Chick Chat

Chick Chat: Our Favorite Indie Bookstores

Indie bookstores–how do I love thee? Let me count the ways! No, let me count the stores. What are your top favorite bookstores a) near you and b) that you’ve ever been to?

 

Lisa Q. Mathews

Sadly, I don’t have many indie bookstores near me in NH. I do love Gibson’s in Concord and The Bookery in Manchester and have attended great author events at both. Growing up, I loved The Remarkable Bookshop in Westport, CT (RIP). It had something for everyone–and the building was bright pink! But my dream bookstore wasn’t ever real at all–it was based on Manhattan’s Books of Wonder (RIP, sniff!) and became the set for Meg Ryan’s children’s bookstore in You’ve Got Mail. A former cheese shop on 69th St. was transformed into Little Shop Around the Corner–and many of us children’s book editors in New York were asked to choose our publishers’ titles to stock the shelves. Random House Children’s contribution included Noel Streatfeild’s “Shoe” books (Dancing Shoes, Theater Shoes, etc.). “S-T-R-E-A-T-F-E-I-L-D.”

 Ellen Byron

I love all indie bookstores but since I have to pick a favorite for this post, I’m going with Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans… and Once Upon a Time in Montrose, CA. That’s right, I’m picking two.

Blue Cypress is women-owned and run and couldn’t be a more delightful bookstore. The “About” page on their website says it’s been “offering a curated selection of new and secondhand books in a warm and welcoming space on Oak Street since 2008,” and I can testify that this is a hundred percent true. In addition to their wonderful book selection, they have an extremely “warm and welcoming” event space on the second floor. They also sell a fun selection of gifts. I was paying the rest room a visit prior to an event when I spotted a mug that read “Bury me above ground in New Orleans” on a storage shelf. It came home with me.

Once Upon a Time is the oldest children’s bookstore in the country, but it also sells mysteries. It’s utterly charming and it doesn’t hurt that it’s within walking distance to two craft ice cream shops!

Marla Cooper


We have an embarrassment of riches here in Central Texas. I adore Vintage Bookstore & Wine Bar in its cute little historic building with lots of nooks and crannies, and of course, wine. (Also probably haunted. Nothing specific, just a vibe.) Not as homey but still amazing is Book People, which is Texas’ largest book retailer and also just really cool. I used to work right next door and wow, was that fun! Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess, opened a wonderful indie book store in San Antonio called Nowhere Bookshop. And of course, in Houston we have one of the last remaining mystery bookstores, Murder by the Book. Come visit me and I’ll take you on a tour!

Cynthia Kuhn

There are some very charming independent bookstores in Colorado; special shout-outs to Books are Awesome in Parker, Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, and Boulder Bookstore, which are absolutely wonderful! But when we first moved to Denver, I fell in love with Tattered Cover, which was one of the largest independent bookstores in the country for decades. Spent hours wandering the aisles searching for treasures and going to see the many authors who visited there. The gorgeous Cherry Creek location felt both literary and magical, and the newer locations have all preserved a piece of that sparkle. Every visit fueled dreams of one day writing my own book (impossible as it seemed!). Years later, the first time I was on an author panel at Tattered Cover was completely surreal and joyful. Here’s a secret: I named the setting of the fourth Lila Maclean Mystery “Tattered Star Ranch” in homage! 

Leslie Karst

Here’s to indie bookstores–hurrah! I have three in particular that I’d love to shout out, as not only have they provided my communities with books, books, books (not to mention games, toys, postcards, and fun local oddities), but they’ve been kind enough to host me when my new books are released:

Bookshop Santa Cruz in–you guessed it–Santa Cruz, California, which famously transformed itself temporarily into BookTent Santa Cruz after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which destroyed the store.

Basically Books in Hilo, Hawai’i, which, as the name suggests, sells a variety of items besides books ,such as an amazing selection of maps, games, and toys. But their selection of books on Hawaiiana and Hawaiian culture history and by local Hawaiian authors in truly amazing.

And finally, Kona Stories, in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, which hosts their marvelous Words and Wine event each month with local and out-of-state authors coming to talk about their new releases.

Thanks so much to you all, and to all the folks who keep our independent bookstore culture alive and flourishing!

Jennifer Chow

I love all indie bookstores but have a special place in my heart for SoCal ones devoted to mysteries: Book Carnival (Orange) and Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego). Also, I enjoy quaint bookshops, those with unique and bookish vibes. Examples of these include: Mam’s Books (Seattle) with its Asian treats and displayed typewriter, Shakespeare and Co (Paris) along with its Antiquarian Books branch with The Bard references, and The English Bookshop (Stockholm) with its reading nook of comfy armchair and packaged tea.

Patricia Sargeant

So many of my favorite indie bookstores have closed. Heart breaking events. Thankfully, one of my all-time favorite indie bookstores, New & Olde Pages Bookshoppe in Englewood, Ohio, outside of Dayton is still open and thriving. I love that bookstore so much. It’s like a giant living room. The owner, Maryanne, is a love! She’s very community focused. She hand sells books, hosts a book club, and organizes tons of reader/author events. I don’t know where she finds the energy. She’s been inviting me to her events since my first book hit the shelves, which means we’ve known each other for decades.

Readers: what do you think?

32 thoughts on “Chick Chat: Our Favorite Indie Bookstores”

  2. I’m sad to say that I haven’t found the indie bookstores in the Raleigh area very helpful to me as a local author. Many absolutely hate Amazon and will have nothing to do with someone who publishes with them. Others are very specialized and uninterested in my crime fiction. I hope one day to find one I can click with.

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  3. Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA will always have a special place in my heart. And it’s women-owned now!

    Rebellion Books in Bedford, PA is cute. Not specifically mystery, but cute. They seemed to have a good selection when I was in there.

    Neither of these are particularly close to me – 45-50 minutes – but I’m more likely to be in the Oakmont area visiting my kids than Bedford.

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  4. Oh my, a favorite subject of mine! I have been blessed to live where I could explore and spend so many blissful hours. Tattered Cover in Denver (Cynthia, I helped move books by cart when they moved from their original shop in Cherry Creek to their second shop, before the move to the big store there.) Here in the Phoenix area we are lucky to have not just the one and only amazing Poison Pen in Scottsdale, but we also have Changing Hands in both Tempe and Phoenix. The Phoenix store is also home to First Draft Book Bar, yes, beer, wine, pastries all available inhouse. Prescott is home to Peregrine Books. So many lovely places to wander and dream!

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      1. So many Sunday afternoons happily ensconced in one of those cozy armchairs hidden back in the stacks! That was my favorite of their locations!

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  5. Sweet Reads in Austin, MN! They recently celebrated their 10th anniversary. The owner is awesome and she’s always got so many cool events planned for local authors, artists, and readers.

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  6. I can attest to the generosity and warmth of the gals at the Blue Cypress bookstore in NOLA, as they were kind enough to host Ellen and me for a book talk last year after Bouchercon–what a marvelous store it is!

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  7. Thanks for the chance to give a shout-out to the indies!

    Three of my local Minnesota favorites: Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis, Lake Country Bookstore in White Bear Lake (my home town), and Valley Bookseller in Stillwater (my Mom’s very favorite place!).

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  9. We had an indie bookstore in Cheyenne, Wyoming for almost two years but Bonsai Books closed a few months ago and broke my heart. BUT I have no regrets because I promoted the hell out of that bookstore–held a book group there, hosted several author readings (recruiting the authors myself), ordered books galore from them, and for two years it was my coffee-with-friends spot exclusively.

    I tried and that’s what we can do. I’m hoping, hoping, hoping that some other intrepid entrepreneur and book person will open an indie here soon–we’re a growing community, come on!

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  10. I loved hearing about all these great indie bookstores! Cynthia, I have fond memories of the Tattered Cover from the early 80s, when we newbie publishing folk were given a “tour” there for a Publishing Institute program. I guess that would have been the former location, ha.

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