the-time-in-the-world list includes Howling Basset, Panoply Books, Act 2 Books, Charmed & Bound (I am obsessed with their New Jersey Bookstore Crawl-themed tee), The Bear & The Books, because in a previous life I studied children's lit and cannot resist a bookstore for young people, and Cloak & Dagger in Princeton. I’m also trying to decide whether I can pass through Princeton without stopping at Labyrinth. I have lost many an hour to that store in my life, and we’re on limited time here, so we’ll see how much willpower I have that day.
Frenchtown Bookshop also looks lovely, has great staff picks on the crawl page, and say they have treats for people who bring their dogs, so I’m hoping I’ll get to meet another dog or two while I’m there. Then maybe Book Trader of Hamilton as we meander south/back home, with a possible repeat of last year’s crawl in reverse. Ren’s was packed when we got there in the morning last year (good for them!), so maybe a later visit will be a little more low-key.
I know this is more of a “shoot for the moon” list than a reasonable plan, but if I see even one dog and visit a few Jersey bookstores, I’ll consider the day a success.
Andrea’s Shopping List:
SO many! So many books I want to read come out that week! Heather is cheating because it’s not out until June 9th, but: a mystery! Set in the Pine Barrens! In the 90s?!??!?! COME ON.
Favorite bookstore outside of NJ: I miss Brattleboro Books and Everyone's Books (also in Brattleboro, VT) every day.
Favorite bookstore merch: Does my Little Prince tattoo count?
A bookstore I’d like to visit: Powell’s in Portland is the obvious one. I’d also like to visit The Last Bookstore in LA. It's absolutely Instagram bait, but come on, a tunnel of books? And Shakespeare and Company in Paris, which is another obvious answer for a girl with an English degree, but the heart wants what it wants.
I read best… in a big comfy chair, curled up with the dog and a giant iced coffee, rain appreciated but not required.