The 10 best independent bookstores in Chicago

Find the first of our Chicago best bookstores in Lakeside’s shopping district, a long-standing institution providing shoppers with top local authors and LGBTQ publications since the 1980s. This is Unabridged Bookstore, found on the ground floor of a red-brick tenement appealing to passers-by with its charming bay window façade framed by a pink fire escape. As well as being one of the oldest surviving bookstores in Chicago, Unabridged Bookstore is also one of its only gay bookstores, serving as a community outpost with knowledgeable staff and a purist attitude. Don’t expect to get a coffee on site but do expect a well-stocked selection of obscure queer literature beside more general titles adorned with handwritten yellow Post-It notes to signal staff approval.

Just off of Hyde Park and hidden away down a sunken entryway, 57^th Street Books is one to look twice for. What’s special about the store here is that it’s owned by customers, as part of Chicago’s Seminary Co-op, and therefore protected from the worst of the e-reader’s high street takeover. Anyone can join the co-op, and, in so doing, can become business partners with the likes of Susan Sontag and Barack Obama. Just one of two independent bookstores on the South Side (the other being the main branch of the Seminary Co-op), 57^th Street Books provides a general interest focus in an otherwise academic-minded community, holding a huge range of indie titles spread throughout its warehouse-size store that’ll hold you engrossed for hours.

The best-named bookstore in Chicago hands down is Armadillo’s Pillow in the Roger’s Park neighbourhood. More than its name however is its affordable collection of quirky titles and its boho vibe bought forth by burning incense and crystal jewellery concessions. Ask the helpful staff for recommendations or simply roam your eyes over the various titles and wild décor, losing yourself in the weird and wonderful world at the heart of Chicago’s second-hand literature scene.

The heart-warming counterpart to Amazon’s cold economic model must be Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, a family-owned treasure at the historic centre of Printer’s Row, the city’s old publishing hub at its height in the early 1900s. Far from being outdated, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore brings working heritage to the area, in an original building formerly used as a printing press. Though most of the area’s printing companies are long gone, Sandmeyer’s Bookstore serves as a nod to the area’s past, operating since the 1980s. Though not much to look at from the outside, Sandmeyer’s outdoes itself with its fantastic collection and cosy atmosphere. Come in June for the Printer’s Row Lit Fest, the Midwest’s largest book fair which creates much cultural kudos in the area.

If a cup of coffee with your literature is a must, Volumes Bookcafe is the one for you.  Owned by two book-loving sisters, Volumes Bookcafe is organised to perfection in a bright and cheery space on the edge of Wicker Park. Though not the only bookseller in the area, Volumes wins out for its well-stocked café serving up everything from craft beer to Dollop Pastries (and of course a mean espresso), alongside a large collection of literature spanning several niches. A fun space for international kids, thanks to its bilingual story time held twice weekly, Volumes also provides interest for adults with its open mic night, weekly trivia and Scrabble league.

A well-curated gem in Ravenswood tucked out of sight in an unassuming location off of Lincoln Square, is The Book Cellar. A bookstore, café and eatery, The Book Cellar is certainly more than meets the eye, independently run and staffed with smiling people who know what they’re talking about! Those wishing to get in on the literary discussion with the local community can come along to any of the book club events and reading parties, or simply come for a sandwich and glass of wine in the late afternoon, sticking around until the authors, slam poets or stand-up comedians show up (dependant on the schedule!).

Lastly, don’t leave Chicago without a browse across the three-levels of Myopic Books, a huge (and hugely popular) bookstore in the centre of Wicker Park. Check your emails and pee before leaving home because Myopic has neither a bathroom nor WiFi. In fact, there’s a total no-cell-phone policy at Myopic books, making it a mecca for literary purists who come to search the impressive collection of general fiction, sci-fi and history titles without a Whatsapp alert in earshot. If in doubt, ask the staff for a recommendation, staying late on Monday night to sample the more experimental side of Chicago’s music and poetry scene.

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