Negative Space: bookstores
- Bay Leaf Books in Newaygo is closing
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Due to health issues, Bay Leaf Books in Newaygo will close in early 2017.
- Benson, Arizona: Mary Ann’s Mostly Books
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Set up in an old storefront, the place is very disorganized but worth browsing through—especially if you need a break from driving I-10.
- The bookstores less traveled
- These aren’t the bookstores people travel across the country to visit. But if you’re already traveling across the country, you’ll want to take advantage of the opportunity to visit them.
- Buffalo, Texas: The Horse’s Mouth on Highway 79
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This tiny little bookshop and coffeehouse is worth stopping at if you’re on Highway 79 and need a browse, a coffee, or a shake.
- Champaign, Illinois: Orphans Treasure Box
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In what looks like a warehouse district in Champaign, Orphans Treasure Box sells inexpensive used books “to support orphans, foster children, and families”.
- Chatham, New York: Librarium
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In East Chatham, there is a back road that turns right to connect you to a small highway. Next to that road is a sign advertising a bookstore. You should visit that bookstore.
- Chicago: Bookman’s Corner
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You should probably wear a hard hat in this store. It is filled with towering piles of books.
- Denver: Capitol Hill Books and Kilgore Books
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Among bibliophiles, Denver is known for Tattered Cover. But that’s not the only, nor necessarily even the best, place to go for books. I’ve purchased far more, and far more interesting, books at some of the smaller bookstores in the area.
- Fifth Avenue Books closing
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It looks like Fifth Avenue Books in San Diego is about to close for good.
- Georgetown, Texas: Second-Hand Prose
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The Georgetown public library book nook is possibly the best library bookstore I’ve been to.
- An I-35 book drive
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If you’re looking for a day trip to get you out of the house now that spring is here, why not drive up (or down) I-35 and visit some small bookstores between Round Rock and Waco?
- Las Cruces, New Mexico: Coas Books
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Coas Books is a chain of two bookstores in Las Cruces, and well worth the visit.
- New Orleans: Beckham’s Bookshop
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Beckham’s Bookshop is a musty must-stop if you’re in the French Quarter.
- Newaygo, Michigan: Bay Leaf Books
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If you’re passing near Newaygo Michigan, don’t miss this bookstore hidden among the antique stores and art stores of little Newaygo.
- Palestine, Texas: The Palestine Public Library
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The Palestine Public Library opens their booksale room about once a month. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth a look.
- Pryor Oklahoma: The Book Exchange on Highway 69
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Hidden just one block off of Highway 69 in Pryor, Oklahoma, you really have no reason to skip a visit to this small but packed bookstore.
- Round Rock, Texas: The Round Rock Public Library
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The Round Rock Public Library’s Book Nook doesn’t have many books, but what it has is quality.
- San Diego, California: Footnote Books
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A crowded, tiny bookstore off the edge of Hillcrest in San Diego, this is a very good bookstore with very little space.
- San Diego: 5th Avenue Books and Bluestocking Books
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Facing each other across Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, these two great bookstores complement each other well.
- Seattle, Washington: Ophelia’s Books
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Right next to the Fremont Avenue bridge, this very cramped bookstore has a nice collection of used and children’s books.
- Seattle, Washington: Twice Sold Tales
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If you’re in Denver and you’re a science fiction/fantasy fan, you really owe it to yourself to stop into Twice Sold Tales.
- St. Louis: Dunaway Books
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St. Louis has some great bookstores, and Dunaway Books is one of the better.
- St. Louis: Patten Books
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Patten Books is an unassuming storefront on Manchester; you might pass it while going to the mall or heading home from the office. Don’t.
- Sydney, Nova Scotia: Ed’s Books and More
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Ed’s is a great used bookstore in Sydney, very close to the water.
- The Thrifty Peanut in Shreveport
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A great little bookstore in Shreveport off of I-20, and a great place to relax in the middle of a long road trip.
- Tucson, Arizona: The Book Stop
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If you’re driving down I-10 and feel like looking at books, you could find a worse place than The Book Stop.
More Information
- The Thrifty Peanut
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“We've combined our passion for books with 9+ years of experience to bring you the big book store feel without the big book store prices.”
- Visit Second-Hand Prose
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“Volunteers work at the store from one hour after the Library opens until one hour prior to the Library closing, each day. For those two hours each day when we are not staffed, purchases may be paid for at the Reference Desk right outside the entrance to Second-Hand Prose.”
