Joe Urban | Sam Newberg, Urbanist


Favorite Independent Bookstores

Dateline: 5:53 pm January 14, 2007 Filed under:

The results are in! The following are your comments on the best independent bookstores across the country.

  • Loganberry Books in Shaker Heights, Ohio.  Room after room of used books, comfortable sofas, plus cookies and cider. You can get there by transit from downtown Cleveland!
  • Boulder Bookstore in downtown Boulder, Colorado. Located in a renovated building, it anchors Pearl Street, and survived the arrival and departure of a downtown Borders.
  • In Denver there is the Tattered Cover in LoDo – another great bookstore in a renovated warehouse.
  • City Lights in San Francisco. Great vibe.
  • Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky. 
  • Antigone Books in Tucson, Arizona. Located in the eccentric 4th Avenue shopping district.
  • Back of Beyond Books in Moab, Utah. Drawn from a place in an Edward Abbey book, this bookstore is located along Main Street in Moab between a mountain bike shop and a mountain bike repair shop. Worth browsing if you like the desert southwest.
  • Big Jar Books on 3rd Street in the Old City area of Philadelphia. A used bookstore in a very old loft building near the waterfront.
  • In Portland, Oregon, there is, of course, Powell’s Books. But also check out Looking Glass Books at 318 SW Taylor.
  • and my favorite response – the used bookstore in the Milwaukee Airport. Though, I personally have never visited, it apparently has a very good art, architecture and design section. All the more reason to fly Midwest Airlines and take a long layover in Milwaukee.

My personal favorite bookstore was Canterbury Books in Madison. They are still there, but I remember when they sold new books and had a cafe. Located just off State Street, I spent many rainy days during college browsing books. Just entering the store you were met with the smell of new books and coffee – intoxicating!

Well, keep shopping at your favorite local bookstores. Enjoy!

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