Unique Bookstores in the USA

1. Books & Books

Located in a beautiful Mediterranean-style building dating back to 1927 in Coral Gables, Books & Books is a renowned bookshop and one of the largest independent booksellers in Florida.

Founded by Mitchell Kaplan in 1982, the store has stunning interiors with original tile floors, beamed ceilings, dark-wood bookshelves, a crackling fireplace, and a charming open-air palm-lined courtyard.

Listed on the Register of Historic Places, Books & Books not only sells the largest selection of new and used books in the state but also serves delicious farm-to-table cuisine and freshly brewed coffee in their full-service café. Books & Books is open seven days a week.

265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables, FL, Phone: 305 442-4408

2. Bart's Books

Located in Ojai, Bart's Books is an independent outdoor bookstore where bibliophiles can browse bookcases along the street.

Founded by Richard Bartinsdale in 1964, the book shop began as a small store selling books on the sidewalk and coffee cans registers and has grown into the largest independently owned outdoor bookstore in the world with expansive inventory that includes new books and some rare first editions.

The store has comfortable reading areas in the store and after closing time, still works on the famous original ‘honor system’ where visitors can shop in the evenings by leaving coins in the coin box for the books they buy. Bart's Books is open seven days a week.

302 W Matilija St, Ojai, CA 93023, Phone: 805-646-3755

3. Book Culture

Book Culture is an independent bookstore with three locations in New York City that sells literary fiction, best-sellers, art books, and academic titles.

Founded as Labyrinth Books on 112th in 1997 by Chris Doeblin and Cliff Simms, Book Culture became a completely independent company in 2007 and opened its second location, Book Culture on Broadway, two years later.

The store has hosted a plethora of events over the years, including 135 in-store events and 245 author meetings, as well as book signings, and bookselling services for offsite events. Book Culture also hosts six children’s storytime readings every week and is open seven days a week.

536 W 112th St, New York, NY 10025, Phone: 212-865-1588

4. Boulder Book Store

Boulder Book Store is a vast 20,000 square foot award-winning book shop and Boulder’s largest independent bookstore.

Owned by David Bolduc, the bookstore spans three floors and sells new and used books, as well as out-of-print and rare editions across a plethora of genres from fiction and non-fiction to children’s stories and artbooks.

The upstairs Ballroom is used as a gathering spot for hosting events such as author appearances and book signings, book and poetry readings, literary lectures and symposiums, and community meetings.

The bookstore has a dedicated education section that offers an array of educational services and one-on-one assistance.

1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80302, Phone: 303-447-2074

5. City Lights Bookstore & Publishers

Founded in 1953 by renowned poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to present the work of Beat poets like Jack Kerouac, City Lights Bookstore & Publishers has a rich literary history and is one of the nation’s greatest independent bookshops.

Located on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco’s North Beach area, which is famous for housing Beat Generation poets, the bookstore was taken to court in the mid-50s for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and other Poems.

Today, the publishing arm continues to release new works and translated works of critical international authors, and an extensive collection of political works, all of which are only available in paperback.

261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA, Phone: 415-362-8193

6. Elliott Bay Book Company

The Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle is a long-standing bookseller that has not only survived the age of Amazon and e-books but has thrived in it.

Established over 40 years ago, and still going strong in a city that brought the digital age to light, the quirky bookstore boasts a fresh and contemporary ambiance with solid wood interiors and trendy café and coffee shop.

Elliott Bay is ideal for browsing, researching, hanging out, relaxing over coffee, or curling up in a corner with a book, and hosts free book readings every evening featuring a widely published touring author. The Elliott Bay Book Company is open seven days a week.

1521 Tenth Ave., Seattle, WA, Phone: 206-624-6600

7. Farley’s Bookshop

Founded in 1967 by Jim Farley in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Farley’s Bookshop is a warm and welcoming bookstore with cozy nooks and crannies, knowledgeable booksellers, and a cat called Butter. Owners Jim and his wife Nancy have a passion for reading, and this is carried through in the store with a wealth of new and used books covering all genres from art and music to fiction, non-fiction, science, and children’s books. The science section offers a mix of hard science with an extensive Dover collection and pop science, as well as many books about ideas. Farley’s Bookshop is open seven days a week.

44 S Main St, New Hope, PA 18938, Phone: 215-862-2452

8. Faulkner House Books

Tucked away in an alley off Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Faulkner House Books is one of the city’s hidden gems. Housed in the former home of famous American novelist and Nobel laureate William Faulkner, the bookstore is considered a national literary landmark and cozy, literary sanctuary with a chandeliers-and-shelves vibe. The charming, independent bookstore sells a good selection of literary fiction ranging from classics to current publications, books about New Orleans and local culture, and rare, signed, and out-of-print books, including classic and limited edition books by Faulkner. It is thought that the bookshop is haunted by the author himself with people claiming to have seen him at his writing desk, which is still in the store.

624 Pirate's Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116, Phone: 504-524-2940