Top local bookstores

Albany, New York

1. The Book House. This is a great little bookstore with many books on the local region and a knowledgeable staff. They are constantly hosting author visits. They also have a little connected store called The Little Book House that carries books for children. It”s cute, and they carry the classics.
2. Dove & Hudson. This is a great place to pick up used books. I love the SMELL of the shop.
3. Flights of Fancy. This bookstore carries good “geek” books, used and new, and games and accessories. It’s filled with gamers on any given night. A great place to pick up gifts for young gamers or science fiction fans.

Tacoma, Washington

King’s Books. I love it because it smells good, I find amazing books, both in and out of the rare book room. The human owners both admit that the true store owners are the two cats that roam the store freely.



State College, PA

Webster’s on Allen Street. This store is great. It is set up like a series of cozy, interlinked reading rooms. The bookstore staff are wonderful, though the café staff tend to (sometimes) ignore people who want to buy books, even when theirs is the only available cash register. It’s a quirky, charming place, begun as a used bookstore, now selling a carefully chosen selection of new books, too.

St. Petersburg, Florida

Haslam’s Bookstore. Haslam’s has been around for 75 years, and it’s a dark, cool, pleasantly book-musty cavern even on the hottest summer day. It has new books, of course, in a tremendous range of subjects. For me, though, it’s the dark used area that holds the real magic. If I want a copy of, say, the latest Janet Evanovich novel, I’d simply order it on Amazon.com and have it in two days. What makes Haslam’s miraculous is shelf after shelf of used books. For a book nerd like me, it’s not only the words on the pages that make these shelves so appealing, but each book’s history. I’ve found some really old books, some with Ex libris stickers from long-dead former owners. They had a collection of Dickens first editions once, stored alongside other rare and valuable books. You can buy John D. MacDonald novels anywhere. Haslam’s is the place where I found a collection of letters between JDMac and Dan Rowan of Laugh-In fame.

Haslam’s used to run local tv ads calling themselves “Florida’s best rainy-day attraction.” True enough, but I kind of like wandering in there when it’s hot and bright outside. It’s a wonderful respite, and I can always find something good for me to enjoy at home on the next rainy day.

Tempe, Arizona

Changing Hands. Changing Hands was named Independent Bookseller of the Year for 2007. And I can walk to it. A Tempe institution, they are chock full of new and used books, side by side on the shelves. If I want a fresh and new copy of a book, I can buy that. If I want a used and discounted copy, I can buy that, too. Big selection of different titles and categories, wonderful place to buy gifts and it’s connected to the local chain-bistro Wildflower Cafe next door.<BR
They also have a wide variety of in-store classes, workshops, special programs and visits by top-name authors and speakers. It is a community oasis in the middle of a city with no real places to congregrate.

The reward program is pretty sweet, too. Fill up your customer card with a stamp for every $10 you spend, when you hit $100, you get $10 off a purchase. Sometimes they have double-point specials.

Chesapeake, Virginia

My favorite local bookstore is Barnes & Noble. I know it’s a chain, but I love it. I can wander around and look at all the latest tech or science books and even have a cup of coffee while I do it. The convenience of being able to find exactly what I want in a single store is very important to me.

Flint, Michigan

Barnes & Noble is our best bookstore. Unfortunately, all the little, independent bookstores have closed in Flint.

Denver, Colorado

I like the Barnes & Noble here in Denver, but we also have a fabulous local bookstore called The Tattered Cover. Their main store used to be in Cherry Creek, but they’ve moved out further east on Colfax Avenue. I haven’t been to the new location yet. The original location, however, was FOUR FLOORS of wall-to-wall books of every description, with comfy chairs all over the place to plonk yourself down and read for a spell. And they had a neat little restaurant on the top floor.

I have been to their Highlands Ranch location, which is also very nice. It’s more spread out on a single level, but still with the comfy chairs and gazillions of books.

Los Angeles, California

My friend owns a superb neighborhood bookstore in North Hollywood called The Iliad. It has the finest, most eccentric and eclectic collection of books I’ve ever come across. Always, outside the front door are boxes of books that are free of charge. Inside the front door are particularly excellent selections of first edition illustrated children’s books from as early as the 1880s, art books, classics (I got a fine edition of Rimbaud’s ‘A Season In Hell’ there) and a wall of books dedicated to ‘oddities.’

There is also a resident cat, Zola. She had spent years confined in a hamster cage, and has lost one eye, and several teeth due to infections. She is sweet, with a very delicate meow.

Berkeley, California

1. Pegasus & Pendragon Books on Shattuck. It’s not much to look at, but they always have an interesting selection, and their recommendations are spot-on. I have tried books that I never would have picked up on my own on the basis of their recommendations — and loved them. I find that to be the most important part of a bookstore. Pretty is nice, but I’m really there for the substance.

2. I am a fan of Black Oak Books. They have a large selection of good used books, knowledgeable and helpful staff, and are conveniently located near some pretty fantastic cafes.

3. In San Francisco, my favorite bookstore is Dog Eared Books. It smells like an old, well-loved bookstore. It has a great selection of used books, eclectic finds, and is also conveniently located near a number of good cafes. I love to people-watch when I am in there, as there is such a variety that comes in.

Chicago, Illinois

One of my all-time favorite bookstores is in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, where I used to live. It’s called Women & Children First. It is an amazing feminist bookstore with wonderful literature recommendations. It is a great space.



Washington, DC

Politics and Prose. They have great author readings and a wonderful selection of new books on political issues near and dear to my heart.




Watkinsville, Georgia

Books Galore, which doesn’t have a website, is a mostly used bookstore that’s been in business 10 years or more. The owner is Debbie Wagner, and she tries really hard to get involved with the community. I used to meet with a bunch of romance readers once a month there.

Harrisonburg, Virginia

The Green Valley Book Fair. Once written up by the USAir magazine as one of the best bookstores on the east coast, it’s actually several warehouses of books in all genres that are 60-90% off retail. It opens about six times per year for two weeks at a time and is well worth a day trip to experience.

Ottawa, Canada

Book Bazaar. I really enjoy visiting this store. It’s a good size, but it still has a nice, cozy, overstuffed feeling. Besides books, they have a couple of shelves of antiques that are fun to browse.


Oslo, Norway

I have two favorite bookstores right now. The first one is called Tanum and it’s the store on Karl Johan that I visit the most, because they have the selection in astrology and rock books I like. Second, I discovered recently that Norli has a new store at Aker Brygge with a little cafè on a balcony with very comfy couches and really tasty baked goods, although their mocha was a little too sweet for my taste. As you can see, they have an English version of their website too.



Toronto, Ontario

Nicholas Hoare, on Front Street near historic St. Lawrence Market, is a long, narrow, not-too-big, store with couches and a fireplace! Beautifully appointed store and very helpful staff. A cute, polite sign on the door about checking your bags as you go in: “No sacs, please, we’re British.” Not a store full of bestsellers, but everything is still current and interesting, and it’s loaded with classics, too. Classy place. They used to (and may still do) host “Books and Brunch” events with authors at the King Edward Hotel.