If you are a reader, and you love bookstores, BookRiot has a blog post for you. This post lists the best bookstores in all fifty states in the U.S. (plus the District of Columbia). The list is based on a number of criteria as evaluated by BookRiot subscribers.
How knowledgeable are the booksellers? What’s the selection like? Are there great events? Is the bookstore part of the community? These are the things that matter to indie bookstore shoppers, and algorithms just miss some of that nuance. And really, there is no “best” bookstore, a quantitative term for a subjective feeling.
I asked Rioters from across the country to tell me their favorite bookstores in every state (plus Washington, DC!) and why they love it so much. I limited it to three bookstores in each state, except for California, which got four, and New York, which got an extra spot for a non-NYC shop, and Illinois, which got an extra non-Chicago shop. Where there isn’t Rioter’s name listed, I did a little crowdsourcing from my bookish community. I know you’ll have opinions on what made the list and what didn’t, so tell us in the comments which stores are your favorites.
Find your State(s) and check out the bookstores!
