You may have noticed me mentioning Bookmans in prior Tucson posts. It’s a small chain of used bookstores here and around Arizona. The chain is small, but the stores are large — about the size of an average Border’s or Barnes & Noble. And all the space is gloriously filled with used books of every imaginable description.

If you’re not a reader, this description may not give you palpitations, but for those who are, take your heart medicine. Bookmans is a true “find,” and two of their locations are practically in our back yard. In addition to the books they have fast and free wi-fi, cushy chairs, high ceilings, a spirited staff and an absolutely unpredictable selection of music playing constantly. It’s a public library on steroids. Open till 10 p.m. for those late-owl browsers. It’s a book nut’s idea of heaven.

No, it’s better than that. The people-watching alone is worth paying an admission fee. People who love books come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and they are all parading past me as I sit here in my overstuffed floral-print chair taking notes. The staff is a hoot too. Their use of the public address system is creative, bordering on anarchic: “Jim … I’m up front … I’ve got that book you were looking for … but you’re not here … (fake sob) How could you do this to me?”

and later: “We’re going to change the music. Annie suggested something better. If you like it, thank her … and by the way, you can buy the CD for eight bucks.”

I came here for the high speed Internet because I had a lot of major files to move around today, but I stayed because Bookmans makes the whole family happy. I get my work done faster, Emma gets to sit and read, and Eleanor shops for more books, games, and all kinds of other stuff they have, for cheap. From my chair — which I am not going to give up until my battery dies — I can see used CDs, game cartridges, DVDs, magazines, faux jewelry, and today a selection of funky vintage purses hanging on the rack.

Lately our flow of books has been in the reverse direction. We’ve now opened the ten or so cartons of books that survived the cut in Vermont (out of 30 or so cartons) and found that there were still more we didn’t care to keep any longer. So I brought over a box of books the other day and they bought about ten of them, giving me a $34 store credit. I’m sure that will be used up today for kids books, but that’s OK. Thirty-four bucks worth of used books should keep Emma occupied for at least a week … I hope.

Besides, once in while they surprise us here with a little bonus. A few weeks ago we were at the Oro Valley store and Emma picked out a book. The guy at checkout asked, “How old are you?” and Emma replied, “Seven!” He said, “Well today all 7-year-olds get their books for free,” and he refused any payment. When was the last time that happened to you at any store?

So here’s a vote for a very cool store that is one of the many reasons why we like Tucson.