Besides being a useful replacement for a missing bed frame leg, a stack of books also makes you look smarter, and can stop a crossbow arrow if you're being targeted by any misinformed vampire slayers. Discover the benefits of books with today's Groupon: for $5, you get a one-year booklovers membership (a $25 value) at R.J. Julia Independent Booksellers in Madison. For more than 20 years, R.J. Julia has been equipping readers with written words through book sales and regularly held literary events. With a yearly membership, readers get 10% off every book purchase, two annual storewide sales at a 20% discount, and e-mail bulletins. Fans of the written word will also get special mailings enabling them to stay up to date on store events, such as book signings by authors like Christopher Buckley and Candace Bushnell, as well as five free in-store event tickets. Stop by to peruse staff recommendations or stare longingly into a drink in their onsite café.

Reviews

Connecticut Magazine named R.J. Julia Booksellers Best Bookstore in 2010 and Examiner featured it. Seven Yelpers and seven Yahoo! Locals give R.J. Julia Booksellers an average of five stars, and more than 700 Facebookers are fans:

• An old-fashioned bookstore where we can browse, leaf through volumes at our leisure and find simpatico souls to advise us on what to buy. And there’s no better place to do all that than R.J. Julia. – Connecticut Magazine
• It has also become a cultural Mecca for its patrons, who frequent the store not only for its eclectic selection of books and unparalleled schedule of events, but for the passionate conversation, knowledgeable staff, and cool ambiance that form the cornerstone of its existence. – John Valeri, Examiner