6 bookish homes for readers
Featuring a Gothic revival in New Hampshire and former library in Massachusetts
Healdsburg, Calif.
This 1988 Mediterranean-style home in Sonoma County has a C-shaped library with a windowed reading nook. The main four-bedroom features a double-height foyer, hardwood floors, coffered ceilings, an all-white kitchen, a curved staircase, and a dining room with arch-topped French doors.
The 10-plus-acre lot also has a detached studio, a vineyard and gardens, and an entertainment area with a pergola, kitchen, fireplace, pool, and sports courts. $7,950,000. Lisa Albertson, Vanguard Properties/Luxury Portfolio International, (415) 450-7768
Matinecock, N.Y.
Accessed by a spiral staircase, the library in this 1968 modernist home on Long Island’s North Shore has leafy views and is tucked under the curved roofline. The four-bedroom’s great room includes 19-foot wood ceilings, stone floors, and glass walls.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
On the property’s 5 acres, the botanist owner has grown specimen plants, trees, and a meadow garden, complemented by an outdoor sculpture, walking paths, and a Native American geological landmark. $3,875,000. Paul Mateyunas, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, (516) 816-0301
Waterville Valley, N.H.
Located on Snow’s Mountain in the White Mountain National Forest, this 1995 four-bedroom Gothic-revival home is owned by Robin Cook, the author of Coma and other best-selling novels, and features the private, glass-walled cupola office where he worked.
The home also includes a living room with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, a dining room with dramatic wallpaper, and a green marble primary bath. The wooded 1-acre lot is minutes from town and a ski resort. $1,999,000. Mike Aronson, Waterville Valley Realty, (603) 236-8333 ext. 18
Scituate, Mass.
Near the coast about an hour from Boston, this four-bedroom 1893 Tudor was once the Pierce Memorial Library. A cherrywood-clad office includes built-ins, paneling, coffered ceilings, and a bourbon bar, while the home’s living room has 20-foot ceilings, a limestone fireplace, and split stairs to a loft den with a pool table.
Your weekly digest of stories about entertainment and leisure, delivered every Friday
On the nearly 1-acre lot are mature trees and a flat backyard with a stone fireplace, patio, and fountain. $1,799,000. Julie McCarthy, Compass, (774) 249-2172
London
Built for a painter, then owned by a pianist, this three-bedroom, Arts and Crafts–style townhouse in the affluent Chelsea neighborhood is several doors from A.A. Milne’s house of 20 years, where he wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh books.
The updated three-story home has wood floors, a modern kitchen, a library with built-ins, and two offices with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Outside is a terrace; multiple famed bookstores are nearby. $8,466,540. Stacy Sims, Knightsbridge—United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty, +44 2046 130200
Portland, Ore.
In the Pearl District, this 2004 one-bedroom condo is across the street from Powell’s City of Books—known as the largest bookstore in the world. The contemporary home includes high ceilings, hardwood floors, a kitchen with stone counters, a bedroom with a walk-in closet, and in-unit laundry.
A covered terrace has city and mountain views. Dining, shopping, and a park are all within walking distance. $469,000. Chad Estes, Coldwell Banker Bain, (503) 867-6388