support your indie bookstores!!
this Saturday (April 26th) is Independent Bookstore Day, so to celebrate, here are 10 of my favorite bookstores I’ve been lucky enough to visit!
The last Saturday of April is Independent Bookstore Day! Supporting indie bookstores is important for so many reasons, so I want to shoutout some of my favorites across the U.S.! I have awesome memories at these stores, so they will always hold a special place in my heart, and for different reasons, they all feel a little magical.
So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are some amazing bookstores that are worth a visit:
Virginia Highland Books
Atlanta, Georgia
Of course I have to start with my favorite Atlanta bookstore! When I was a student at Georgia Tech, VaHi Books opened. Almost every Wednesday during my last semester, my friends and I would head to that block for a coffee from Perc or Academy and some book browsing (and often, buying).
The shop has a great selection and atmosphere, along with a basement devoted to nonfiction (and wonderfully aesthetic stairs). This is my go to for new releases: the day Happy Place released, I took myself on a solo bookstore and coffee here. I’ve also found some great books from their staff recommendations, including Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau. I’ve visited more times than I can count, and I highly recommend to anyone visiting Atlanta!
Check Virginia Highland Books out on Instagram!
Powell’s Books
Portland, Oregon
Powell’s, simply put, is a book lover’s heaven. The first and only time I’ve been to Portland was during a west coast trip with my best friend to celebrate our graduation. Our weather in Portland was crummy, so we spent an absolutely insane amount of time at Powell’s. Seriously, we went multiple times a day over our few days there and probably spent around a total of 8 hours there browsing (and buying).
But based on the size alone, you almost need that much time there! Known as the “City of Books,” it is considered by many the largest independent bookstore in the world and takes up a full city block! During our third or fourth visit, we turned our browsing into a scavenger hunt. We came up with a list of random prompts and then gave ourselves an hour to find books that fit the prompt.
The atmosphere is so unique: the site used to be a used car dealership, and the history seeps through in the industrial aspects. You truly can get lost in the different rooms exploring their great selection of new and used books with staff recommendations throughout (that’s how I found A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske). Be sure to give yourself plenty of time here. I would say Powell’s alone is worth a visit to Portland, but we also enjoyed some really great coffee and food!
Check out Powell’s Books on Instagram!
McNally Jackson
New York City, New York
Every time I visit NYC, McNally Jackson is at the top of my list! I’ve been to two of their locations (Seaport and Nolita), and both have a wonderful vibe! It’s calm and welcoming with a wide selection, from the newest literary releases to fun genre fiction. This past February, I asked a bookseller there for a recommendation (which I really should do more often), so I snagged a copy of Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley.
Check out McNally Jackson on Instagram!
Lost City Books
Washington, D.C.
Last fall, I visited my friend in D.C., and we made it to seven (7!!) bookstores. Lost City had to be my favorite! They have an excellent vibe (and merch!), and they get bonus points for their Halloween decorations in October. I found a book I’ve had my eye on for a while but couldn’t seem to find anywhere else (Butter by Asako Yuzuki) and one that I hadn’t ever heard of before but sounded right up my alley (Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia).
Check out Lost City Books on Instagram!
Underground Books
Carrollton, Georgia
A few years ago, my best friend and I made the twoish hour drive from Atlanta to Carrollton with the sole purpose of visiting Underground Books. It’s literally underground, and its selection was amazing! We loved their wall of staff recommendations and table of blind date books. I left with The Thursday Murder Club, and I can 100% say it was worth the drive!
Check out Underground Books on Instagram!
Exile In Bookville
Chicago, Illinois
The same friend that brought me to Lost City Books introduced me to Exile In Bookville. Chicago has some phenomenal bookstores, and Exile is at the top of that list! Located in an arts building, it’s intimate and loaded with amazing finds. The first time my friends and I visited, we all made multiple purchases because we kept browsing and finding more books while the others were checking out. Some of the craziest books I’ve read (ahem, The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins), were because of the staff recommendation cards here.
Check out Exile in Bookville on Instagram!
Browser Books
San Francisco, California
During our west coast trip, we spent a few days in San Francisco. One of those days, I simply wandered. I got a sandwich that I had been thinking about all weekend from Cheese Plus, stopped at a few coffee shops, and eventually found myself on Fillmore Street outside Browser Books.
Something about that day of wandering felt a little magical, so even though all I got there was my own copy of The House in the Cerulean Sea (I had originally read it while borrowing a friend’s copy), it’s one of my favorite spots in the city. It’s warm and inviting atmosphere make it a must visit.
The staff recommendation shelf pictures were taken over a year apart! It’s so cool to see the recommendations shift.
Check out Browser Books on Instagram!
Unabridged Bookstore
Chicago, Illinois
Last year, on a mother-daughter trip, we discovered Unabridged Books! I was super impressed with their wide selection, especially of genre fiction and nonfiction. Their science fiction and fantasy section felt like it had everything (I even found one of the later books in the Wayward Children series)! I definitely want to make it back, because it’s a place I could spend hours.
Check out Unabridged Bookstore on Instagram
BookPeople
Austin, Texas
In 2022, my best friend and I visited Austin for a weekend trip! In a totally expected turn of events, we visited BookPeople several times. It’s another huge store with impressive selections in all of their sections. I found several books I ended up loving from staff recommendations cards (I loved The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal!), and we loved exploring their different levels.
Check out BookPeople on Instagram!
Verbatim Books
San Diego, California
About a week into our West Coast trip, a Lyft driver in San Francisco told us about the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. I looked for it in the next few bookstores we visited, but I didn’t found it until we discovered Verbatim Books. They have an amazing used books selection, and I found a used omnibus of the first three books in the series!
Verbatim is simply a vibe. The decor alone is worth a visit. It feels like exploring a treasure trove of used books.
I have Verbatim to thank for getting to start Tales of the City on this trip while sitting in an adorable cafe across from my best friend. I highly recommend for their aesthetic and book selection. And if you’re in San Diego, you’ve got to stop by An’s Dry Cleaning for gelato (which is “walking” distance from Verbatim)!
Check out Verbatim Books on Instagram (seriously, their account is hilarious)!
If you are unable to make it to an independent bookstore this Saturday but want to buy a new book from your TBR, check out BookShop.org! You can choose an independent bookstore to support with your purchase.
Tuesday Book Recommendations
If you enjoyed this post, I recommend…
When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson because it is all about finding magic in the mundane
People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry because it’s all about the memories we make in new places
Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire because it takes place at a bookstore that would fit right in on this list