[Editor's note: For the next two Fridays, Flavorwire will be counting down our 20 most popular features of 2010. This post, which originally ran on September 2, 2010, comes in at position number 11.] Bookstores are dying. They’re dying because of jerks who are too cheap to buy a hardcover, or even a paperback, and too lazy to get a library card. Guys like the one from Julie Bosman‘s NY Times article, and this guy, and this guy. Even before we break into the eBooks discussion, think about everything else that reading is supposed to contend with these days — movies, video games, television, and the internet. And now that there’s competition even within the “book” medium, it’s no wonder that Barnes and Noble is closing a four-level shop (for those of you in New York, the Union Square Megastore is safe) and Borders agonizes through round after round of layoffs and store closings.
After the jump, please shed a tear, observe a moment of silence, then head to one of the top bookstores in the United States, and buy something fer chrissakes.
First, a memorial of sorts. The Gotham Book Mart closed in 2007, ending a storied role in literary culture. You can read more about it here, but please support your local bookstore (and our favorites below) so smart, creative people don’t run out of places to hang out and find dates.
Comments (144)
Where’s John K. King, Michigan’s Largest Used Book Store, on this list?
Great list. I’d also suggest Atomic Books in Baltimore — it specializes in comics, but the selection of literature, art books, pop-culture toys, and other crazy stuff is fantastic. Really sweet staff, too.
WORD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn is really making leaps in terms of showing how a small bookstore can become a grand community center.
Tulsa, OK Steve’s Sundries (even has a soda fountain) and Gardner’s Used – 2 of the best!
How could you leave off Idlewild in New York City?! This seems like a purposeful exclusion…
Big props to having Powell’s and Elliot Bay on the list! This Northwest girl is pleased.
Agreed about WORD in Brooklyn. They’d make the list of 11 for sure!
Great to see The Tattered Cover on the list, a true Denver institution!
How sad. Not one good bookstore amongst the ten. These are the leftovers, the day of good bookstores having passed. Twenty years ago the USA could boast fifty stores far better than these.
Face it, these stores are pathetic, subsisting on third rate overpriced boring books (and comics!)
Stores like Word and Idlewild don’t belong on this list because they haven’t been around long enough to have real impact, or have any history. One shop that beats the crap out of all those listed here is the Seminary Cooperative Bookstore in Hyde Park, Chicago. It’s one of the few places in America which has been dealing up serious books to serious readers for decades. It’s the only thing even close to Blackwells that the US has.
And I hate to say it, but Michael F. above is largely correct. Many of the stores on this list make their money selling pablum to the masses. But that’s what publishers publish now, isn’t it?
Also, why the emphasis on new bookshops, when we all know the best books are at the used or rare shop? Serendipity in Berkeley on any given day has more good books hidden in the bathroom than a few of these. Or Ars Libri in Boston, an architecturally distinguished shop specializing in rare art books? Or the (currently closing its doors) Lame Duck in Cambridge where one could view original manuscripts by Borges or the original Blue or Brown books by Wittgenstein? These are bookshops.
As a Chicagoan, I’m disappointed to see not one Chicago bookstore listed, especially with the city being home to historic Printers Row and the annual Printers Row LitFest (25 years old). A list like this just makes me want to empty the cargo area of my Jeep and hit the road to visit and shop these as well as the hundreds (sadly, used to be thousands) of out-of-the-way, unsung little indie bookstores along and just off the blue highways of the U.S.
I haven’t been yet, but a friend in Philadelphia tells me of a great bookstore near her that’s an old converted, huge 2-story home. She keeps hounding me to come for a visit by bribing me with the promise of a day-long visit to this place….
Gotta agree with dlindgren, the fact that the Seminary Coop (and 57th St Books) was excluded from such a list seems bizarre and incredibly off-base. Definitely well within the top 10, or even top 3.
Great bookshops serve everyone in their community, not just those interested in “literature”. And frankly, great bookshops survive.
Those who sneer at retailers on this list who carry a wide selection are misguided.
That said, dlindgren is absolutely correct about the Seminary Coop (and their branch 57th Street Books. Common Good Books in St. Paul MN is relatively new, and not huge, but what a glorious selection and staff! I’ve only been to Prairie Lights once, but they knocked my socks off. It’s been years since I had the pleasure of shopping there, but Books & Books in Miami and the Regulator in Durham NC are special. Also recommended are Boswell and Next Chapter in the Milwaukee area. These are direct descendants of the storied Harry W. Schwartz stores. And what about Left Bank Books in St. Louis?
Where are the great kids book stores? There are many out there and they manage to be fun and encourage young readers.
Frankly, there are legions more than 10 great book stores and this list would be better named “Ten OF THE Top Bookstores in the U.S.”
Great article, love the attitude! You missed one of the great ones though. In the Western Suburbs of Chicago, with two locations, but especially their Naperville location–Anderson’s Bookshops. When you read a story about Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay posting first week sales over 400,000, more than the third Steig Larsen, and you may not even know what the book is–it’s because you’ve never gotten lost in the young adult section of an Anderson’s Bookshop. They have the best booksellers and the most imginative selection of complimentary gifts and toys (disclaimer–I used to work there). But what makes them really standout, is that while they are a full service bookstore, they believe that reading starts early, early in a child’s life and their booksellers can offer you books for each stage of your child’s development. My problem is I’m 54 and I only read young adult fiction these days. That’s where the best books are being written–don’t believe me–just ask one of Anderson’s booksellers.
How about Book Soup in Los Angeles or Square Books, Oxford Mississippi?
Can we stop saying “bookstores are dying”? Please? As though it’s a fact, or
really, at all relevant to what any of us are trying to do? Can we
please remember that all my go-to indies — McNally, Word, Greenlight,
Idlewild, Powerhouse, Desert Island — have OPENED, not closed, in the last 6 years. If that’s death, I’ll take it.
Michael Fenelon: Twenty years ago, the U.S. did not have ONE bookstore that surpassed the glory of Powell’s in Portland. I can only assume you’ve never been.
This is a great article about the Politics & Prose sale: http://www.currentnewspapers.com/admin/uploadfiles/NW%20June%2016%201.pdf
Powell’s may be huge, but its used book prices are exorbitant, and it is an eyesore. It makes me tired as a longtime Portlander to hear it praised to the heavens, when there are superior bookstores all over the place that just don’t happen to be gigantic. Visiting the Tattered Cover in Denver was a huge gulp of fresh air after relying on Powell’s for decades.
P&P is only the thrid best bookstore in DC, after Bridge Street and Kramerbooks.
another vote for seminary and 57th street books. i imagine obama shopped there.
I’m a big fan of Book Soup in West Hollywood.
Pretty good list, even if you call Tattered Cover “a small mountain shop.” It’s hardly small, with 3 sprawling Denver-area locations, and none of them are within 20 miles of the mountains. You definitely can see the mountains from the front doors, however, sorta like Sarah Palin viewing Russia.
Can’t believe that you left out Moe’s Books in Berkeley. A large store–four floors! The new book section in the basement rivals any store, there’s a huge assortment of used books, and More Moe’s, a store within a store that specializes in art, photography, and rare books. Also, their quirky and eclectic events series is among the best in the country.
I suppose it’s inevitable this sort of list would be dominated by coastal kinds of places (except for Tattered Cover) but I’d like to nominate a couple that anyone who finds themselves near them should check out: Books & Books, especially the flagship store in Coral Gables and the Lincoln Road store in Miami Beach. And a couple from my home area of western Mass: the Odyssey in South Hadley and the Montague Bookmill, which has the best slogan ever: Books you don’t need in a place you can’t find.
Great list! I’d like to add Alias Books East, in Atwater, Los Angeles. Really a find for rare and used books run by Patrick Preager who knows his stuff.
Sam Weller’s in Salt Lake City is an institution and deserves a mention. Fantastic selection, fantastic people.
Politics & Prose is mediocre. Reiser’s Technical is a better representative of the DC area.
I’d also add the Seminary Co-op in Chicago to the list. It’s the perfect book store – great selection, built like a rabbit warren, in the basement of a seminary – perfect.
St. Mark’s in NYC; Book Culture, NYC; Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge; Porter Square, Cambridge; Brookline Booksmith, Brookline MA: all fantastic, destination places for bookaholic.
I worked at Gotham Book Mart until shortly before its closing (I helped move it into the building shown, which move was a major reason for the closing). It’s nice to see it get a little mention. The books in that basement, auctioned to pay lawyers, still make me sad.
Top ten but there’s only nine as the first one closed 3 years ago? That’s a weird top ten.
Another vote for Square Books in Oxford, MS. It certainly has a more impressive selection and knowledgeable staff than Prairie Lights, for one.
Though small compared to the top ten, I’d like to do a write-in on Manteo Booksellers, in Manteo, NC, a speck of a town on a speck of an island. Nice selection of classics (the best critical editions, I might add), general fiction and nonfiction, local (Outer Banks)history and Civil War history. And then there is Daedalus Books, primarily quality overstocks and remaindereds, all crisp and new for great prices. Daedalus is mail-order oriented but has a nice warehouse store in a Baltimore suburb.
Since when is Tattered Cover a small mountain bookshop? Denver isn’t in the mountains, and TC is huge and has several branches.
The list is missing Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA (just north of San Francisco)
Full assortment of books along with plenty of author events and classes.
Politics and Prose does not belong on this list.
I am a reader, which means essentially that I enjoy reading. But, because of my busy schedule I don’t get to read as often as I would like to and I am not a very fast reader and so it takes up a lot of my time when I do read. Some people are just very good at reading. Like some are adept at math or science, others can read the first few sentences of, oh say, the Constitution of the United States for example, and actually be able to understand fully what is meant by what is written. I for one, have to re-read and stop and visualize what I have read and then I get all muddleheaded and re-read the page too many times. My favorite reading choices are Mysteries in which the reader may figure out whodunnit about 1/4 of the way into the book because by that time all of the pertinent details have been revealed. I also love to read Cathoic church history, anything by or about G. K. Chesterton, or anything else that is of interest, and many things are of interest to me. Sorry about bookstores closing. That is quite a shame.
Skylight booksin Los Angeles is way cooler the Secret Headquarters, which just sells comics….I thought this was a book store list not comic boom store list
Let’s give a shout-out for Sam Weller’s in Salt Lake City (trying EVERYTHING to stay alive in continuation of a family business that’s actually a really fine bookstore);Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara (a very good bookstore–smallish,when compared to Strand or Powell’s, but expressive of good taste);and Moe’s in Berkeley, of course. Kate
May I suggest another post? About three commenters spoke up in favor of new bookstores. We are here, very much alive, striving and still fighting.
Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi puts all of the listed stores to shame. And, as one commenter mentioned earlier, Politics & Prose is truly only the third best bookstore in DC. Kramerbooks is fantastic (not that P & P is bad)…
fuck this. no sem-coop? fuck fuck. and this.
So pleased to see the Tattered Cover on this list! It was the bookstore of my childhood and is my personal standard of comparison for all others. A gem and a destination for any literate passing through the west.
A third vote for Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi.
Square Books has three large, thriving stores on the town square plus a weekly statewide literary radio show which is over a decade on the air.
http://www.squarebooks.com/
http://www.thackermountain.com/index.php
Make that a fourth vote for Square Books
BookPeople in Austin, TX is missing from the list.
I agree many of us aren’t living with the nostalgia of bookstores past. It’s a little too “kids these days…” for me. I’m on board with Idlewild and McNally Rand. And Strand, of course; it exemplifies what bookstores can still offer to the masses: meander and a sense of discovery.
The thing I like about Book People is the high density of staff recommendations tucked throughout the isles. It greatly improves the browsing experience. I’ll also be the umpteenth person to speak out in favor of the Seminary Coop, where I bought all my books in college. I have never seen another bookstore that caters specifically to people who are nerds about European philosophy, Latin American film and political science (among innumerable other ‘serious’ topics).
Hennesy + Ingall’s /Art, Architecture, and Photography and Arcana Books! Both in Los Angeles within two blocks of one another.
Best source of art, architecture, photography, and design books (and I live all the way in NY!)
Skylight in Los Feliz deserves a place on this list – it revived and regenerated the former Chatterton’s space, itself an important piece of east los angeles history.
Yes, what about Book People in Austin! And have any of you been to the amazingly weird and fun warehouses in Archer City?
Green Apple in San Francisco is way better than City Lights. Quirky, massive and filled with secret sections (and cute women)!
Like ethan, I must give a shout out to Green Apple books here in San Francisco, with its creaking wooden floors, shameless liberal bent, and great selection.
Agreed..went to Green Apple for the first time in July and could have done more damage. Great lit books and art books and some great eclectic used books finds. Still playing with my mad libs.
Like several commenters before me, I would also like to extoll the virtues of the Seminary Co-op bookstore. To my mind, there isn’t a better bookstore in the universe.
a little known bookstore in a poorer side of sanfrancisco, is Ocean Avenue Books. The owner, Diane Goodman, loves books and conversation. She has many books jammed into her shop. There are many finds, that have to be hunted for. what satisfaction there is in finding that volume which was so intrinsic for one’s mind earlier, and the surprise is even better when the reasonableness of the price is noticed. diane does not cater to the kind of customer whose hand needs to be held, and wishes also for a ‘hand and foot waited upon experience’. why would she? a bookstore is about books, which are a stalwart of our civilization. one can find psychodrama and other roleplayings at starbucks or on the tube, especially in the soap operas.
KAYO Books at Post & Leavenworth in San Francisco is the only store of its kind in the country, specializing in old paperbacks, pulps, comics, obscure genres, and vintage smut. Beautifully organized and extremely comfortable for shopping or just reading. I work there and some days we have like 3 customers – ridiculous! Open Thurs – Saturday 11-6
Thought I was going to have to be alone with my Green Apple Books, but I see some others here have piped up as well. It’s actually TWO bookstores next to one another, the second one having music and records to boot. And though I love Secret Headquarters…come on. Really? That belongs at the top of a list of Comic book shops- but it’s insulting here. Short films are not eligible for best movie Oscars, they are not in the same league. It’s a fine shop, really. But it doesn’t belong here.
As a Detroiter now living in SF, I have to second the comment about the truly incredible John King bookstore in Detroit, and add the perfectly absorbing Green Apple Books here in San Francisco! Glad to see City Lights on this list as well.
What about the infamous, rollicking, largest-independent-bookstore-south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line mega-house of extraordinary delights known as BookPeople in Austin, Texas?!?!?!?! Better recognize.
What about Book Thug Nation in Williamsburg and Book Court in Cobble Hill? Brooklyn represent!
BookPeople in Austin, TX should be on this list. Two stories, books, gifts, gags, events..it’s an incredible place to get lost in.
Well, after reading all of the above, I am glad to see that the love and support of bookstores still exists, even if most of the best bookstores are long gone (I think personally of Staceys or A Clean Well-Lighted Place For Books, having never been to a bookstore in Chi or NY). It is also interesting to note so many differing opinions on just what makes a good bookstore – politics? location? the number of off titles? the lack of a coffee house inside or nearby?…
The SF Bay Area is full of small, independent bookstores, yet half again as many as I remember when I was young. But, they are still out there, and they have names only locals will remember. These are the best bookstores…
i’m hugely pleased at the enthusiastic responses of so many avid readers and book buyers, here. excellent.
the email i received invited input for additional choices.
mine are always going to be for independent booksellers. i’ll not be bothered in the least, if another borders ceases to take space in nyc, along with whatever those other large chain sellers are called.
and i want a variety of independent bookstores—as many as there are independent coffeehouses (starbucks can die, too, please and thank you).
powells is okay, for the occasional online order, but their shipping costs are a bit much, and their delivery times are often unpredictable. i’m also opposed to their policy against having their logos on websites that are not family friendly. good god.
the tattered cover is a lovely institution, and keeps locals from having to frequent the pricey and pedestrian boulder bookstore. there is, however, a host of genuinely rich, if tiny, used bookstores, throughout the boulder area, all of which have some fairly arcane stock.
city lights was once at the top of my favorite places to be in s.f., right up there with good vibrations. over the decades, both venerable institutions have been given a run for their money, by smaller startup companies, with fresher ideas, content, and online availability, for those of us who are not always in the area.
love for and devotion to owners of bookstores is a lot like the way we give patronage to our favorite bars and clubs: i won’t go into why i love certain stores for their owners, because that’s a bit personal.
what i want to see is a list of far more than ten, inclusive of every state in the u.s.: book lovers and book buyers are in a heady swoon for more information about these glorious places, and we’re headstrong about what we love.
we need to know not just whether authors read live on location or whether prizes are given to owners, but more about the actual stock; availability; used and new; contemporary, modern, vintage, archival; shipping rates; delivery times; what amenities the stores offer . . .
see, we buy books, and we frequent these establishments. it’s not a good idea to be irreverent about books, with us.
what’s been provided here is simply not a “best of” anything, and is not a serviceable guide.
I can recommend a few more for you, Emmanuela! In the sad void left by Santa Monica CA’s pricing out of the AWESOME Midnight Special, we in L.A. are at least fortunate enough to have Skylight Books in Los Feliz, Vroman’s in Pasadena, and Dutton’s in Brentwood.
I’m a fan of Bookshop Santa Cruz!
http://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/
My neighborhood store is Book Culture near Columbia University. After Morningside Bookshop closed there, I felt immense guilt for not frequenting the store. Now I make sure my first stop is Book Culture.
There is a nice new indy bookstore in Ft Greene Brooklyn; Greenlight Bookstore.
And everyone in NYC remember that Sunday is the Brooklyn Book Festival
Auntie’s Books, in Spokane, WA. Great independant store—staff favorites, used as well as new; many, many readings and/or signings by a variety of authors.
Shout out to Watermark Books in Wichita, Kansas… an island of culture in a sea of box stores.
Agreed about so many, Moe’s in Berkeley, Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Maple Street Books in New Orleans, but one huge omission I can’t overlook… Green Apple Books in San Francisco! Also, Court Street Books in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, is a much more enjoyable afternoon these days than browsing at the crowded Strand. And how can we forget the great community bookstores that neighborhoods fight to support in this economy, such as the Community Book Store in Park Slope (has been on 7th Ave since the 60s)? It may not be huge, but it’s a wonderful store.
Book Soup in Los Angeles should have made this list. There is another, much smaller bookstore in L.A. that I loved – Portrait of a Bookstore, which is very small and also stuffed with gifty type things, but what they have on their shelves is spot on, and what they don’t have, they can get in a minute.
Yeah, sorry. Any list that leaves out Seminary Co-op/57th/Newberry Library bookstore is sloppy. The Strand is great, but in those 18 miles of books there’s about 6 or more miles of effing crap (sorry to call the baby ugly but it’s true). Also this list is weird-comparing used and new bookstores is one thing, but Powell’s flagship to a comic-book store is really apples-and-oranges…they’re different species altogether. St. Marks is great. Harvard Bookstore is great. Would love another few posts about the top 5 design bookstores, or the aforementioned comic/graphic novel bookstores…anyway!
skylight books in los feliz l.a. is an amazing bookstore.
certainly more thought through than that dusty, tattered
strand on broadway.
I just want to echo two of Mkat’s comments: (1) The Strand is overrated and signal-to-noise is low, and (2) where the f is Seminary Co-op?
Harvard Book Store (harvard.com, not affiliated with harvard.edu– note that the once-historically-significant Coop is now a Barnes & Noble).
Normals Books & Records, Baltimore, Maryland. The funkiest of the funkiest, artist-run book and music shop. Incredible collection of used books and zines, music by local bands and rare records.
http://www.normals.com/
Yes, the Seminary Bookstore, really three stores under one ownership, in Hyde Park, Chicago and at the Newberry Library, absolutely rank as high as any I have found in the United States. Perhaps even better than the old Blackwell’s in Oxford. The Tattered Cover does belong on the list, despite no longer having its original shop. Harvard Square still has some good ones such as Schoenhof’s, but no more Phillips, of course. Another that could well be on the list is Explore, in Aspen.
Hard to believe no one mentioned Three Lives and Company on 10th St. in Greenwich Village — the perfect neighborhood bookstore when the hood is chock full of writers, critics and scholars. Small but no trash, or hardly any. Haven’t read a book review lately? Just ask the staff what’s good.
To the old vs. new: Now that BN is struggling and good riddance — BN the bully that wiped out so many independents, Books & Co., Endicott, etc. — maybe the neghborhood store can thrive in more places than Brooklyn.
Ingalls and Hennessey in LA and Marfa Book Company in Texas plus the photo bookstore in Santa Fe. The 3 best art/photo bookstores in the US. Of course the MOMA nyc bookstore is big but without that je ne sais qua of smaller places.
As much as I love Vroman’s in CA & Kramerbooks in DC, there is nothing like the enormous book havens you never want to leave. BookPeople is 1 of ‘em!
Hey–this list seems pretty heavy on the coasts–completely missing the fly-overs. Have you people heard of Rainy Day Books in Kansas City? Quail Ridge in Raleigh? Lemuria in Jackson,Miss? Mystery Lovers Bookstore in Oakmont, PA? E. Shaver’s in Savannah? The indies are out there, struggling, fighting, thriving. You just gotta wanna find ‘em.
192 Books in New York City.
Joseph-Beth booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky. Long live the independent sellers!
unfortunately, the omission of Brookline Booksmith calls this list’s validity into question.
Another addition to the list–Murder by the Book, an independent store in Houston located near Rice University. It is a superb specialty store that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and has helped many budding mystery novelists on their way to fame and fortune. The store is cozy and staffed with the most knowledgeable mystery buffs one could hope for. Its offering of author talks and signings and luncheons is so full that I don’t know how its owners, David and McKenna, ever do anything outside of their fabulous store. I myself don’t have time to go see the 30 or more authors that grace their store monthly. I don’t know how they do it, let alone keep all those mystery styles and plots straight, but they do. They are a sponsor of Bouchercon in 2011 in Saint Louis too. I could write more about this terrific store and its wonderful staff, but I’m now going to climb into bed and finish off my latest mystery bought there, Martin Cruz Smith’s THREE STATIONS.
Family Books on Fairfax in LA. Hands down. Their selection is curated, not bought.
Yeah Community Bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn!
SKYLIGHT BOOKS in LA…(Los Feliz, if you’re being hipster-y) it’s an incredible community, asset, space with great programming and staff and cat = http://www.skylightbooks.com/
also…how about scrambling up a list of best used bookstores? for us book hounds, they’re just as exciting…
Mystery One bookstore in Milwaukee, WI. And really, flavorwire, your lists would be great, but they AREN’T, because you don’t show the whole list at one time, allowing the reader to click on each to read more if they like. No, you have to click “next” and “previous” to be irritatingly slow. Usually, I don’t bother, because who wants to MAYBE read something interesting, or not, to get to all ten POSSIBLY interesting things in your lists. Just saying. You might conisder improving.
Here in Pasadena we have one of the finest used books stores I have seen anywhere in the USA – not withstanding – Strands – in NYC. Its Book Alley – http://www.bookalley.com – its clean – filled to the rafters with quality books – fiction – the Arts – everything one can imagine at excellent prices. Its owner and staff are wonderful – very helpful and knowledgeable. Its mail order services are excellent.
This list is so lazy. City Lights is only a ghost of what it once was – listen to the other commenters and give Green Apple Books a try instead. I’m so glad somebody else here listed Bookshop Santa Cruz, too; if I have to order something online I’ll do it through them instead.
Judging by the amount of time and money I spent there, St. Mark’s Bookshop NYC http://www.stmarksbookshop.com/ is my favourite by a very long way.
Buffalo, NY, has Talking Leaves books, a wonderful independent bookstore with two locations in the city.
I love seeing so many people passionate about their favorite bookstores. I’ve been to most of those on the list and many of those mentioned in comments. Bookstores are the #1 attraction for me on any vacation, even if I don’t read the predominant language in that city. I think that people should not take it so personally when their favorite doesn’t make the list — Top 10 (or any number, really) lists are inherently silly and will always leave out something great. Also, I agree with Bart King’s comment, and I think the “pablum for the masses” comment is elitist and lame. I’d rather that people read something, even if it’s not my taste, than watch crappy tv. Bookstores stay in business by catering to a broad range of tastes, but what makes a bookstore great is showing the customer something interesting that they may not have seen before.
Joseph Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Ohio – great for readers, great for writers, neat cafe – Bronte. Very supportive of authors.
Sheila Williams
Kramerbooks – DC
Black Swan Books – Richmond, VA
Fountain Bookstore – Richmond, VA
Carmichael’s in Louisville, KY. 2 locations and if they don’t have it on hand, they can get it quickly. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. The location on Bardstown Rd. leads directly into a delicious coffee shop.
You’ve got to include Green Apple Books in San Francisco. There are two shops side by side and multiple levels, secret rooms and more. This is an awesome bookshop you just can’t miss. I don’t even work there but just love them so much.
Must see (and BUY from): A Cappella Books in Atlanta, GA’s Little Five Points neighborhood!
And Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur!
Really Like McNally Jackson in Soho, NYC. Also the STRAND is an approved Book store as well.
I want to add my name to those that mentioned Sam Weller’s in Salt Lake. I used to travel there on business regularly and I would squeeze in what free time I had browsing there. The only regret about not travelling to SLC any longer is not being able spend time searching through that vast labyrinth.
William Stout Books in San Francisco is one of the best bookstores in the world (not just America) They specialize in new and antiquarian books on architecture, design, landscaping, fine art and urban planning. This store is totally unique. When I travel I always make a point of going to the local art/design/architecture bookstore and I’ve never found anything like it in Rome, Paris, London or New York. A treasure. And City Lights is still a wonderful bookstore as well.
you’re missing Quail Ridge in Raleigh, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Watermark in Wichita, Square Books in Oxford, Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, Lemuria Books in Jackson. And a shout-out to the many Southern bookstores that have passed away in recent years: Urban Think in Orlando, Open Book in Greenville, S.C., Happy Bookseller in Columbia, the Aiken Bookstall.
Why not LIVE and thriving St. Marks Books over dead and once great Gotham. Modern Times in SF belongs there too – way over City Lights I believe. . .
And #11… Rabelais in Portland, Maine.
I am disappointed not to see NYC’s Books of Wonder on here — one of the great independent children’s bookstores, with a fabulous selection of new books as well as a pretty ridiculous collection of rare and antiquarian kids’ books. Some of the very early pop-up books alone are worth a trip to New York, no matter where you’re coming from…
another vote for the seminary co-op, which is the best bookstore in the u.s.!
also, as an ex-employee of prairie lights thanks for the shout out. if you’re ever in the area, please come in and check it out. the people at the back desk give excellent recommendations.
politics & prose is overrated.
the st. john’s college bookstore in santa fe is one that hasn’t been mentioned and is, in my opinion, like a smaller version of the seminary co-op. the selection is extremely well-curated.
third place books in seattle is also a great store.
Singing Wind Bookshop — one of the finest collections of books on the west and southwest, located on a ranch just outside of Benson, AZ. Well worth the visit!
Another vote for Seminary Coop/57th St. Books in Chicago. Simply the best bookstore I’ve ever been in. It also has, for decades, been training staff who go on to various sales/marketing/editorial positions in publishing, and quite a few well-regarded writers have worked there at some point, as well as at least one Newbery Medalist.
I’d also vote for Bank Street Books in New York as one of the best children’s bookstores I’ve ever seen.
My daughter 1HP, a former Prairie Lights employee and visitor to 7/10 on your list, and I, agree: while we love PL, the King is Seminary Coop in Hyde Park. In addition to terrific selection, it’s great for ambiance in it’s labyrinth of an interior. For “fluff”, go to 57th Street Books a couple of blocks away. Between the two of them, you really could find several life times of great reading. Also, this list could prove a great reference for future book store adventures!
To Michael F and anyone else prepared to back the absurd claim that 20 years ago there were 50 bookstores better than anything in this list: name them. Moe’s was then and is still the best place in the world to find used books in English. Powell’s is still possibly the best all-round place for new and used books in English – in the world. Who was better 20 years ago? Not even Cody’s (RIP) in its heyday (I’ve been haunting Telegraph Avenue since the early 80s) could compete.
Also, Green Apple in SF is pretty damn good.
Definitely a vote for Book People in Austin. But my objection is that we in the suburbs tend to get left out. The big indies seem to be urban and if you want to live downtown it’s artificially expensive. I don’t want to drive downtown to buy a book every time, so I go to B&N, or order from Amazon.
Not a bad list but definitely urban-centric. You guys need to get out more.
The (relatively) small town of Montclair NJ boasts two excellent bookstores: Montclair Book Center and Watchung Booksellers.
Portland, Maine, has the marvelous Longfellow Books, which is as good as any bookstore I’ve been to anywhere. You’ll also find a couple of fine used book stores up the street.
If in Vermont, don’t miss my favorite: The Northshire book store in Manchester, Vt. It’s wonderful with lots of nooks and crannies, a coffee shop, and a great kids’ section.
Three Lives & Co – West Village
Bookpeople in Austin is a must
What about Books & Books in Miami?
[...] and staff, and cluing you in to some of our favorite indie shops around the country. First we did bookstores, then we moved on to record stores. Both lists generated healthy debates, and lots of suggested [...]
It’s odd to see Secret Headquarters on lists such as this when there are several stores in the Los Angeles area alone that I would rank above it including Golden Apple, Meltdown, Hi De Ho, and House of Secrets.
Denver is not in the mountains. Nice list.
[...] already on a roll! Over at The Millions Patrick Brown has posted a response to Flavorwire’s Top 10 Bookstores in the US list (and no, we’re not on it which makes me think the list is crap) that came out last week. [...]
“small mountain shop” … I’m not sure what town you’re talking about, but Denver is the 9th largest city in the country and Tattered Cover is one of the top 5 largest independent bookstores per square foot in the country.
There’s nothing small or mountain (we’re only a mile high, not even technically in the mountains) about us. This article’s pretty poorly written overall… part of the paranoid death-nell of the bookstore, but coming from Denver and having had the luxury of Tattered Cover my whole life, I’m just surprised at how belittling one could be to a place so wonderful. The implication that it could not stay open with such visiting talent is bullshit, as well –
The readings, though well attended, are not the mainstay of Tattered Cover. In fact, Tattered Cover makes more money on non-event nights, when they don’t have to close down the entire second floor.
Gotta add Court Street bookstore in Cobble Hill Brooklyn and Housing Works Bookstore in SoHo, NYc….
Gotta add Bookcourt, Court Street bookstore in Cobble Hill Brooklyn and Housing Works Bookstore in SoHo, NYc….
[...] Top Ten Bookstores in the U.S. [...]
Main Street Books in Frostburg MD is surprisingly good.
Can’t even think of an iconic bookstore without including Black Oak Books in Berkeley, CA. They have an amazing selection of new + used (at great prices), and play host to some of the top writers + thinkers in the world. And they’ll never kick you out of a reading chair…
Good site but you need to try and getrid of all this spam messages.
What can I say! I guess I am a bookworm who has opened an online children’s bookstore; http:// http://www.slimybookworm.com in protest. My little way to reclaim the love for books and reading.
[...] Los Angeles, USA Further you can see this related post: http://flavorwire.com/115586/the-top-10-bookstores-in-the-us [...]
Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia PA is the US’s largest and oldest still-in-existence feminist and gay bookstore! Oldest in the country, and still independent! And it didn’t even get a mention? Come on now..
A quick vote for Kepler’s, the bookstore of Joan Baez and Grateful Dead fame (and Salman Rushdie recently praised it on a swing through California, too): http://bu.tt/as9
A quick vote for Kepler’s, the bookstore of Joan Baez and Grateful Dead fame (and Salman Rushdie recently praised it on a swing through California, too): http://bu.tt/as9
Schuler Books and Music (based in Grand Rapids, MI) is truly an institution in the area. They’ve been around for over 25 years, independent and family-owned, and boast 5 locations (3 in GR, 2 in the state capital Lansing). I’m biased since I’m from the area, but if and when you ever come to Grand Rapids, Schuler Books is a must. Top 10 in my book (pun unintended).
[...] Huffington Post list of readers’ favorites includes many of my own, as does Flavorwire’s top 10. And El Ateneo is on this list of converted bookstores (if you think converting a theater into a [...]
Great list. Powell’s Books is hands down the best bookstore I have ever seen, including visits to bookstores in over half of the 50 states.
That being said, Mississippi, for being a largely sub-literate state, has three of the great bookstores in the nation. Square Books in Oxford and Lemuria Books in Jackson will stand up in comparison to any of the bookstores on your list or any others. Events/signings, great stock, knowing employees, and a community mindset. Also in Jackson, one of the better used bookstores I have encountered is Choctaw Books. Tons of obscure stuff, and the owner is a walking encyclopedia of old books. A real destination.
Also, since you included comic stores, Mississippi had until recently a great combination comic store/bookstores, called Action Island in Ridgeland, a Jackson suburb. It was just sold to a new owner.
[...] Flavorwire В» The Top 10 Bookstores in the US Dec 24, 2010 … KAYO Books at Post & Leavenworth in San Francisco is the only store …. Great independant store—staff favorites, used as well as new; many, … Green Apple Books in San Francisco! … [...]
These will undoubtedly go down the tubes as they are snobbish and arrogant establishments that cater to an establishment that will be fading away over the next ten years, Powell’s, Tattered, and Prairie Lights are overrated and creepy. As an author, they give the willies with an arrogance that permeates the air.
Surely, Spoonbill and Sugartown is the liveliest and best Art Bookstore in Brooklyn and New York City, for books on contemporary art, and is earning its seniority after surviving the book battles and at the hub of Williamsburg for over 12 years.
Browse the latest writing on, in or about art, and related magazines from local to global, as well as the engaging vibe of being among kindred and eyes, ears and minds. What more would you want? Well, it’s surrounded by nice cafes…
Worthy of the trek from Manhattan, Paris, Berlin or Kalamazoo.
I just learned that they will do mail order as well, through http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sortby=0&vci=137102
spoonbillbooks.com
[...] you want to see what a true book stores is like, visit this website: The top 10 bookstores in the US. Lucky for me, this list includes our own local Prairie Lights Books In Iowa City, Iowa. I have [...]
Let’s not forget the world’s only place where 150,000 books are available totally FREE; the Bookthing of Baltimore (www.bookthing.org). Check website for details!
Anyone know what happened to Chapters Bread and Books Cafe in Orlando? Read aboutit some years ago & it seemed to be thriving. Apparently shut down August 2011. But why?
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