There’s a new bookstore in Charlevoix, Michigan, called Dockside Books. It’s appropriately named because water abounds in Charlevoix. From the bookstore if you look to the west, you see Lake Michigan and the Round Lake Channel, which leads into Round Lake. If you look to the east, you see Round Lake, which leads into Lake Charlevoix.
Dockside is a charming bookstore. Depending on the light, the color painted on the walls sometimes looks sea green or stormy blue. Changeable like Lake Michigan. A rowboat standing on end serves as a bookshelf. In addition to a wonderful selection of books in all genres, customers can shop for book bags, stationery, bookmarks, and journals. There is a nice sitting area where you can try out a book before you buy it.
I wanted to buy a book to be supportive of the new store. But I wasn’t sure what to get because I’d recently bought other books on my wish list. So, I asked the clerk what her favorite genre was and she said she likes them all (a diplomat!), but she added she loves historical fiction. I asked, “Do you have a new historical fiction book you could recommend?” She did. 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen. The story, set in Brussels in a small apartment building, begins with the Nazi occupation of Belgium. I bought the book because I like historical fiction and because the clerk enthusiastically recommended it. Also, I find that reading about World War II, Nazis, and fascism, which I’ve been doing a lot lately, is somehow less scary than reading today’s news. Sometimes, however, the parallels between the past and the present are frightening. I haven’t read the book yet, but if I like it, I promise I’ll post a book review.
I didn’t have long to visit the bookstore because I had two dogs in my car waiting for their promised walk. So I’m looking forward to spending more time in Dockside when I return to Michigan this winter. I also need to read 33 Place Brugmann before I return to the store because I promised the clerk I’d tell her what I thought of the book.
The locals like to say if you keep a big enough boat on Lake Charlevoix, you can go anywhere in the world you want. Sail into Lake Michigan, navigate through a few more Great Lakes and some rivers, and voilĂ you will sail into the Atlantic Ocean. And from there the world awaits.
Or you can do what I did and visit Dockside Books, buy a book, and go anywhere in the world and anywhere in time without getting seasick. Soon I’ll be traveling back in time to Brussels as World War II begins and the lives of ordinary people are upended because of Hitler.
To see interior pictures of Dockside, scroll through the slideshow below.
Writing Near the Lake 
I am loving all the bookstores you showcase! And pleased the ‘single’ run stores are making a strong appearance. Thank you Vickie.
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Thanks! I love going into independent bookstores. And I always buy something!
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It sounds like a charming bookstore. Too bad there are so few of these old-time bookstores left. Hope you enjoy the book.
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I hope I enjoy the book too. If it’s good, I will blog about it and I will write a review for a magazine out of Michigan. I feel like I’m blessed to have lots of these old time bookstores around me. And I shop in all of them. Sometimes I don’t buy books, but instead buy gift items that they stock.
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I bet your grandkids will love it too!
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I loved reading this! You captured Dockside Books and Charlevoix with so much heart. As someone who grew up here and still calls this lakeshore home, it made me smile to see our little corner of the world through your eyes.
I recently published my debut novella, The Ones Who Stayed, which is also shaped by Northern Michigan’s landscape; the quiet woods, lake wind, and small-town rhythms that seem to live under the skin. It’s not historical fiction, but it leans into the emotional history of a place: grief, chosen family, and the way communities here hold one another through hard seasons. Based on your reflections about how stories can help us navigate both the past and the present, I think it might resonate with you.
If you’d ever like a gifted copy for your own reading stack, I’d be honored to send one. And I’m glad you found such a thoughtful recommendation at the store. Your enthusiasm alone makes me want to pick up 33 Place Brugmann next.
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I loved reading this! You captured Dockside Books and Charlevoix with so much heart. As someone who grew up here and still calls this lakeshore home, it made me smile to see our little corner of the world through your eyes.
I recently published my debut novella, The Ones Who Stayed, which is also shaped by Northern Michigan’s landscape; the quiet woods, lake wind, and small-town rhythms that seem to live under the skin. It’s not historical fiction, but it leans into the emotional history of a place: grief, chosen family, and the way communities here hold one another through hard seasons. Based on your reflections about how stories can help us navigate both the past and the present, I think it might resonate with you.
If you’d ever like a gifted copy for your own reading stack, I’d be honored to send one. And I’m glad you found such a thoughtful recommendation at the store. Your enthusiasm alone makes me want to pick up 33 Place Brugmann next.
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Dear Melissa,
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog of Dockside Books! What a great way to start my day. Also, thanks for your kind and generous offer to send me a copy of your novella. I appreciate that, but, as a soon to be author myself, I went on Amazon and bought your book! I want to support you too. As someone who didn’t grow up in Michigan, but has spent a lot of time in the U.P. and the northern part of lower Michigan, I enjoy reading about the place. I live near the tip of western Lake Supeerior. There are a lot of parallels between the area I live in and Michigan.
In February 2007, my first book, a collection of short stories titled Silent Negotiations will be published by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. I’m excited and nervous!
I look forward to reading your book!
Vickie
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