Compass Rose Books

Compass Rose Books A carefully curated bookstore with a small cafe, offering something for everyone. We are mask optional!

our staff is fully vaccinated and may still choose to mask up, but we no longer require our guests to wear masks.

05/08/2026

We're feeling nostalgic for these games, played endlessly in the car, on the boat, on a rainy day, a sunny day, any day, anywhere. Tuck a few in & be prepared wherever you are! unplugandplay

Meet the 2026 Pulitzer Prize winners for non fiction and fiction! 📚 Of the nearly twelve thousand constitutional amendm...
05/06/2026

Meet the 2026 Pulitzer Prize winners for non fiction and fiction! 📚 Of the nearly twelve thousand constitutional amendments that have come before congress since 1789, only twenty-seven have been ratified. Historian and law professor Jill Lepore's central argument is that the framers expected future generations to 'mend America by amending the constitution through orderly, peaceful and democratic process.' The absence of this process, she writes, gives rise to political violence and to change by presidential or judicial fiat, and ultimately disastrous outcomes for our nation. 📚 Daniel Kraus delivers, in one single sentence, two days in the life of Private First Class Cyril Bagger, mired in the trench warfare of The Great War. It is a demanding, graphic read, surreal and uneasy in its refusal to confirm our belief that humanity's arc bends toward goodness and care. 📚

This new and timely collection of essays challenges the idea that waste and inefficiency are concentrated in government ...
05/05/2026

This new and timely collection of essays challenges the idea that waste and inefficiency are concentrated in government bureaucracy, and that public service is less valuable than private sector employment. These essays are about the people who administer, manage, operate and report on everything from our National Cemeteries to the BLS & IRS, to our highway and national park systems. The essays also connect the dots between government agencies and their relevance to our lives. 📚 pairs well with David Graeber's 2018 book Bu****it Jobs, Paul Krugman's 1996 essay A Country is not a Company, and Donald Cohen's 2021 book The Privatization of Everything.

It's becoming a spring rite, this lovely stack of Castine Calendars delivered on a fine sunny morning ahead of MMA's gra...
05/01/2026

It's becoming a spring rite, this lovely stack of Castine Calendars delivered on a fine sunny morning ahead of MMA's graduation ceremonies. 🙂

At long last, here I am at Louise Erdrich's small, deeply curated indie bookstore, tucked in at the end of a quiet, leaf...
04/26/2026

At long last, here I am at Louise Erdrich's small, deeply curated indie bookstore, tucked in at the end of a quiet, leafy street. Lingering among these stacks reminds me that language and the stories we tell are vital to our understanding of who we once were and are now, and who we are setting ourselves up to be. I am meeting new books and new authors and am loving just being another customer. I will wrestle my armload to the register, and I will again be proud, humbled and determined to at least be at the same table with this fierce little shop. 🙏📚

'The life I love is making music with my friends.' - W. Nelson. 📚🎨🎼🎤 Bring your instrument, your words, your joy to 3 M...
04/22/2026

'The life I love is making music with my friends.' - W. Nelson. 📚🎨🎼🎤 Bring your instrument, your words, your joy to 3 Main St next Wednesday evening for one more Open Mic before graduation day, hosted by . ☀️ our second season of Open Mics will resume at the start of the next school year! Thank you to .magpie, , to for getting this ball rolling- and of course, thank you to all you creative and talented musicians and artists for being here now. 👊🏻❤️

We have a very adorable guest in the shop today! Solomon is a 14-week old Blue Path service dog in-training and he's her...
04/18/2026

We have a very adorable guest in the shop today! Solomon is a 14-week old Blue Path service dog in-training and he's here to begin learning how to interact in public. After he completes two years of training he will be able to provide lifelong companionship, safety, and opportunities for independence for children with autism spectrum disorders. Solomon is under the care and training of , and , and because he is a working dog, we ask that you follow his trainer's instructions before interacting with him. Which is hard because he is sooooo cute. 🤗.

It is difficult to describe this slim bit of exquisite prose. The commentary on Lerner's writing almost always lands on ...
04/15/2026

It is difficult to describe this slim bit of exquisite prose. The commentary on Lerner's writing almost always lands on comparisons to Hemingway's exactness and Kafka's surrealism, but what we read, simply put, was a wry story about the smartphone's power to build us up or tear or down. It's a short novel with a long-standing theme: how to find meaning in a meaningless world. 🌎 📚

04/14/2026

Come home this summer. Walk down Perkins St on a fine warm evening, Stop on every morning corner to chat. Open the windows to the salt air and beach roses. ☀️📚🌺. Until then, the next best thing are these gorgeous, evocative greeting cards by Alex Dodge. So vibrant and crisp you can taste the summer. Beautifully printed and sized to capture all your notes and daydreams.

The 19th century labor movement began the fight for 'eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest', and b...
04/12/2026

The 19th century labor movement began the fight for 'eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest', and by 1940, the 40-hour work week was the law of the land. Our current reality is such that the same expectation remains unattainable for the labor that makes our 24/7 consumption demands possible. Add to that the pressure on natural resources to feed our demand and we find ourselves and our planet exhausted and overworked. 🌎📚 Since 1982, Orion Magazine has been at the intersection of nature, culture, and work, through the poetry, art, research and reflection of those who live and labor so that we may have and do.

04/07/2026

Music and coffee on the inside, snow falling on the outside. Here 'till 6. Erin

Address

3 Main Street
Castine, ME
04421

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+12073265034

Website

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