'Stuff of dreams' for book lovers

That's because the place — actually called the Singing Wind Bookshop — is hidden away like an obscure literary reference in an old ranch house at the end of a bumpy dirt road north of Benson.

Customers say the payoff for a pilgrimage to the shop is a unique, eclectic selection of books displayed in rustic, down-home digs.

"This is the first time I've been to a bookstore that I actually had to search for," said David Armstrong, a visitor from Colorado who heard of the shop in Benson.

"I'm a book nut, and I've been to a lot of bookstores," Armstrong said. "This is one of the best. It's full of books you don't find anywhere else. I could stay here all week."

Bundy gets that a lot.

Since opening the Singing Wind in 1974 — in a small alcove in the headquarters of her family's still-working cattle ranch — she has expanded her inventory to tens of thousands of books and won a large and loyal clientele.

"Computers are fine, but books are the stuff of dreams," said Bundy.

"People will come out here — they'll find their way to the shop — because books are important to people," she said. "We get people from all over the world. Really. It's by word of mouth."

Bundy, who "grew up in lots of places" and settled in Arizona in 1952, said she decided to open a bookstore at the ranch after earning master's degrees in history and library science at the University of Arizona in 1973.

She credits the late author and librarian Lawrence Clark Powell with nurturing her love of books and literature during her university studies.

Powell, she said, encouraged her to seek a doctorate and teach, but she wanted to remain at the ranch and open a bookstore there.

Her husband, Joseph Smelt, concentrates on raising cattle while Bundy focuses on the book business. She expanded the shop into former bedrooms as her three children grew up and left home.

The back-of-beyond location, brick floors and hand-hewn mesquite shelves stacked floor-to-ceiling with books provide the ambience.

But it's the scope and depth of the shop's inventory — consisting entirely of new books — that make the Singing Wind a special find for avid readers.

The shop is organized by Bundy's sometimes quirky, sometimes logical system, and she appears to delight in giving customers a whirlwind tour of what's where.

"Starting here, we've got mysteries, short stories, science fiction, fiction, biographies and autobiographies of authors," she said as she darted from shelf to shelf. "Here's poetry from A to Z — women's, ethnic, cowboy poetry, children's. Mexican-American and Latin American is right here — in Spanish and English.

"Here's music — jazz, blues. Over here is the black military experience, including the Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Huachuca."

Bundy reeled off dozens of other topics in her inventory — from history, health, mythology and folklore to religion, architecture, sports and outdoor adventure topics, such as hiking and rock climbing.

"Over here," she said, "are books about the Jewish Western experience."

Titles in the store range from "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson to "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown.

If there's a little of everything in the shop — including an alcove devoted to children's books — Southwestern authors and topics enjoy special prominence.

Arizona writers, such as Richard Shelton and Charles Bowden, are richly represented. Titles on American Indians, archaeology and Western history are abundant, and guidebooks to Western states fill several shelves.

"These are the short Californians," Bundy said, pointing out a row of books. "That refers to the size of the books, not the size of the people.

"Over here are the bad men and the bad ladies — some of the outlaws of history."

Bundy declines to estimate the number of books in her store at any one time.

"Just say I have a houseful of books," she said.

In addition to selling books, the shop hosts frequent author events, book signings and programs for children.

Customer Helen Ducharme, of Hollis, N.H., browsed the Singing Wind one day recently — looking for cookbooks, favorite fiction and biographies.

"This is hidden Arizona," Ducharme said. "I read about the store in a visitors guide, and I ended up here because I love books. . . . Coming down that dirt road and finding the shop in a ranch house adds to the fun of it."

Kathy Suagee, who manages the shop and shares daily operation duties with Bundy, said the Singing Wind, like other independent bookstores, must make careful choices in book selection in this era of large chain stores and online sellers.

"Winn has always had a knack for selecting books," Suagee said. "We have accounts at most publishers and distribution places, but we also buy books from local authors. We think that's important."

Like lots of the shop's customers, Suagee said the way-out-yonder location offers a sense of adventure that's not available at a store in the city.

"It's like they say: location, location, location," she said. "This is a destination. You don't just drop in.

"We still have people come into the shop and pull a ragged piece of paper out of their pocket and say, 'I cut this article (about the shop) out of a newspaper years ago. And now I'm finally here.' "

• What: Singing Wind Bookshop

• Where: North of Benson. From Tucson, go east on Interstate 10 to Benson and take Exit 304. Then go north on Ocotillo Road about 2.5 miles to a right turnoff for Singing Wind Road. Follow the narrow dirt road about a half-mile east to the bookshop on the left.

• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, including weekends

• Information: 1-520-586-2425