Eclipse Bookstore and Fine Art

Eclipse Bookstore and Fine Art has been a Fairhaven fixture since 1990. Owner David Carlsen moved it to its current home on 11th Street in 2000, just down the street from Village Books, so the two make a natural pair for a book lover's afternoon.

This is a used bookstore with a collector's eye. Books fill the shelves and rise in tall stacks across two floors, and the strongest sections lean toward cookbooks, gardening, and art and architecture, including plenty of big coffee table volumes. Rare and antiquarian titles turn up too, along with the fine art prints that give the shop the second half of its name.

Look for the books set out front each morning, weather permitting. They are the owner's own eclectic picks and worth a browse on your way in. Eclipse is closed Thursdays, so plan around that if you are making a day of Fairhaven.