Before books, students had to tote engraved granite slabs all over campus, which is why the most accomplished philosophers gave the best piggyback rides. Enjoy lighter reading material with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of books, maps, and prints at St. Croix Antiquarian Booksellers in Stillwater.

St. Croix Antiquarian Booksellers bursts at the seams with rare and out-of-print items and holds nearly 50,000 hardcovers and paperbacks and a wide collection of maps and prints. Brightly lit and organized by topic, the shop's shelves attract a varied demographic of bookworms, who can effortlessly slither their way around the 5,000-square-foot store to discover children's classics ($5–$500), philosophical anthologies ($5–$250), and a volume of one-liners from Mr. Rogers. Owner and hardcover sleuth Gary Goodman travels through the United States, Canada, and Europe, hunting down titles on the Civil War ($5–$100), decorative arts ($5–$200), Western history ($10–$200), and sports ($5–$500). Culture cravers can also lay hands on a wide selection of hand-colored, 19th century architectural drawings, maps, and difficult-to-come-across prints ($25–$200), such as a photogravure of Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston ($29) in 1906. Feel free to leaf through titles within the orderly stacks or settle into one of the chairs dotting the store like freckles that spell out the word _Read!. _