We know the transporting power of a great story. Orhan Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence will whisk you to late 1970s Istanbul; Leïla Slimani will take you to post-WWII Morocco in The Country of Others. As writers and editors, books are some of our closest companions, and independent bookstores are among our favorite places to spend time. They’re where you’ll find a juicy vacation read or a literary souvenir to bring home. An easy way to discover bookshops near you is on Indiebound, an initiative with the goal to connect you with booksellers and provide helpful info about each. Our list of independent bookstores across the U.S. is not exhaustive, but these 29 shops are favorites of Afar staffers, and we hope they’ll become yours too.
Northeast
Heartleaf Books, Providence
- Location: 374 Atwells Ave., Providence, Rhode Island | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Wednesday–Friday 12 p.m.–7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
- Support it by: Becoming a co-op member
The smallest state’s first-ever cooperative, “queer/trans"-owned bookstore sits on the edge of Federal Hill. Heartleaf Books was opened in 2021 by siblings and librarians Caroline Vericker and Mads Vericker. It sells new and secondhand books and offers a fiction book club. The shop has a resident cat, Penny, as well as a ghost, Willie, the latter a legacy of the shop’s former life as a mafia hangout. —Sophie Friedman
Books Are Magic, New York City
- Location: 225 Smith St., Brooklyn, New York | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online or visiting its two locations in Brooklyn
As the name suggests, Books Are Magic is a special place for housing stories that will transport you to all corners of writers’ minds. The selection of books is massive—there are two rooms, one of which is mainly dedicated to children’s reads—and spans young adult fiction and LGBTQ stories to indie bestsellers and historical deep dives. Founded by author Emma Straub, it hosts a regular rotation of readings and events. You never really quite know what you’re going to run into, which makes every visit more fun at this indie bookstore. —Erika Owen
Greenlight Bookstore, New York City
- Location: 686 Fulton St., Brooklyn, New York | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online or buying a gift card for a friend
Since opening in 2009, Greenlight Bookstore has become a cultural mainstay of the Fort Greene neighborhood (there’s also a second, newer location in Prospect Lefferts Gardens). The oversize windows of the original store face Fulton Street, inviting passersby to come in and browse or join one of the many readings, often featuring Brooklyn writers. —John Newton
Related: 4 Days in New York City—How to Have the Perfect Long Weekend, According to Locals
Little City Books, Hoboken
- Location: 100 Bloomfield St., Hoboken, New Jersey | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–8 p.m., weekends until 6 p.m.
- Support it by: Buying gift cards and online audiobook memberships from Libro.fm
In 2015, two Hoboken women—a musician and a former investment banker—stopped bemoaning the lack of a local bookstore and opened one. They expanded to a children’s annex in a neighboring storefront the next year. The colorful and friendly corner shop now hosts impressive readings as well as regular story hours, and Little City also schedules enough live music to be listed as a performance venue on regional event calendars. The owners have even organized an annual Hoboken Literary Weekend. —Ann Shields
Rabelais, Portland, Maine
- Location: 93 Washington Ave., Portland, Maine | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Thursday–Monday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Support it by: Ordering online from its website
Looking for a 19th-century edition of The Art of French Cookery? Or a 1958 barbecue cookbook from Jim (James) Beard? Rabelais is your spot. This tiny shipping container turned bookstore is a treasure trove of rare, used, and new books on cooking and culinary history. It’s a supplier to such “I’ve heard of them” places as the New York Public Library and Harvard University, and it’s also a great spot to find a collection on vintage cocktails. —Laura Dannen Redman
The Strand, New York City
- Location: 828 Broadway, New York City | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online or visiting one of four outposts in Manhattan
This landmark East Village shop is known for its collectibles, souvenirs, records, and proverbial 18 miles of books (spread across multiple floors). Browse the stacks and venture to the rare-book room on the third floor to see the $45,000 copy of Ulysses, illustrated and signed by Henri Matisse and James Joyce. —Katherine LaGrave
Parnassus Books was opened in 2011 by PEN/Faulkner-award-winning novelist Ann Patchett and Karen Hayes (Hayes retired in 2022).
Photo courtesy of Parnassus Books
Southeast
Parnassus Books, Nashville
- Location: 3900 Hillsboro Pike #14, Nashville, Tennessee | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online or buying gift subscriptions to the First Editions Club
In its own words, Parnassus—around since 2021—is truly ''more than a bookstore.’' It’s a cheery celebration of great writing, down to its gleaming hardwood floors and grinning staff, infused with the same joy as store founder and author Ann Patchett and her founding business partner, Karen Hayes. Patchett’s blog is the basis of the Parnassus online magazine, Musing, which also features staff reading picks, author interviews, and an extra-charming occasional ''shop dog diaries’’ that feels like an IRL idea from You’ve Got Mail. —L.D.R.
Second Story Books, Washington, D.C.
- Location: 2000 P St. NW, Washington, D.C. | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Support it by: Visiting one of its two locations, shopping online, or buying a gift card, and calling on Allan Stypeck’s services as an appraiser
On a recent trip to D.C., I carved out an afternoon for Second Story Books, which I’d heard had a fascinating collection of used, rare, and out-of-print books. How can you not want to visit a store run by the guy (Allan Stypeck) who not only repairs books but also loans books for movie sets and helps institutions like the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress build their collections? The Dupont Circle store, one of two locations, lived up to the hype: It took real effort to keep my book-hoarding instincts in check as I explored the mazelike store and the sidewalk sale shelves, which offer serious deals on the weekends. —Aislyn Greene
Greedy Reads, Baltimore
- Location: 1744 Aliceanna St., Baltimore, Maryland | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Thursday 12 p.m.–6 p.m., Friday–Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (Remington branch open daily 10 a.m.–7 p.m.)
- Support it by: Shopping online, or downloading audiobooks from Libro.fm
Curation is key when your shop’s 500-square-foot size qualifies as ''cozy’’ in real-estate listings and provides serious limitations on inventory. Happily, Greedy Read‘s owner, Julia Fleischaker, has some strong bona fides for curation, having worked in book publishing for 20 years before moving home to Maryland in 2018. At the end of 2019, Fleischaker opened a second location in the Remington neighborhood, twice the size of the Fells Point shop, to better accommodate events she has planned for the future. —A.S.
Books & Books, Coral Gables
- Location: 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, Florida | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–11 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.– 11 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online and attending its events
The first Books & Books opened in 1982 in a 500-square-foot space in Miami’s Coral Gables neighborhood. Since then, it’s grown, and grown again, and outposts can now be found in Coconut Grove, Bal Harbour, Key West, and Miami International Airport. Part of the reason for the original location’s success, no doubt? An outdoor café that serves everything from breakfast plates and Cuban sandwiches to local craft beers. —K.L.
Blue Bicycle Books, Charleston
- Location: 420 King St., Charleston, South Carolina | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Registering for their summer camp and shopping online
''We want to be a shop that anybody would appreciate and want to hang out in, '' store co-owner Jonathan Sanchez told Charleston City Paper more than a decade ago, on Blue Bicycle Books’ 20th anniversary in 2015. To cultivate a community of book lovers, Sanchez and his team made their used, local, and rare books store a local hangout, with a summer writing camp for kids, author events, a YA festival called, cheekily, YALLFest!, and well-curated sections dedicated to passions: military history, classics, and modern first editions (with some signed by Tom Robbins and Harper Lee among them). —L.D.R.
Shelf Life Books, Richmond, Virginia
- Location: 2913 W. Cary St., Richmond, Virginia | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Used bookstores are often relegated to sad and musty storefronts and are crammed with saggy, jury-rigged shelving stocked by a vague organizing system, at best. Shelf Life Books, on the other hand, is on a buzzy stretch of Cary Street, with two stories of used books (as well as ground-floor tables stacked with new releases) and roaming resident cats, Page and Mylar. Generous shelves devoted to local authors, as well as literature, social justice tomes, comic books, YA novels, and lots of art, may mean that your browsing will result in a teetering stack of purchases. —A.S.
Baldwin & Co.'s shelves are heaving with books by BIPOC writers.
Photo by Sinna Nasseri
Baldwin & Co., New Orleans
- Location: 1030 Elysian Fields Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Baldwin & Co., named after author and cultural critic James Baldwin, is focused on elevating the local New Orleans community—not only the Marigny neighborhood where it’s located, but also greater New Orleans. Offering books predominantly by BIPOC writers, Baldwin & Co. also promotes the arts through its foundation, which hosts author events, story times, and book drives. “In creating this space, I was intentional,” says owner DJ Johnson, who grew up in New Orleans. “I didn’t want it to just be a place of consumption. I wanted it to give back and enrich and cultivate the community.” —Santi Elijah Holley
Related: 13 of the Best, Most Community-Oriented Black-Owned Bookstores in the U.S.
Midwest
Birchbark Books & Native Arts, Minneapolis
- Location: 2115 W. 21st St., Minneapolis, Minnesota | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Owned by Pulitzer-prize-winning novelist Louise Erdrich, Birchbark specializes in Native American books, arts, jewelry, and gifts. Some of our favorite touches: All Erdrich titles purchased at Birchbark are signed by the author herself, and there’s even a dedicated children’s loft and a confessional, where visitors are invited to sit for reflection. —K.L.
Bookends and Beginnings, Evanston
- Location: 1620 Orrington Ave., Evanston, Illinois | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Sunday–Thursday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Friday–Saturday 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online or downloading audiobooks from Libro.fm
Wander down a partially cobblestoned alley off one of Evanston’s busy shopping streets and you’ll find Bookends and Beginnings, an independent bookshop that’s an oasis for book lovers of all ages. Inside, colorful Oriental and kilim rugs cover the uneven wooden floors, and various velvet covered sofas and divans invite you to sink down when you’ve found that just-right read. The owner Nina Barrett, is an author herself, and she and her staff love to talk books with anyone. —Chris Kennelly
Left Bank Books, St. Louis
- Location: 399 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, Missouri | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Left Bank Books got its start in 1969, thanks to intrepid students from Washington University who wanted a place to find all kinds of literature. Today, it’s the oldest and largest independently owned bookstore in the city and hosts not one but eight (!) book clubs as well as more than 300 events throughout the year, most free and open to the public. It also puts on a weekly story time in partnership with libraries, churches, and schools to encourage literacy around St. Louis.—K.L.
Follow Women & Children First’s slogan and ''shop as independently as you think” at this Chicago stalwart.
Photo courtesy of Women & Children First
Women & Children First, Chicago
- Location: 5233 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday 12 p.m.–6 p.m., Tuesday–Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online or donating to its Women’s Voices Fund, which fundraises for program series focused on women’s lives and work
Open since 1979, Women & Children First is one of the largest feminist bookstores in the country, stocking more than 20,000 books by and about women. Staff are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable without attempting to sway you into buying this, or that—fitting, for a place whose tagline is ''Shop as independently as you think.’'—K.L.
Related: A Local’s Guide to the Perfect Long Weekend in Chicago
Southwest
Antigone Books, Tuscon
- Location: 411 N. Fourth Ave., Tucson, Arizona | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online and joining its mailing list
America’s oldest surviving feminist bookstore (and first 100 percent solar-powered bookstore!) is one of Tucson’s literary havens. Opened in 1973 and now on its second generation of female ownership, Antigone Books features new works with a particular focus on feminism, inclusivity, and issues that affect Tucson, such as the border and immigration, or the desert climate. Funky cards, puzzles, journals, and other fun items make it an ideal stop for gift-buying, too. —Sara Button
BookPeople, Austin
- Location: 603 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
As the largest independent bookstore in Texas, BookPeople has been serving the Austin community with curated staff selections and a diverse schedule of readings and events since 1970. These happenings include several story times per week, book club meetings, and author talks and readings. It’s an idyllic place to escape Austin’s scorching summer heat. —Ciera Velarde
West
Explore Booksellers, Aspen
- Location: 221 E. Main St., Aspen, Colorado | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Housed in a Victorian home in the center of town, Explore Booksellers is an Aspen institution. Inside, books on business, history, art, travel, and more are crammed into every corner, with an entire room dedicated to children’s literature. The shop also stocks numerous regional titles as well as cards, journals, and gifts and regularly hosts events with local and visiting authors. —Natalie Beauregard
Omnivore Books, San Francisco
- Location: 3885 Cesar Chavez St., San Francisco, California | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Located in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, culinary-themed Omnivore Books is a charming community gathering spot for the Bay Area’s many food-obsessed readers. The shop entices with a collection of cookbooks that allows home cooks to travel the world (My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz; Tokyo Cult Recipes by Maori Murota; The Karachi Kitchen by Kausar Ahmed). —Julia Cosgrove
City Lights, San Francisco
- Location: 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, California | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online and attending events
San Francisco’s most iconic bookstore has been catering to readers since 1953, when poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin founded the shop. Though it began as the first all-paperback bookstore in the nation, its collection spans three floors and has since grown to include new hardbacks. Perusing both the selection of titles in stock and those published by City Lights Publishers, readers will find contemporary and classic works about social issues that capture the radical spirit of the Beat poets who once frequented the store—and the city it calls home.—Sarah Buder
Related: 4 Days in San Francisco: Floating Parks, Parrot Spotting, and a Revitalized Hippie Neighborhood
The Last Bookstore is arguably the most famous bookstore in Los Angeles.
Photo by Thomas Hawk/Flickr
The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles
- Location: 453 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, California | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
This literary playground in the middle of Downtown Los Angeles brings me the utmost joy. My routine starts with ogling painstakingly designed special editions alongside tattered pulp fiction, followed by a lap around the extensive graphic novel collection, far too much time looking at poetry and staff recommendations, and then browsing all the maker spaces on the second floor for artwork, trinkets, and 3D-printed earrings.—Nicole Antonio
Powell’s Books, Portland, Oregon
- Location: 1005 W Burnside St., Portland, Oregon | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Every bibliophile should make a pilgrimage to Powell’s at least once in their lifetime. The store, which claims to be the world’s largest, earns its ''City of Books’’ moniker with a veritable labyrinth of shelves filled with things to read. Even saying Powell’s occupies an entire city block and 1.6 acres of retail space isn’t enough to prepare someone for their first visit. No matter how obscure or specific your interests are, you’ll find something (usually many things) to read.—N.A.
Country Bookshelf, Bozeman
- Location: 28 W Main St., Bozeman, Montana | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 9:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m
- Support it by: Shopping online
Bozeman’s Country Bookshelf has been a women-owned business since it opened in 1957. Founded by Polly Renne in a small shop just off the town’s central Tracy Avenue, the independent bookstore has since occupied a main street chapel and later a two-story downtown building, which is where the landmark bookshop has been since 1986. Owned today by Ariana Paliobagis, the Country Bookshelf offers everything from graphic novels and literary fiction to cookbooks and historical memoirs. In addition to its diverse reading selections, the store also hosts regular author events and workshops.—S.B.
Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle
- Location: 1521 10th Ave., Seattle, Washington | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
Since it opened in 1973, Elliott Bay has been the heart of Seattle’s literary community. That heart survived the move from its Pioneer Square location to its current Capitol Hill location, a former repair shop with wonderfully creaky wood floors and large, latticed windows. As a student living in Seattle, I spent many happy hours perusing the new and used books that line cedar shelves, studying over a pastry or a cocktail in the all-day Little Oddfellows, and attending one of the more than 500 author readings and events Elliott Bay hosts each year.—A.G.
Mrs. Dalloway’s, Berkeley
- Location: 2904 College Ave., Berkeley, California | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.–5 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online and signing up for the “Little Library” subscription service, a monthly personalized collection of board books, picture books, and chapter books for young readers
In a college town once full of great bookstores, Mrs. Dalloway’s is an inviting neighborhood hub with a huge collection of children’s books, literature, and gardening, art, and home coffee table books.—J.C.
Caribbean
Librería Laberinto Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Location: 251 C. de la Cruz, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico | Find on Google Maps
- Hours: Daily 9 a.m.–7 p.m.
- Support it by: Shopping online
The fun of Librería Laberinto in Old San Juan is walking its checkerboard floors and sorting through its stacks. You’ll find some books here in English, but the shop is best for its celebration of local authors. Head to the dedicated ''Puerto Rico’’ section to see what we mean. —K.L.
This article was originally published in 2020 and most recently updated on November 19, 2025, with current information.
