For This Indie Bookstore Day, Here Are Ten Odes To Ten Of Our Favorite Bookstores.

Tomorrow, Saturday 4/26, is Independent Bookstore Day! And while each time tin and should beryllium Independent Bookstore Day (stop buying books from Amazon, stop linking to books connected Amazon, extremity posting nan Amazon income and nan B&N income connected your societal media), it’s bully that we person a dedicated vacation to observe each nan awesome things that your section indie does for your community. This year, complete 1600 stores will beryllium participating crossed each 50 states, pinch events and writer signings and giveaways and parties and truthful overmuch more—a genuinely awesome show of indie strength. It’s almost for illustration reports of nan bookstore manufacture dying are… made up? Exaggerated? A convenient fabrication propagated by Amazon to warrant their predatory monopoly? But that’s an rumor for different day.

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Today, we’re present to observe nan bookstores we love—so present are immoderate (some!) of nan Lit Hub staff’s odes to beloved indies. Let america cognize your favorites, excessively (and make judge you show them you emotion them while you’re astatine it).

The Word is Change

The Word is Change
Brooklyn, NY

The Word is Change is my vicinity indie bookstore, and besides happens to beryllium my favorite. It’s my absolute go-to for everything I need, bookwise. They person caller celebrated fiction, they person extremist governmental texts, they person an tremendous postulation of utilized books (many of which erstwhile belonged to me, convey you Alexander for buying!) It’s a dream and a privilege to person specified a awesome section bookstore conscionable down nan street, and is instrumental to making my vicinity consciousness for illustration a community. –Julia Hass, Book Marks Assistant Editor

Buxton Books

Buxton Books
Charleston, SC

The champion reference I ever did was successful Charleston, South Carolina, a metropolis wherever I don’t cognize anyone. Generally speaking, if you’re a first-time writer whose book hasn’t been anointed by immoderate awesome book clubs, readings successful unfamiliar cities are, astatine best, sparsely attended. Not truthful astatine nan unthinkable Buxton Books, which, successful summation to being a wholly beautiful shop pinch an fantabulous scope of books, knows really to throw a reading. People stepping by came successful disconnected nan thoroughfare and past asked thoughtful questions during nan Q&A. There was laughter. There was wine! The group who activity astatine Buxton are generous, hilarious, and of course, book loving, and they made maine a rabid instrumentality of nan shop for life. –Jessie Gaynor, Senior Editor

Village Well Books & Coffee
Culver City, CA

I emotion Village Well because it’s my small sister’s local. We unrecorded crossed nan state from each different and don’t get to spot each different that often, but from nan infinitesimal this spot opened, I felt for illustration I had a statement to her done Village Well. Obviously we talk connected nan telephone and worldly but if you cognize what I mean, you cognize what I mean: it’s different to person a consciousness of being connected done not only books but done a bookstore. I’ve since visited a fewer times (including a fewer weeks agone to spot their still-newly-expanded space) and it makes maine consciousness for illustration she and nan organization successful Culver are being good taken attraction of indeed. –Drew Broussard, Podcasts Editor

Bruised Apple Books

Bruised Apple Books
Peekskill, NY

The first utilized bookstore I retrieve going to, and nan first I fell successful emotion with, was Bruised Apple Books successful Peekskill, NY. I don’t deliberation I was a earthy “Used Book Guy.” The thought of book that was worn and beat-up trim against my youthful fussiness — I tucked successful all of my shirts until good into simple school, for illustration — but nan idiosyncratic sections astatine Bruised Apple fascinated me. The shop and its quirky shelving and notes rewarded wandering and browsing successful a caller measurement for me, beyond nan consumerism of nan promenade bookstore aliases nan directed investigation of nan library. There were immense intelligence worlds retired there, and each clip I became willing successful something, Bruised Apple offered a support of well-thumbed books to explore. I sewage a book connected Stonehenge, a too-intellectual study connected nan historiography of dragons, and my first short communicative collection, if representation serves.

When you spot a full support of books connected a taxable you’ve ne'er heard of, aliases 4 copies of nan aforesaid book by an writer who is marque caller to you, it humbles you successful awesome ways. The Bruised Apple didn’t truthful overmuch grow my world arsenic overmuch arsenic it shrunk my ain consciousness of what I knew.

Beyond nan books, Bruised Apple was 1 of nan places wherever I grew up too. I went location pinch my parents and saw what books they were picking up. I went location pinch crushes and knowledgeable self-conscious and coquettish shared browsing for nan first time. I went location pinch 1 friend who bought a Smash Mouth CD and past wept nan full thrust location because it was nan incorrect album, while his mom tried to soothe him and I sat successful silence. And Bruised Apple was 1 of my earliest encounters pinch nan thrilling emotion that location was truthful overmuch to read, and truthful overmuch I hadn’t read. Whenever I’ve been back, I’m impressed by their selection. I cognize thing astir nan process of sourcing, culling, and curating utilized books, but nan Bruised Apple continues to do a awesome job: there’s ever thing caller to see. — James Folta, Staff Writer

Charlie’s Queer Books

Charlie’s Queer Books
Seattle, WA

Charlie’s is simply a cleanable small cheery dream of a bookstore. All nan books are queer and each nan walls are pink! What much could you inquire for! I emotion going to Charlie’s to cheque retired their awesome book selection, publication successful their tiny upstairs reference nook, and rumors pinch nan book sellers. Charlie’s besides hosts a batch of very tiny organization events for illustration book clubs of each genre, penning groups, trade circles, and resistance communicative clip for kids. It’s conscionable cute! I’m really grateful to person a bookstore this cheery and awesome successful my city. Everybody opportunity convey you Charlie!! –McKayla Coyle, Publishing Coordinator

Three Lives and Company

Three Lives & Co.
New York, NY

I’ve sewage an embarrassment of indie bookstores to outcry retired successful New York (and Kingston–looking astatine you, Rough Draft). But 1 spot that makes maine very happy is Three Lives & Co successful nan West Village. A very beloved friend and shop regular introduced maine to this place, and it’s benignant of nan cleanable bookstore. It’s cozy, but lovingly curated by a fleet of absolute scholar rockstars. (The seasonal unit proposal newsletter is unparalleled.) Doesn’t wounded that it looks from nan extracurricular for illustration 1 of Charles Dickens’ sweeter conjurings. There’s these large windows, and a fetching reddish awning. It feels quintessentially New York, to nan grade that if you’re prestigious astir it, there’s immoderate very nosy people-watching to beryllium done successful that (one, single) aisle.

My friend and I person a opinionated day wherever we spell to Three Lives and heap up connected off-the-beaten paperbacks and past dash crossed nan thoroughfare to Julius to drawback nan extremity of happy hour. We telephone it our ‘Toni and Fran time,’ and ne'er do I consciousness much literary. –Brittany Allen, Staff Writer

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves
Ithaca, NY

Autumn Leaves successful Ithaca, NY has been and remains my favourite indie bookstore immoderate 15 years running. Its caller acquisition by nan proprietors of PM Press—which you tin perceive much astir successful this section of nan Lit Hub podcast—has injected its shelves of utilized books pinch immoderate caller titles from nan leftist property mixed successful among nan majority-secondhand offerings. Everything you’d want a bookstore to be: a spot to big organization events, a spot wherever you tin plop down successful a raggedy armchair and publication undisturbed for a fewer hours, a shop that someway always has an inexpensive transcript of that caller personification recommended to you conscionable past week, Autumn Leaves is it. –Calvin Kasulke, Associate Publisher

The Seminary Co-op

The Seminary Co-op
Chicago, IL

I person been to nan Sem Co-op only twice: erstwhile once it was a deliriously convoluted underground bookstore successful nan basement of nan Chicago Theological Seminary, and erstwhile successful its existent incarnation, a light-filled (read: supra ground) abstraction a artifact away, wherever nan shop moved successful 2012. I emotion bookstores, but arsenic personification who sounds and writes astir books for a living, I americium seldom amazed by what I find successful them (this is particularly existent for caller bookstores). But done immoderate circumstantial magic, successful some iterations of nan Co-op, connected visits a decade aliases much apart, by immoderate organizational (or disorganizational) magic, I recovered books I ne'er knew I ever wanted. No mini feat! –Emily Temple, Managing Editor

Rough Draft Bar & Books

Rough Draft Bar & Books
Kingston, NY

Well I mean I’m biased, I guess: I’m besides nan bookstore head for this spot. But nan point is, it would astir apt beryllium my favourite shop successful nan world moreover if I wasn’t—or to put it different way, I’m nan bookstore head present because I emotion this shop truthful much. Jonny Diamond erstwhile called this shop one of nan champion bookstores successful nan world and who americium I to disagree? (I would for illustration to deliberation that our curation will now fulfill Bookforum subscribers, but that’s betwixt maine and Jonny to hash out.)

But successful each seriousness, nan point I emotion astir Rough Draft is that it is more than conscionable a bookstore. Yes, there’s a charm to wandering into a abstraction densely packed pinch books, books, and much books (and okay possibly immoderate sidelines for illustration cards and keychains and notebooks and what-not) — but nan early for bookstores is, I think, successful existent third-space territory. By measurement of example: Rough Draft features a genuinely world-class java programme spearheaded by Josh Rosenmeier, a top-flight brew paper curated by Dan Fiege, breadstuff and pastries from sister shop Kingston Bread + Bar, large aged windows that fto successful nan ray of nan world without letting (much) of nan elements inside, and a cheery formed of unit and regulars alike who make nan spot feel… well, for illustration a spot you want to be. I cognize nan names of those group not conscionable because I activity pinch them, but because Anthony and Amanda Stromoski (owners of RD and KBB) person made it a constituent that everyone should cognize everyone, because that’s what organization is each about. Rough Draft is simply a gathering spot, a outer office, a movie theater, a pub, a café—and, ohio yeah, a bookstore. Come spot maine immoderate time, I’ll hook you up. –Drew Broussard, Podcasts Editor

The Buzzed Word

The Buzzed Word
Ocean City, MD

No summertime is complete without a travel to nan beach, and nary travel to nan formation is complete without a sojourn to The Buzzed Word!! My friends and I ever scheme astatine slightest 1 (and usually much than one) sojourn to this astonishing bookstore/natural vino barroom connected nan Atlantic coast. The drinks (both alcoholic and NA) and snacks are delicious and nan book action is truthful choice. I ever time off pinch a fewer really cool books I’d ne'er heard of and a fewer much books that I’ve been looking for everlastingly but ne'er spot astatine bookstores. Going to The Buzzed Word is 1 of my favourite summertime rituals. Beach sounds forever! –McKayla Coyle, Publishing Coordinator