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Located in Wicker Park, Myopic Books is one of the oldest, and largest, used bookstores in Chicago. The store carries fiction, art, architecture, music, film, philosophy, science, religion, psychology, literary criticism, mythology, children’s, cooking, sci-fi, biography, and local history/interest. Myopic Books also buys books on Fridays and Saturdays.
After-words is an independent bookstore in downtown Chicago with over fifty-five thousand new and used books. The bookstore sells a variety of fiction, literature, poetry, and children’s books. After-words also buys books from customers, offering cash or store credit, and accepts donations.
The Abraham Lincoln Book Shop was established in 1938 and specializes in “Lincolniana,” as well as material related to the Civil War and U.S. presidents. This shop “serves the needs of collectors and scholars, professional historians and independent writers, dedicated first edition hunters, and casual history enthusiasts.” Along with rare historical collectibles, the shop has a wide selection of affordably priced standard works.
Quimby’s is an independent bookstore specializing in “unusual publications, aberrant periodicals, saucy comic booklets, and assorted fancies.” The store sells independently-published material and provides space for writers to hold events and congregate.
Since its first location on Wells Street in the early 1960s, Barbara’s Bookstore has opened stores across Chicago: large neighborhood stores called “Barbara’s Bookstore,” and smaller niche stores called “Barbara’s Bestsellers.” The store is known for selling fiction, nonfiction, young adult fiction, and best-sellers, and has been named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the one hundred best things about Chicago.
Since 1982, the family-owned Sandmeyer’s Bookstore has been selling new books in Chicago’s South Loop. The shop carries new releases, travel guides, and children’s books.
The Last Bookstore opened in 2005 in a loft in downtown Los Angeles. It is now the largest independent bookstore in California, with over 250,000 new and used books. A record shop and coffee bar fill out the ground floor and their calendar has many music and literary events.
This bookstore in Echo Park sells new, used, and rare books in various genres, including fiction, history, and LA Arcana. A host to readings and events, their cafe offers locally sourced baked goods and organic coffee.
Small World Books is an independent bookstore located on the Venice boardwalk. The store carries a wide selection of titles published by both major and small presses. The staff is helpful and well-read, aided by the friendly cat “Conan the librarian.”
SideShow Rare & Remarkable Books was opened in 2010 by Tony Jacobs, and carries used and rare books, magazines, and original art. This off-the-beaten-path bookshop specializes in pulp fiction, crime, art, photography, cinema, music, beat, underground, surfing, esoterica, erotica, international, and collectible children’s books. The bookstore is overflowing with abundance, mountains of books everywhere and always treasures hidden in the piles.
