If you haven't heard by now, celebrated author Dale Peck started up his own publishing company, called Mischief + Mayhem, with founding member DW Gibson. Actually, you must have heard, as the launch party was hosted by Meghan Daum, Joseph O' Neill, A.M. Homes, and Nick Flynn, and everyone from Jonathan Franzen to Mary Gaitskill to Helen DeWitt graced the event with their literary presence. If you feel left out for not getting an invite, you can always crash their Valentine's Day party at Housing Works on the 14th.

While Mischief + Mayhem appreciates a good indie bookstore in the US—Elliot Bay in Seattle, Book People in Austin, Books & Books in Miami—they believe its hard to "rival the cabal of eccentric and impressive new and used bookstores in Columbia Country, New York, just a couple hours north of the city." DW Gibson offers us his picks for the best independent bookstores that have managed to survive the corporate takeover. Read his take on the indie gems below.

Librarium Book Shop & Barn 126 Black Bridge Road, East Chatham 518-392-5209 It’s clear the moment you enter this place there is no shortage on inventory. Used books are stacked everywhere, occupying each available surface, and organization is dodgy so it’s all about browsing: shopping here feels more like a quest or scavenger hunt. Housed in a 19th century farmhouse, Librarium is a series of small rooms with a wide range of stock – everything from Janet Evanovitch mass-market paperbacks to past issues of the Georgia Review. And if you are looking for something specific, the owner, Sharon S Lips, and her staff have a specialty search service with a solid record for tracking down the obscure and hard-to-find. Inventory overflow gets housed in an adjacent barn where ridiculous bargains ($1 and up) can be found during the warmer months (May-September). The place has been going for over 30 years and—to complete the picturesque setting—Lips lives upstairs from the store.

Berkshire Books 2 Park Row, Chatham 518-392-2052 In stark contrast to the Librarium, Berskhire Books is a study in organization. It’s on the second floor of one of Chatham’s main streets, just upstairs from a framing shop. The walls are lined with framed color illustrations from a 1930s edition of Mother Goose and fun tunes play over the speakers. The stock is used and it tends to be higher end ($15 and up) with a lot of early hardcover editions. There’s a significant selection of modern and contemporary fiction, mostly English writers—but there are some interesting translated titles included. (I came across a fun edition of Little Marvels of Sicily by Verga Giovanni translated by one DH Lawrence.) The shelves are peppered with random and fascinating artifacts such as a yellowed Passenger List and Cruise Staff pamphlet from the S.S. Britany, which comes with an invitation for the “Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party” (circa 1950s). There is a “Kerourac and Friends” section as well as a back room with an impressive collection of 20th Century children’s books.

Spotty Dog Books & Ale 440 Warren Street, Hudson 518-671-6006 Perched on the main drag of Hudson’s antique Mecca, the Spotty Dog is to be applauded for several reasons. Yes, they have an impressive stock of contemporary fiction and nonfiction, including some translated titles. Yes, they have an emphasis on local authors and put together and extensive calendar of literary events. (Not all of them are your average reading-and-wine-reception, either. The shop has hosted several installments of “Karaoke + Poetry = Fun” nights with the Council for Literary Presses and Magazines. Really, where else can you hear selections from Haikus for Jews recited just before a slightly tipsy rendition of “You Give Love a Bad Name”?) One can even admire the unexpected stock of art supplies at the back of the store. But above all, the Spotty Dog must be lauded for serving up beer at a terrific (and big!) old-school wooden bar. They serve a selection of local suds from places like Chatham Brewing. And, yes, they also serve up excellent coffee for the more sober-minded.

Hudson City Books 553 Warren Street, Hudson 518-671-6020 Just up the street from the Spotty Dog, Hudson City Books is the go-to for high end, rare editions with a ranging selection. They stock everything from 19th Century leather-bound editions of Western classics to first editions of 20th Century mainstays. The most prized finds are protected in glass casing and are not to be touched by amateur hands. But there is plenty of shelving that offers up more approachable stock with hardy serving of contemporary fiction, art books, local history, and biography. Most notably they have a foreign language section (mainly French, Spanish and Germany) and an impressive collection of academic books (William S Haas’ Iran, published in 1946 by Columbia University Press) from the latter half of the 20th Century that look and read as time capsules.

Rodgers Book Barn 467 Rodman Road, Hillsdale 518-325-3610 This is, in many ways, the mother ship of off-the-beaten-path used bookstores. Tucked away on a small country road, this extensive selection is packed into an old red barn. It has become a magnet for folks looking to unload estates so the selection has a constant influx of new material. There are two floors with many twists and squeaky floorboards, always leading to yet another stack of old National Geographic and Life Magazines. There is an extensive collection of 20th Century fiction, with a few very contemporary titles mixed in, as well as an impressive selection of art books. It’s fairly well organized so you always walk in with the feeling that they might very well have what you are looking for, and you generally walk out with something you never expected to find.