If you were going to design the perfect bookstore, you might come up with something very much like the Savoy Bookshop & Cafe at 10 Canal St. in Westerly. Housed on two floors of a former hotel of the same name, the Savoy features original hardwoods, tin ceilings and bookshelves that roll away to make room for author events. For browsers who like to linger, there's cozy seating and a coffee bar.

But the Savoy goes beyond aesthetics. It's a carefully curated bookstore where you will find not only the latest best-sellers but surprising gems in fiction and nonfiction. How exciting in the last few years to come across the British-published “Weatherland: Writers and Artists Under English Skies,” by Alexandra Harris, and “Spare the Birds!,” a history of the first Audubon Society, by Carolyn Merchant, both featuring exquisite color illustrations. The children's collection downstairs is full and varied, and the staff picks upstairs are equally eclectic, where you might find the latest Michael Connelly thriller or the enchanting “Birder on Berry Lane” by Robert Tougias of Colchester.