See our small collection
of rare books on biblio.com
The Bear & Bee Bookshop


North Adams, Mass.
ABOUT THE BEAR & BEE

The Bear & Bee is a used and new bookstore in North Adams, Massachusetts. We opened in June of 2021. We carry used and new books of all kinds, with particular emphasis on art; health; environment and nature; social justice; feminism; queer issues; science fiction and general fiction; local history and guides; great books for kids and young adults; as well as cards, gifts, puzzles, and more.

North Adams is Massachusetts’ smallest city, nestled in the valley of the Hoosic River, at the northern edge of the Berkshire Hills and overshadowed by Mount Greylock, on the unceded land of the Muh·he·con·ne·ok people who are known today as the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans.

The bookshop is run by Jennifer Stevens and Rye Howard. Jen is a certified nurse midwife of many years experience, recently developed the educational curricula for midwives in Bangladesh, and is also an avid gardener and herbalist. Rye is an environmental health scientist, astronomer, biker, tinkerer, and book obsessive.

Stay in touch! You can join our mailinglist by sending an email to
bearbeebooks-announcements+subscribe@googlegroups.com
We very rarely send emails, but we hope to upgrade to a monthly newsletter soon!
VISIT THE STORE

We're located at 28 Holden Street, North Adams, Mass — just a couple blocks from Mass MoCA, and right next door to Public Eat+Drink. There's free parking in back, and the entrance from the parking lot is accessible. Here's a google map.

2023 hours:

EVENTS

Coming up at the Bear & Bee:


A Special Bear & Bee Event!

The Boiler House Poets Collective

Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 11 AM.

Ten artists-in-residence of the Boiler House Poets Collective will be reading at the Bear & Bee on Saturday, Sept 30. At the end of the reading, there will be time for a Q&A. Books will be available for sale and poets will be available to sign them. There will also be some light refreshments. Bonus: It will be Fall Foliage Festival Weekend so there will be extra activities to enjoy both before and after the reading.

Join us in celebrating poetry, art, books, and fall in North Adams!

Wed Sept 13, 2023: Queer Circle CANCELLED FOR SEPTEMBER.
Now that North Adams has a dedicated Pride organization, we are rethinking the value of Queer Circle. Feel free to get in touch if you have thoughts!

Wed Sept 20, 2023
Book Club: Remarkably Bright Creatures (tentative)
(every 3rd Wednesday)

Wed Sept 27, 2023: Writers Group
(every 4th Wednesday)

All our events start at 7pm, all and are open to new members.
Email us for more info!

ORDERING

We're happy to take orders for new books for you to pick up at your leisure. (Sorry, we do not ship books.) We can usually get nearly anything in print within a week. (Orders of used books are trickier, but ask us — we love a challenge!) Please email us at bear.bee.books@gmail.com, or drop us a note on instagram.

We want to know what you want to read, who your favorite authors are, what we're missing but should be carrying, and what you’d like to see in a local independent bookstore! Send your suggestions, ideas, reading lists, hopes, and dreams to bear.bee.books@gmail.com.

SELLING YOUR BOOKS

We are always happy to take your donations of books in good, clean condition. Please do not bring us torn, dusty, or moldy books    :-(

We will sometimes buy books, although we are often limited by shelf space, cash on hand, and the staff time to look through them. If you have good-quality books in clean condition that you think we would be interested in, please consinder sending us a picture of some or all of them, or even just the spines, before you haul them into the shop. Note that we do not buy romance, mystery, or magazines at all, and we rarely take mass-market paperbacks. Our base price for used, very good condition, and interesting books is $3 in store credit, or $2 in cash.