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Kennebunkport, MA

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The Knotty Elephant

5.0 (6 reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

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9 years ago

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9 months ago

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1 year ago

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5 years ago

Such a cute book store and a fun story! Paul is preserving the legacy of The Knotty Elephant!

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11 years ago

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10 years ago

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Daytrip Society

Daytrip Society

4.7(35 reviews)
0.1 mi
•$$

The customer service at Daytrip Society is OUTSTANDING! I sent message to the store via Facebook to…read moreinquire about the Sea Bags totes that were in stock before I made the half hour drive to the store. Lucy responded very quickly with detailed descriptions of the totes that fit my inquiry... she even sent photos! I was so grateful for the help before I drove there to be disappointed. I drove to the store and purchased one of the bags that she sent photos of & was amazed by how many other totes were in stock! Unfortunately, the bag I purchased wasn't exactly what I thought I needed. I emailed Daytrip ASAP to inquire about the return policy & if I could ship the return since I live a distance from the store. They responded quickly & gave me multiple options for returning my bag! I also inquired about another tote in that email & they gave prices, shipping costs & sent a photo! I could not be more satisfied with the service from Daytrip Society. They have WONDERFUL, quality products (many made in Maine) and are willing to bend over backwards to make customers happy! THANK YOU, DAYTRIP! I will definitely be back & recommend this store to anyone that is looking for a unique shopping experience while in Maine!

I love the amazing selection here they have so much jewelry, and really overall just a great store!…read moreThis is the first place I think of when going to buy gifts! The employees are always so friendly! I highly recommend!

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Daytrip Society
Daytrip Society
Daytrip Society - Photo by gabrielaherman.com

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Photo by gabrielaherman.com

Octopus Bookshop

Octopus Bookshop

4.2(10 reviews)
3.7 mi

The Octopus Bookshop is such a cool little store. I walked out of this place maybe five minutes ago…read moreand I'm so glad we stumbled upon it. I'm in Maine with family (I'm from Los Angeles) and my dad is giving us a bit of a tour around the area. This small shop has so much charm, such a cool theme, and had such a nicely displayed curation of books that I'm actually mad I couldn't fill up a bag and hang out downtown Kennebunk and just hang out, but moving on. This store is beautiful, and even though we didn't interact with any of the staff, they just seemed super friendly. On top of a great selection of books you could also snag some mugs or shirts and I'm also regretting not getting that, but I'll for sure be back in the future, mark my word. Overall, Octopus Bookshop is the perfect little bookstore for a beautiful little town like Kennebunk. It might not be anytime soon, but I'll be sure to check this place out again when I return to Maine.

The Kennebunks are blessed with some nice local bookshops. Octopus is NOT one…read more Try Lupine Books in Kennebunkport at 28 Dock Square or Perkins Cove Bookshop at 12 Perkins Cove Rd in Ogunquit. Both have great local selections and appreciate customers and are NICE. My wife walked many blocks from our car to Octopus Books and had a book in hand that she was interested in buying, when the woman store worker was extremely rude to her. She actually insulted the size of my wife's professionally trained, papered service dog. She was very rude. Needlessly. Life is short and this is a book store with people purposely there to buy books and support local bookstores. To have a clerk treat book buyers disrespectfully is completely unnecessary and unacceptable. We will never cross the threshold of Octopus Books ever again. Shop someplace else.

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Octopus Bookshop - Books

Books

Octopus Bookshop
Octopus Bookshop - More Books

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More Books

Annie's Book Stop - Mass market romance section

Annie's Book Stop

4.8(8 reviews)
7.4 mi

This was our next stop after Rite Aid. Yelp had the hours listed wrong so I thought we had to be…read morethere before it closed at 2:00, but it closes at 4. I've told Yelp HQ and the hours and days have been corrected. We walked in and were greeted by Francine. I told her I was looking for "A Gentleman in Moscow" and she went to look for it but didn't have it. I had borrowed the book from the library, hadn't finished it and couldn't renew it because someone had a hold on it. While Alan cruised the back room, she directed me to the front side room, where she had checked. There I saw a large print book by Louise Penny and a copy of "Cloud Atlas", by David Mitchell. I got into a conversation w/ another woman, who had been alphabetizing some of the books, to the delight of Francine, who teasingly offered her a job. We talked about books, of course, and I recommended "Cloud Atlas" to her and she took it. I was telling her about Louise Penny and another woman joined our conversation and wrote down the name of the first book in the Gamache series. The conversation was a delightful treat and even if I didn't find my book here, it was a great experience. Alan, of course, found a couple of books.

Small little store, with an area for kids books, a small area for new books, and a small room for…read moreused books. The two older women that run the store aren't the friendliest people around, you feel like you're bothering them as you casually look around. Prices are kind of high, especially on their used books.

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Annie's Book Stop - One of the books offered for sale.

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One of the books offered for sale.

Barnes & Noble - South Portland Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

4.7(7 reviews)
20.0 mi

I mean it's a book store…read more Always end up getting 2 or 3 books. Great selection, staff are always friendly and their recommendations allow for expanding your reading interest.

I think, if you're going to come to a chain bookstore, this should be the place you visit. It's so…read morenew; it's got that new book smell (not really, but... maybe, kinda, sorta?)! 1. So much easy, free parking in their huge shared lot. 2. There's a Starbucks-adjacent cafe. NOTE: it's NOT actually Starbucks though, so you can't order ahead or pay with your app. Just a heads-up! The cafe portion of the bookstore is spacious and clean, with the tables themselves also being spaced quite far apart from one another. It creates a real sense of privacy no matter where you sit! 3. The atmosphere/layout here is very modern and inviting; the selection itself is enormous. Genres are clearly labeled, and there's a tremendous amount of content available no matter what you're looking for (so be prepared to spend some time here wandering around and taking it all in... then you'll probably have to come back, because there's no way you'll actually be able to take it all in on the first visit!). They've got new releases, popular books, recommendations, board games, and more. And, of course, the random armchair for you to sit and peruse your possible purchase. Obviously, support local first. But if you're looking for a slow-paced, wide open, very quiet, very tidy spot to spend a little bit of time (without feeling rushed or forced to purchase something) finding your next favorite read, I'd suggest visiting here!

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Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble

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Bull Moose

Bull Moose

5.0(1 review)
8.1 mi

Bull Moose Music moved from its former smaller store in Sanford to a bigger plaza space at…read moreBiddeford Crossing. This bigger space was once a Nonesuch Books. This new employee owned Bull Moose store is way less cramped than its former Sanford location, where I've shopped for music a long way back. This store had their grand opening a few months ago. Like its old location except more spread out inside, the Biddeford location offers a pretty good selection of new and used music, movies, video games, and books to choose from. The store is well organized nicely by sections with vinyl records, books, CDs, video games, DVDs, Blu-rays and miscellaneous items in between. The music is organized by genre alphabetically with a mix of new and used CDs, They also carry used cassettes ($3 each) underneath the old vinyls. The prices including the sale prices here are very competitive to the online music stores. The Bull Moose website is a good place to search and find which stores have your item or title in stock. They also do special orders and accept used music, movies, and video games for $$$ if in good condition. I spotted several used CDs from 20 years ago being sold for as low as $2.97, which I have in my personal collection and are no longer made. As a holder of the Bull Moose Music FBC (Freakin' Buyers Card), I earn points with each purchase here and receive the Bull Moose Music weekly emails with their e-sales flyers, new releases, promotions, and events (chainwide). IMO, the new Biddeford Bull Moose location is a great improvement to the older cramped location, though it's not as big as the Scarborough Superstore location.

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Bull Moose
Bull Moose

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Elements - Beer & books...

Elements

4.7(160 reviews)
9.2 mi
•$$

My go to study/wfh spot for years. Plenty of outlets and seating, love that they stay open later…read morethan other coffee shops in the area. Love that they have local brews on tap + a good selection of books. The set up a few seats outside when it's nice out! Good cold brew, iced tea, chai, and matcha. Bagels from Rose Foods (aka delish). Their tapas plates are great for a snack!

My first time being made aware of Elements is actually due to them doing collaboration beers with…read moreBarreled Souls. This morning, my wife and I finally planned to go check out their space for the first time. What more could you truly ask for than a cafe/coffee shop meets bookstore meets beer bar! My wife is more of an avid reader than I am so she enjoyed the book aspect more. They have a large menu of offerings drink wise with everything you'd expect from a coffee shop. I do wish they did a rotating seasonal special drink menu, as places usually have one or more great sounding drinks on those. Both my wife and I settled on an iced blueberry latte. Overall it had hints of blueberry and tasted more like milk than anything. Would not be rushing back for it specifically that's for sure. Food wise they have some in-house baked goods as well as bagels from Rose Foods and corssiants from Little Spruce Baking. My wife got a plain bagel with cream cheese while I grabbed a chocolate croissant. I did mess up by not requesting it be warmed up but it was still delicious! Will be finding more spots that have goodies from Little Spruce. The bagel was also tasty. Book wise my wife enjoyed browsing but did not find any books she needed to grab. She did enjoy reading a couple chapters of her current book while we sat by the large windows (good spot for world watching outside). We enjoyed our visit but have other spots we would be happier to visit again.

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Elements - Back entrance

Back entrance

Elements - Selection of cookbooks and local Maine products along the wall by the menu

Selection of cookbooks and local Maine products along the wall by the menu

Elements - Book selection is great!

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Book selection is great!

The Knotty Elephant - bookstores - Updated October 2026

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