I’ve visited bookstores all over the world, including some really, really small shops. Probably the tiniest of all was Twizel Bookshop in the little New Zealand mountain town of the same name. Here in North America, the cozy Poet’s Corner Book Shop in Sonoma California is now claiming the title of smallest bookstore in America.

Stephanie Culen, owner of Poet’s Corner Book Shop, “decorates” the outside of her tiny, 250 sq. ft. shop, before opening in Duncans Mills on Thursday, September 30, 2021. (Photo by John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

Last year, New York City transplant Stephanie Culen spotted the little 25-square -foot cabin for rent in the village of Duncans Mills and took the bookstore ownership leap. The shop, which carries both new and secondhand books, is nearing its one year anniversary and is thriving.