Kentucky natives Richard and Carol Young keep the shelves of All Booked Up, their 25-year-old bookstore on Bardstown Road in Louisville, teeming with rare and out-of-print tomes. The couple is particularly proud of its deep selection of Civil War books, children’s titles (including the dynamite Hardy Boys hardcovers pictured above), and Kentuckiana, covering everything you ever wanted to know about horse racing, bourbon, and baseball bats. But the real joy of shopping in a place like this is browsing for things you never knew you needed. A cookbook signed by Julia Child? Sure! A coal miner’s memoir? Why not? The complete history of witchcraft? Love it. The deeper you dig, the more niche the topics seem to get: Australian cockatoos, Chicago metalsmiths, thimble collecting. Of course, you can always ask the Youngs for help. They’re friendly and enthusiastic and happy to point you toward the first-editions, leather-bound antiquarian books, or a copy of Life As I Have Known It Has Been Finger-Lickin’ Good, signed by the great Colonel himself.

1555 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, KY; 502-459-6348.