"What better way to taste the brainy shock waves of Harvard Square, Cambridge's commercial and spiritual epicenter, than to sample its indie bookstores?" the New York Times asked in a "36 Hours in Cambridge, Mass." travel piece.
The tour started on a Bookish Beat: "Stroll the loop of Brattle, J.F.K, Church and Mount Auburn Streets and you'll find the Grolier Poetry Book Shop (the country's oldest continuous poetry-only store), the Curious George Store (for children), Raven Used Books (literary and academic), the Million Year Picnic (indie and alternative comics) and Harvard Book Store (best all-around selection)," the Times wrote. "Pop into Black Ink for eclectic and hipsterish gifts; Leavitt & Peirce, a circa 1883 tobacco shop, to stock up on pipes, pocketknives and chess sets; and in a building called the Garage, Boston's own media and pop culture mecca, Newbury Comics."
Among the Cambridge night life highlights was the option to "get your nerd on at Pandemonium Books and Games, whose shelves and basement are Cambridge's mother ship for genre books and gaming pursuits."