Welcome to The Compass Rose Bookstore & Cafe, a downtown business in historic Castine, Maine. As a small, locally owned business, we serve year round residents and summer visitors alike. We carry a carefully chosen selection of new fiction and nonfiction, paperbacks, Maine and maritime works, children's books, cookbooks, biographies and many other topics.  Special orders welcome!

                              Open year round!

More than just a bookstore, we are also a cafe!  

Best known for our homemade cookies [chewy ginger, chocolate chip, oatmeal-raisin, & oatmeal-walnut-chocolate chip] and  our espresso machine, we usually offer light lunch choices...a rotating selection  of homemade hot or cold soups, and bottled ice teas, spritzers and spring water.

More than just a bookstore, we are also a WIFI Hotspot! Bring your wireless lap top and use our wireless DSL Internet connection--about as fast as you are likely to get around here. Its free for customers!  (We were down for a while, but are now back up and running.)

More than just a bookstore, we have a huge selection of toys!  Big toys, little toys, silly toys, learning toys....including the Fresh Start line from Melissa & Doug...and lots of huggable stuffed animals.

More than just a bookstore, we have lots of tasteful gifts--  and a few silly ones as well.