Used Books Stores
A list of the coolest used books shops around.
Most Recent Stores
Spoonbill & Sugartown
Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY United StatesCompeting with superstores and online shops with impossibly large warehouses is useless if you're a small bookseller so Spoonbill & Sugartown did the only thing it could do: focus. Art and design in its many forms (film, photography,...
The Bookworks
Lakeview/Wrigleyville - Chicago, IL United StatesIn the shadow of historic Wrigley Fields, The Bookwooks offers other forms of history. Foremost are tens of thousands of books of the used and often rare variety with a focus on, what else, sports. Also around are bins of vinyl records, used CDs...
Myopic Books
Wicker Park - Chicago, IL United StatesThere's something lovingly old school about how Myopic Books keeps its space. The several floors of used books. The people reading and drinking coffee on the upper floors. The obligatory store cat.
Diesel
Rockridge - Oakland, CA United StatesFor those that are used to independent bookstores of the cramped and cluttered variety, Diesel is a breath of fresh air. The design conscious, fiercely independent bookstore stocks new and used books of all genres and is host to author readings,...
Diesel
Malibu - Malibu, CA United StatesFor those that are used to independent bookstores of the cramped and cluttered variety, Diesel is a breath of fresh air. The design conscious, fiercely independent bookstore stocks new and used books of all genres and is host to author readings, language classes and reading groups.
Modern Times Bookstore
The Mission - San Francisco, CA United StatesBill O'Reilly's head would probably explode upon walking into Modern Times Bookstore and can we all agree that that's a good thing? The decades old bookshop fills it shelves with titles on globalization politics, sexuality and...
Dog Eared Books
The Mission - San Francisco, CA United StatesPhoenix, Dog Eared, and Red Hill Books represent a type of bookstore that's fast fading into extinction. They're big, lively, a bit messy and generally a good place to spend an hour or two. They're consummate hosts to a variety of...
Red Hill Books
Bernal Hill - San Francisco, CA United StatesPhoenix, Dog Eared, and Red Hill Books represent a type of bookstore that's fast fading into extinction. They're big, lively, a bit messy and generally a good place to spend an hour or two. They're consummate hosts to a variety of community reading, music and poetry events. And...
Phoenix Books
Noe Valley - San Francisco, CA United StatesPhoenix, Dog Eared, and Red Hill Books represent a type of bookstore that's fast fading into extinction. They're big, lively, a bit messy and generally a good place to spend an hour or two. They're consummate hosts to a variety of community reading, music and poetry events. And...
Adobe Books
The Mission - San Francisco, CA United StatesWhen a local artist wanted to do an art installation by rearranging all the books in a bookstore by color, Adobe Books agreed and the result was magical. Can you imagine a corporate store ever agreeing to such a thing? The delightful bookstore...
Powell's City of Books
Old Town/Chinatown - Portland, OR United StatesReader Suggested: This is the first place out-of-towners go after getting off the airport. Powell's is said to be the largest bookstore in the US, maybe in the world. It sells both new and used books, so one can find almost everything desired. Browsing is encouraged and they have a nice coffee shop.
Arundel
Mid City/Beverly - Los Angeles, CA United StatesDo you really need a 150,000 square foot mega-bookstore to have something for everybody? Arundel Books proves that you don't. The store stocks new, used and rare books but does so in way as to not artificially bulk up their shelves with any...
Arundel
Downtown - Seattle, WA United StatesDo you really need a 150,000 square foot mega-bookstore to have something for everybody? Arundel Books proves that you don't. The store stocks new, used and rare books but does so in way as to not artificially bulk up their shelves with any...
Housing Works Used Books Cafe
SoHo - New York, NY United StatesA used book store where all the books are donated and the proceeds go to charity, Housing Works Used Books Café is more posh than most for-profit book stores we've seen. Beautifully paneled in rich wood, the store carries thousands upon...
Moe's Books
Telegraph - Berkeley, CA United StatesWhile a grand old piece of history itself, Moe's Books is a great steward of literary history as well. The four-storied bookstore is full of new, used and rare books. The used book section is the draw here. Lose yourself in the 100,000 or...
Black Oak Books
Gourmet Ghetto - Berkeley, CA United StatesIf you go to a bookstore to drink a caramel cinnamon super-moca-fraza-chino-mundo and peruse the magazine section then we just can't recommend Black Oak. It seems that the staff and clientele of Black Oak actually, shudder the thought, like...
Harvard Book Store
Harvard Square - Cambridge, MA United StatesWhen you open a book store across the street from the most heralded institution in American academics, it better be one damn fine shop. Fortunately, Harvard Book Store lives up to its high expectations. The store's high shelves stock a...
Brattle Book Shop
Downtown - Boston, MA United StatesWhat would one of the oldest cities in America be without a nice used bookshop? Brattle Book Shop is not merely a nice shop, it is the oldest in the country, its proprietor Kenneth Glass an authority on antiquated books. Along with three levels...
Second Story Books
Rockville - Rockville, MD United StatesSpecializing in rare and out-of-print titles, Second Story Books does not have that flea market feel of other used bookstores. Here, books past their prime are given their due TLC. Titles are meticulously organized and categorized, while truly rare titles are under lock and key. The store is...
Second Story Books
Bethesda - Bethesda, MD United StatesSpecializing in rare and out-of-print titles, Second Story Books does not have that flea market feel of other used bookstores. Here, books past their prime are given their due TLC. Titles are meticulously organized and categorized, while truly rare titles are under lock and key. The store is...