Hurricane Irene floods Vermont bookstore

Hurricane Irene dumped 6 inches of rain on Vermont, pushing many waterways over their banks. Rising floodwaters meant bad news for many businesses, including Bartleby's Books in Wilmington, Vt.

Bartleby's Books owner Lisa Sullivan says that the building is standing but flooded, the stock ruined, and that she is awaiting help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Shelf Awareness.

This is the second disaster that has affected the Vermont bookstore owner this year. In April, Galleycat writes, the historic Brattleboro building housing her other bookstore, Book Cellar, was destroyed by fire.

But like many other independent bookstore owners, Sullivan is tenacious. "We will rebuild," she wrote in an email.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Floodwaters on a commercial street in Brattleboro, Vt., 20 miles east of Wilmington. Credit: Chris Bertelsen / Associated Press