Worth the pilgrimage

Independent bookshop in Algiers, Algeria

An Algiers bookshop on Place Emir Abdelkader.

Independent bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina

A 1919 theatre turned bookshop, with a cafe on the old stage behind red curtains.

Independent bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina

A Palermo bookshop in a classical house with a courtyard restaurant.

Antiquarian in Buenos Aires, Argentina · since 1975

Founded in 1975 and declared part of the city's heritage, this antiquarian shop specialises in first editions of Argentine, Latin American and Spanish writers, along with fine bindings, manuscripts, maps and engravings. Borges spent his last afternoon in Buenos Aires here, at an exhibition of his own first editions.

Antiquarian in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Books have been sold on this Monserrat corner since 1785, making it the city's oldest bookshop site. Inside is a maze of shelves running from Argentine history and tango to classics and rare finds, with a literary bar in the basement.

Independent bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina

A Palermo bookshop with dark shelving and a book-filled loft cafe.

Secondhand in Buenos Aires, Argentina · since 2006

A snug San Telmo shop opened in 2006 by an Argentine-American couple, devoted to books in English, classic and contemporary, used and new. A welcome stop for travellers and long-stayers who need their next novel.

New & secondhand in Adelaide, Australia

Adelaide's largest independent at more than 700 square metres.

Independent bookshop in Adelaide, Australia

A shop in the historic Adelaide Arcade.

New & secondhand in Berrima, Australia

A Southern Highlands book barn with a fireplace and a rare-book department.

New & secondhand in Brisbane, Australia

Over a million rare, secondhand and antiquarian books stacked floor to ceiling.

Independent bookshop in Brisbane, Australia · since 1997

A West End bookshop with a cafe and garden events.

New & secondhand in Campbell Town, Australia

A Tasmanian bookshop in the convict-built cellar of an 1830s coaching inn.

Independent bookshop in Fremantle, Australia

A Fremantle bookshop in a heritage-listed building.

Independent bookshop in Hobart, Australia

A Hobart shop pairing books with wine.

Secondhand in Melbourne, Australia · since 2004

A neighbourhood secondhand shop on a quiet Fitzroy North shopping strip, trading since 2004 in good-condition reading copies with a lean toward literary fiction and thoughtful non-fiction. Open at weekends, and the kind of place regulars check every visit.

Independent bookshop in Melbourne, Australia

A Sydney Road independent opened in 2007, with a strong local-writing section.

Secondhand in Melbourne, Australia

Down a flight of stairs off Flinders Street, a short walk from the station, this long-standing basement shop is a maze of floor-to-ceiling shelves and neat stacks. It keeps no single specialty, which is the point: out-of-print oddities, older hardbacks and everyday paperbacks all turn up in the same aisle.

Independent bookshop in Melbourne, Australia

An iconic queer bookshop and performance space, trading for more than thirty years.

Independent bookshop in Melbourne, Australia

Opened in 1922, Melbourne's oldest bookshop, behind a red-painted facade on Bourke Street.

Antiquarian in Melbourne, Australia

A book-lined Gothic-revival shopfront in the Assembly Hall building on Collins Street, trading in antiquarian books, Australiana and fine bindings.

Independent bookshop in Melbourne, Australia

An upstairs Melbourne shop for art, architecture and design.

Independent bookshop in Melbourne, Australia

A compact late-night Bourke Street institution since 1969.

Independent bookshop in Perth, Australia

A whitewashed Victoria Park shop with a brown leather browsing couch.

Independent bookshop in South Canberra, Australia

A Manuka independent since 1982 with a busy author calendar.

Independent bookshop in Stirling, Australia

An Adelaide Hills shop since 1982 known for championing local titles.

Independent bookshop in Sydney, Australia

A Sydney CBD independent trading since 1968.

Secondhand in Sydney, Australia

About 30,000 pre-loved books over three storeys of a Paddington terrace.

Antiquarian in Sydney, Australia

A branch of a bookselling family with Dutch roots going back generations, spread over three storeys of new, rare and secondhand books, with a café inside.

Independent bookshop in Sydney, Australia

A Newtown favourite since 1996 with turquoise shelves.

Secondhand in Sydney, Australia

A Newtown secondhand shop founded in 1973, credited with inventing 'Blind Date with a Book'.

Secondhand in Sydney, Australia

Named for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, this Bondi café-bookshop began with the owners' own hoard of secondhand books and moved into an old surf shop a block from the beach. Walls of used and new books surround the tables, and lingering over a coffee with something from the shelves is encouraged.

Secondhand in Sydney, Australia · since 1967

A famously overstocked Newtown shop of secondhand and out-of-print books, founded in 1967 and still family run. Its collection on the labour movement and progressive politics is unmatched, and the shelves of Australian history reward anyone with time to dig.

Independent bookshop in Sydney, Australia

An award-winning small independent in Elizabeth Bay.

Secondhand in Sydney, Australia

A rambling 1880s building on Glebe Point Road holding tens of thousands of secondhand books, with a courtyard café by day and a wine bar by night. The Australian fiction shelves are deep, the history and politics generous, and poetry nights and live music fill the courtyard.

Independent bookshop in Antwerp, Belgium

An Antwerp independent of alternative books and magazines.

Secondhand in Antwerp, Belgium

A secondhand bookshop near Hendrik Conscienceplein.

Independent bookshop in Brussels, Belgium

A bookshop-restaurant spread across themed rooms with a terrace.

Independent bookshop in Brussels, Belgium · since 2025

A huge Brussels bookshop with a vast French selection and books in several other languages.

New & secondhand in Brussels, Belgium · since 1992

An Ixelles secondhand bookshop of more than twenty thousand titles in French and English, with German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Greek and Russian books on the shelves too. A calm, well-ordered shop and a good counterweight to the bustle of the city centre.

Secondhand in Brussels, Belgium · since 1939

A vast secondhand emporium of books, bandes dessinées, records and more, well known to Brussels bargain hunters. Organised enough to search, chaotic enough to surprise.

Independent bookshop in Ghent, Belgium

A Ghent bookshop for close to forty years with frequent author visits.

Secondhand in Redu, Belgium

A general secondhand shop on the main street of Redu, the Ardennes village that became Belgium's book village in 1984. Start here, then walk on to the dozen or so other bookshops, binders and craft workshops within a few minutes of each other.

Independent bookshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

An underground Rio bookshop since 1952 with hundreds of events a year.

Independent bookshop in São Paulo, Brazil

A São Paulo bookshop with pivoting bookcase facades.

New & secondhand in Dartmouth, Canada

A vast maze of used and rare books in Halifax.

Independent bookshop in Montreal, Canada

The Mile End shop of the comics publisher, opened in 2007.

Antiquarian in Montreal, Canada · since 2004

A Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood favourite since 2004, part bookshop and part record shop, with used fiction, non-fiction, comics and children's books upstairs from a deep crate of vinyl.

Secondhand in Montreal, Canada · since 1975

A tiny secondhand shop in a nineteenth-century brick house steps from McGill, open since 1975. The founders started it in their own apartment; today its shelves are curated for serious readers of literature, philosophy and poetry, and it still pays in cash and keeps its old-fashioned charm.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A Black-owned Annex shop for literature of the Global South and the African and Caribbean diaspora.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A Roncesvalles shop focused on equity, diversity and social justice since 1987.

Secondhand in Toronto, Canada

A multi-level Annex shop of used and remaindered books, popular with students and good for art books and fiction at modest prices.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A science-fiction and fantasy specialist, among the oldest of its kind.

Antiquarian in Toronto, Canada

A College Street fixture bursting at the seams with used and antiquarian books, especially art, photography, design, cooking and fiction, with plenty of rare and unusual hardcovers. Creaking hardwood floors and hidden corners make it easy to lose an hour.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A financial-district independent opened in 2007.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A bookshop, publisher and writing school since 2015.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

The oldest surviving LGBTQ bookshop in the world, open since 1970.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A two-storey children's bookshop since 1988.

Antiquarian in Toronto, Canada · since 2006

Every book here is chosen to be beautiful, arcane, macabre or absurd, so a browse feels like opening a cabinet of curiosities. The shop is also home to the Biblio-Mat, a vending machine that dispenses a random vintage volume for a token.

Independent bookshop in Toronto, Canada

A literary shop with a 'plotless fiction' section.

Antiquarian in Vancouver, Canada

A legendary, precariously stacked used and antiquarian shop in an old downtown bank, where towers of books rise from the floor and ladders reach the high shelves. A rare book room across the street opens on request.

New & secondhand in Vancouver, Canada

Renowned for rare books and pulp paperbacks.

New & secondhand in Vancouver, Canada

A playful mix of new releases and rare secondhand titles.

Independent bookshop in Victoria, Canada

Founded by Jim and Alice Munro in 1963, in a neoclassical former bank.

New & secondhand in Victoria, Canada

One of Canada's largest used bookstores, family-run.

Independent bookshop in Winnipeg, Canada

A prairie independent with a restaurant and big events programme.

Independent bookshop in Santiago, Chile

A polished-wood shop with a central staircase.

Independent bookshop in Shanghai, China

A bookshop in a European-style villa with greenery and paned windows.

New & secondhand in Bogota, Colombia

A La Macarena shop of independent publishers and Latin American literature.

Independent bookshop in Bogota, Colombia

A double-height shop of nearly 65,000 titles.

Independent bookshop in Bogota, Colombia

Three floors in a 1943 building with reading nooks and a coffee shop.

Antiquarian in Prague, Czechia

An atmospheric antiquarian bookshop in a cellar.

Antiquarian in Prague, Czechia

A secondhand shop with cheap boxes of books outside.

Antiquarian in Prague, Czechia

An antiquarian bookshop and gallery in the Old Town, near Bethlehem Chapel, dealing in rare books, prints and drawings from the fifteenth century onwards. It is especially strong on the Czech avant-garde and architecture, and it publishes its own books too.

Secondhand in Prague, Czechia

A Malá Strana bookshop of new and used English-language books close to Charles Bridge, with a cellar room downstairs where French, German and other foreign-language titles wait among the secondhand stock.

New & secondhand in Prague, Czechia

Prague's English-language bookshop and cafe, mixing new and used books over two floors.

Independent bookshop in Copenhagen, Denmark

A Hellerup English-language bookshop with an excellent coffee bar.

Independent bookshop in Copenhagen, Denmark

An architecture and design book showroom.

Secondhand in Copenhagen, Denmark

A café built around a bookshop in the Latin Quarter, where the walls of secondhand books are part of the room. Students linger over coffee under the shelves, and it is easy to leave with a book you did not come in for.

Independent bookshop in Copenhagen, Denmark

Calls itself Copenhagen's friendliest bookshop, chosen for social relevance.

Independent bookshop in Giza, Egypt

A Maadi bookshop and cultural hub run by publisher Karam Youssef.

Independent bookshop in Tallinn, Estonia

An affordable bookshop with a 5,000-book installation.

Independent bookshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

One of the oldest bookshops in Addis, in the Piazza district, strong on Ethiopia.

Antiquarian in Montolieu, France

An antiquarian bookshop in Montolieu, the hilltop village near Carcassonne that has made itself France's village of books. Old and modern French literature, illustrated books, manuscripts, maps and engravings fill the shelves, with books in several other European languages, and there are guest rooms for those who want to stay.

Independent bookshop in Nantes, France

A large Nantes independent stocking more than 60,000 books.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

A Marais bookshop-gallery known for art books, independent magazines and exhibitions.

Secondhand in Paris, France

A secondhand art and architecture bookshop reached down a spiral staircase.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

A small shop for contemporary art and theory with intimate author events.

New & secondhand in Paris, France

Selling books beside the Comédie-Française since the early eighteenth century, among the oldest bookshops in Paris.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France · since 1801

Founded in 1801, billed as the first English-language bookshop on the Continent, now on the rue de Rivoli.

Secondhand in Paris, France · since 1886

A multi-storey Latin Quarter bookseller where secondhand copies, marked with yellow stickers, sit alongside new ones. The go-to for students buying set texts and selling them back.

Secondhand in Paris, France · since 1988

A two-level secondhand shop near Châtelet that has kept its prices low since 1988. Paperbacks cost a few euros, art books not much more, and the bandes dessinées, records and films make it a favourite with students and collectors alike.

Secondhand in Paris, France

The green-box booksellers along the Seine, a tradition going back centuries and recognised as part of the city's heritage. Opening depends on the seller and the weather; stock ranges from old livres de poche to engravings.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

A specialist in food and wine writing, open since 1985.

Antiquarian in Paris, France

An old bookshop under the glass roof of the 1826 Galerie Vivienne.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

A specialist in books on the Arab world and the Middle East.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

A feminist bookshop founded in 1974, devoted to literature by women.

Secondhand in Paris, France · since 1997

A red-fronted shop near the Odéon selling used English-language books on almost every subject, from paperback fiction and cookery to theatre, cinema and the occasional signed first edition. A quieter alternative to the Left Bank's more famous names.

Secondhand in Paris, France · since 1951

The English-language bookshop facing Notre-Dame, heir to Sylvia Beach's legendary original. New and secondhand books fill crooked rooms upstairs and down, writers have long slept among the shelves, and there is a café next door.

Secondhand in Paris, France · since 1989

A Canadian-run, English-language secondhand shop in the Latin Quarter, stacked so densely that customers are sometimes guided to the right pile. Famous for offering visitors a coffee.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

An Anglophone independent near the Luxembourg Gardens.

Independent bookshop in Paris, France

A Marais bookshop from the gallerist Yvon Lambert, covering art from conceptual work to photography.

Secondhand in Versailles, France

An antiques shop whose rooms are filled with secondhand books.

Secondhand in Berlin, Germany

A Kreuzberg institution for English-language secondhand books, which also works as a lending library: buy a book, return it, and get most of your money back. Doubles as a social club.

Antiquarian in Berlin, Germany

A large Charlottenburg antiquariat specialising in German literature in first edition, collected works and bibliophile illustrated books, with deep shelves of history and the humanities. Baedekers and Insel-Bücherei volumes are among its collecting sidelines. Afternoon opening on weekdays.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

Art, photography and architecture books in the arches of the S-Bahn viaduct at Savignyplatz.

New & secondhand in Berlin, Germany

A Tempelhof shop of new and used English books with quiz and poetry nights.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

Billed as Germany's first theatre bookshop, from children's theatre to opera.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

A Charlottenburg literary bookshop open since 1929, with a good English selection.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

Berlin's comics and graphic-novel shop since 1991.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

A Mitte bookshop for art, design, architecture and urbanism, strong on small publications.

Antiquarian in Berlin, Germany

An antiquarian specialist in labour-movement and socialist literature.

New & secondhand in Berlin, Germany · since 2003

A calm Prenzlauer Berg shop of English-language books, most of them secondhand, with sofas for reading and well-kept fiction shelves.

New & secondhand in Berlin, Germany

An English and French bookshop with bagels and coffee.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

A Kreuzberg bookshop stocking only women and queer authors.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

A French-language bookshop in Mitte with readings and talks.

Independent bookshop in Berlin, Germany

A magazine and design bookshop covering fashion, photography and political theory.

Independent bookshop in Athens, Greece

An Exarchia publisher-bookshop translating modern Greek classics into other languages.

Independent bookshop in Athens, Greece

A curated multilingual bookshop with an emphasis on literature and humanities.

Independent bookshop in Athens, Greece

A large Athens bookshop beloved by locals.

Secondhand in Firostefani, Greece · since 2004

Founded in a cave-house in Oia by friends who fell for the island, Atlantis Books now lives in a brighter home in Firostefani, right on the clifftop path between Fira and Oia. The handwritten shelf notes, reading nooks and mix of new and used books in several languages all made the move.

Independent bookshop in Nuuk, Greenland

Greenland's bookstore in Nuuk.

Secondhand in Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Up a flight of stairs in Sheung Wan, Flow is one of the few secondhand bookshops in Hong Kong, a quiet room of thousands of used books, mostly in English, where readers trade in what they have finished and leave with something new.

Independent bookshop in Hong Kong, Hong Kong

A film-loving bookshop-cafe in Yau Ma Tei named after Stanley Kubrick.

Antiquarian in Budapest, Hungary

A haven of secondhand books near Madách tér since 1996.

Secondhand in Budapest, Hungary

A hidden Castle District shop specialising in English editions.

Antiquarian in Budapest, Hungary

A haunt of local intellectuals, good for rare printed works.

Antiquarian in Budapest, Hungary · since 1891

Founded in 1891, Hungary's largest antiquarian bookshop.

Secondhand in Budapest, Hungary

A book café in Budapest's old Jewish quarter with secondhand and new English-language books, strong on politics, gender studies and Jewish studies. Mismatched furniture fills the front rooms, and a back garden shaded by fig trees is the place to read from spring into autumn.

Independent bookshop in Reykjavik, Iceland · since 2009

A wood-panelled bookshop-cafe for Icelandic and Nordic culture.

Secondhand in Bengaluru, India

A Church Street shop of several lakh mostly secondhand books, since 2002.

Independent bookshop in Bengaluru, India

A woman-led bookshop, library and cafe in a Vasanth Nagar bungalow.

Independent bookshop in Bengaluru, India

A Bengaluru bookseller famous for its huge flagship store.

Secondhand in Bengaluru, India · since 1945

An eighty-year-old antiquarian and secondhand bookshop off Brigade Road.

Independent bookshop in Delhi, India

A left-wing bookshop and cafe launched on May Day 2012.

Independent bookshop in Gangtok, India

A bookshop-cafe and bed and breakfast in Sikkim since 1979.

Independent bookshop in Mumbai, India

Opened in 2010 inside a 150-year-old Fort building with Corinthian columns, stocking English and Indian-language books.

Independent bookshop in New Delhi, India

A Khan Market heritage bookshop with floor-to-ceiling stacks since 1948.

Independent bookshop in New Delhi, India

A family-run bookshop since 1978, now in its third generation.

Antiquarian in Athlone, Ireland

An Athlone shop for antiquarian and rare books since 1997.

Independent bookshop in Bantry, Ireland

A West Cork town bookshop.

Secondhand in Boyle, Ireland

Billed as Ireland's smallest bookshop.

Independent bookshop in Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland

A Leitrim bookshop with an events calendar, open since 2006.

Independent bookshop in Clifden, Ireland

An award-winning independent in Connemara.

New & secondhand in Cork, Ireland

Two decades of new and secondhand books in Cork city.

Independent bookshop in Dingle, Ireland

A small, well-curated shop on the Dingle Peninsula.

Secondhand in Dublin, Ireland · since 1978

A long-standing independent near Trinity College, mixing new titles with a secondhand floor. Its poetry and Irish writing shelves are among the city's best.

New & secondhand in Dublin, Ireland

Founded in 1983, Ireland's largest independent bookshop over two floors of new and used books.

Antiquarian in Dublin, Ireland · since 1983

A tiny shop inside the Victorian George's Street Arcade, stacked floor to ceiling with secondhand and antiquarian books. Irish history and literature, philosophy and military history are the strengths, and the owner is usually on hand to steer you towards the right pile.

Independent bookshop in Dublin, Ireland

A Ranelagh shop repeatedly shortlisted as Ireland's best independent.

Independent bookshop in Dublin, Ireland

Opened in Temple Bar in 2009, during the downturn, with a second shop in Dalkey.

Secondhand in Dublin, Ireland

Down a passageway off Wicklow Street, a short walk from Grafton Street, this shop buys, sells and swaps books on philosophy, poetry, history, film and Irish interest. Freebird Records shares the space, so the browse comes with a soundtrack of secondhand vinyl.

New & secondhand in Dublin, Ireland

A riverside shop across from the Ha'penny Bridge, with a restaurant upstairs.

Antiquarian in Dublin, Ireland · since 1969

An antiquarian dealer off Grafton Street specialising in Irish literature, with Joyce, Yeats, Beckett and their contemporaries in first edition. A short walk from the pub Bloom visits in Ulysses.

New & secondhand in Ennis, Ireland

A shop of new, preloved and rare books that also runs a theatre company.

Secondhand in Galway, Ireland · since 1989

A sprawling, much-loved Galway shop of secondhand, remaindered and new books, with room leading onto room. A fixture of the city's literary life.

New & secondhand in Galway, Ireland

Family-run since 1940 and an early pioneer of selling books online.

Independent bookshop in Limerick, Ireland

A Limerick bookseller founded in 1902.

Independent bookshop in Listowel, Ireland

A bookshop in the Kerry literary town of Listowel.

Secondhand in Skibbereen, Ireland

A West Cork shop of rare and out-of-print books.

Independent bookshop in Sligo, Ireland

A family bookshop and hub for local artists.

Independent bookshop in Waterford, Ireland

Four floors in a converted cinema, trading since 1971.

New & secondhand in Wicklow, Ireland

A family-run shop since 1999.

Independent bookshop in Jerusalem, Israel

An East Jerusalem bookshop and cafe for books on the region.

Secondhand in Tel Aviv, Israel

An American expat's shop of about 60,000 used books in English, Hebrew and other languages.

Independent bookshop in Florence, Italy

A San Frediano bookshop-bar named after the platypus.

Independent bookshop in Florence, Italy

A Florence bookshop with a small theatre and wine bar, for reading in 'all ways'.

Independent bookshop in Milan, Italy

The bookshop of the art and design publisher Corraini.

Independent bookshop in Milan, Italy

A 'library-laboratory' founded by publishing professionals, with a bar and readings.

Independent bookshop in Rome, Italy

A bookshop for independent publishers and graphic novels, with a pub in the basement.

Antiquarian in Rome, Italy

A Roman antiquarian bookshop dating from 1909, dealing in first editions.

Independent bookshop in Rome, Italy

Italy's first bookshop devoted to African, Middle Eastern and diasporic literature.

Independent bookshop in Rome, Italy

A travel bookshop of maps, guides and travel literature since 1991.

Secondhand in Rome, Italy

A Trastevere shop of secondhand English books, rare editions and prints.

Independent bookshop in Rome, Italy

Rome's independent bookshop devoted to English-language books.

Independent bookshop in Rome, Italy

A specialist in esotericism and Eastern philosophy since 1941.

Independent bookshop in Rome, Italy

A bookshop under seventeenth-century frescoed ceilings in a Roman palazzo.

Secondhand in Venice, Italy · since 2002

Books piled in bathtubs, gondolas and waterproof bins against the city's high tides, with resident cats asleep on the stock. At the back, a staircase made of old books looks over a canal.

Independent bookshop in Tokyo, Japan

A Shimokitazawa bookshop that serves beer and hosts nightly events.

Secondhand in Tokyo, Japan

An Asakusa shop of secondhand and out-of-print English books.

Antiquarian in Tokyo, Japan · since 1903

An antiquarian bookseller in Jimbocho since 1903, having come through both the 1923 earthquake and the wartime air raids. Two floors hold academic books, rare Japanese literature and a notably good shelf of antiquarian Western titles.

Antiquarian in Tokyo, Japan · since 1902

A Jimbocho shop dating back to 1902 whose whole second floor is given over to used and rare English-language books, especially literature and the humanities, in long aisles of floor-to-ceiling shelves.

Antiquarian in Tokyo, Japan

A multi-storey Jimbocho shop for photobooks, art and design, run across three generations. Fashion magazines fill the ground floor, photography and contemporary art the floors above, and the top levels hold the rare material collectors come for.

Antiquarian in Tokyo, Japan · since 1882

Trading in Jimbocho since 1882, Ohya Shobo is the place for Edo-period illustrated books, ukiyo-e woodblock prints and old Japanese maps. Drawers and folders reward a slow look, and the staff are used to guiding curious visitors.

Secondhand in Tokyo, Japan · since 1918

Founded in 1918, Yaguchi Shoten is Jimbocho's specialist in film and theatre: scripts, programmes, criticism and performing-arts history. Its open-air shelves running along the side of the building are one of the district's best-known sights.

Antiquarian in Tokyo, Japan

Rare art and design books since 1924, with a gallery upstairs.

Secondhand in Tokyo, Japan

A Jimbocho shop selling only cat-related books.

Independent bookshop in Amman, Jordan

A long-running bookshop-cafe in Jabal Amman.

Independent bookshop in Pristina, Kosovo

A bookshop dedicated to preserving Albanian language and culture.

Independent bookshop in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

A philosophy, history and literature bookshop with a cafe.

Independent bookshop in Mexico City, Mexico

A Condesa bookshop-bar open until midnight, championing indie presses.

Independent bookshop in Mexico City, Mexico

A Roma Norte showcase for independent publishers and rare books.

Secondhand in Mexico City, Mexico

A Condesa shop of secondhand English books.

Independent bookshop in Tangier, Morocco

A multilingual 1949 bookshop beloved of Paul Bowles and the Beats.

Independent bookshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands

An independent family-owned English bookshop in Amsterdam since 1972.

Antiquarian in Amsterdam, Netherlands · since 1946

A family antiquarian business on the same street since 1946, now filling five floors of a former department store with secondhand and antiquarian books and prints. Art, architecture, classical archaeology and biology are the strengths, and the topographical prints are a find in themselves.

Independent bookshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands

A publisher-bookshop focused on architecture, gardens and natural history.

Independent bookshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands

One of the largest independents in the Netherlands, on the Spui.

Antiquarian in Amsterdam, Netherlands

A historic covered passage belonging to the University of Amsterdam, lined with booksellers' stalls. A place for old prints, scholarly books and the occasional antiquarian surprise.

Independent bookshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands

A bright bookshop near the Rembrandt House with a travel mezzanine.

Secondhand in Amsterdam, Netherlands

A canal-side secondhand shop specialising in English-language books, run for decades on the principle of buying and swapping. Two floors of carefully arranged stock.

New & secondhand in Maastricht, Netherlands

A bookshop built inside a thirteenth-century Dominican church, with frescoes overhead.

Independent bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand

A Grey Lynn shop with a lovingly crafted selection.

Secondhand in Auckland, New Zealand · since 1983

A New Zealand institution that began in a Ponsonby garage in 1983 and has grown into one of the country's largest secondhand dealers, now settled in Eden Terrace. Expect a vast general stock, a serious New Zealand section and rare first editions, open every day of the week.

Independent bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand

A High Street shop stacked high on every surface.

Independent bookshop in Christchurch, New Zealand

A Christchurch independent with a long history in the city.

Antiquarian in Christchurch, New Zealand · since 1894

Founded in 1894 and selling secondhand books since the 1960s, Smith's lost its three-storey Manchester Street home in the 2011 earthquakes and found a new one in the Tannery at Woolston. It remains fiercely independent and is the place for rare and out-of-print books on New Zealand history, te ao Māori, the arts and the outdoors.

Antiquarian in Dunedin, New Zealand

The southern outpost of Hard to Find, a few steps from Dunedin's Octagon, sharing the firm's huge catalogue and its fondness for New Zealand books. A good rainy-afternoon browse in a city that takes its reading seriously.

Secondhand in Wellington, New Zealand

A central Wellington favourite on Manners Street, packed with used books across fiction, history, art, children's and cooking, with a good showing of New Zealand writers and a cabinet of older and antique volumes.

Secondhand in Wellington, New Zealand

About 13,000 new and used books in two Newtown rooms.

Secondhand in Wellington, New Zealand

A beautifully curated secondhand shop off Cuba Mall.

Independent bookshop in Wellington, New Zealand

A Willis Street institution since 1967 and a sister shop in Auckland, consistently named among New Zealand's best.

Independent bookshop in Lagos, Nigeria

An Ikoyi record shop, bookshop and cafe celebrating African literature and Black music for three decades.

Antiquarian in Fjærland, Norway

A secondhand bookshop in Norway's fjord-side book town.

Antiquarian in Oslo, Norway

An independent bookshop and café favoured by Oslo's writers, with a carefully chosen stock of new, secondhand and antiquarian books, mainly in English and Norwegian. Readings and events keep the room busy in the evenings.

Independent bookshop in Oslo, Norway

A neighbourhood bookshop since 1936 with talks and writing courses.

Independent bookshop in Oslo, Norway

Oslo's specialist in contemporary art books and visual culture.

Independent bookshop in Oslo, Norway

An Oslo independent since 1973, once called the best bookstore in the world by Allen Ginsberg.

Independent bookshop in Lima, Peru

A Miraflores bookshop strong on Peruvian history and literature.

Independent bookshop in Manila, Philippines

Founded by National Artist F. Sionil José in Ermita, a gathering place for Filipino writers.

Secondhand in Kraków, Poland · since 2001

A rambling English-language bookshop and café near the Vistula, founded in 2001, where rooms of used and new books open onto a café serving cake among the shelves. Particularly good for Polish, East European and Jewish literature in English translation.

Secondhand in Lisbon, Portugal

An all-English secondhand bookshop near Saldanha with book swaps and clubs.

Secondhand in Lisbon, Portugal · since 1999

A bookshop in a former printing works at the LX Factory, with towering shelves, an old press left in place and a bicycle suspended overhead. New and secondhand stock mix freely.

Independent bookshop in Lisbon, Portugal

Opened in 1732, recognised as the oldest operating bookshop in the world.

Antiquarian in Lisbon, Portugal · since 2008

Often called one of the smallest bookshops in the world: under four square metres on a stepped lane below the castle, with room for one customer at a time. Some four thousand secondhand books in several languages fill every inch, among them rare editions, engravings and old papers.

Independent bookshop in Lisbon, Portugal

A travel-writing bookshop next to Fernando Pessoa's house.

New & secondhand in Porto, Portugal

A bar-bookshop and events space in the Bonfim neighbourhood.

Independent bookshop in Porto, Portugal

A neo-Gothic shop of 1906 with a crimson forked staircase and stained-glass skylight, often called the world's most beautiful bookshop.

Independent bookshop in Porto, Portugal

Portugal's first bookshop devoted to poetry and theatre, opened in 2003.

Independent bookshop in Bucharest, Romania

A restored nineteenth-century building with white spiralling balconies of books and a rooftop bistro.

Independent bookshop in Singapore, Singapore

A design-book specialist in the Bras Basah Complex for more than three decades.

Secondhand in Singapore, Singapore · since 1988

A stalwart of Bras Basah Complex, the building long known as Singapore's book centre. Evernew started out selling new books in 1988 and turned to secondhand because its owners could not bear to see books thrown away; today its packed shelves run from political biography to archaeology, with bargain bins out front.

Independent bookshop in Cape Town, South Africa

A pillar of Cape Town literary life since 2007, with events in its basement.

Secondhand in Cape Town, South Africa · since 1957

On Long Street since 1957, Clarke's began as a secondhand bookshop and became the specialist for books on southern Africa: new, secondhand and out of print, with a general secondhand stock alongside.

Antiquarian in Johannesburg, South Africa · since 1974

Eight floors of a downtown building stacked with secondhand and rare books, maps, engravings, newspapers, photographs and records, gathered by the Klass family since 1974. It is often described as the largest used and rare bookshop in the Southern Hemisphere; ring the buzzer and allow the whole afternoon.

Independent bookshop in Johannesburg, South Africa

A Melville shop founded in 2009 with weekly children's story time.

Independent bookshop in Kalk Bay, South Africa

A Victorian-building bookshop by the sea in Kalk Bay.

Secondhand in Kwa Noheleni, South Africa

A Karoo village bookshop with a special collection on the Karoo.

Independent bookshop in Seoul, South Korea

A Yeonhui-dong specialist in independent publications and art books since 2009.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

A Sant Antoni independent with nearly 500 metres of shelves.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona's English bookshop since 1984.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

Wood shelves, velvet sofas and a quiet terrace with water walls.

Antiquarian in Barcelona, Spain

A secondhand English bookshop of some 40,000 titles in Gràcia.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

A bookshop in a former convent chapel with a hidden garden cafe.

Secondhand in Barcelona, Spain

A secondhand bookshop with floor-to-ceiling shelves since 1986.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

A travel bookshop with giant globes hanging from the ceiling.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

A bookshop in a former button factory in Sant Antoni.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

A Catalan-language specialist over two floors.

Independent bookshop in Barcelona, Spain

A multi-floor bookshop with an upstairs cafe and terrace.

Secondhand in Madrid, Spain · since 1925

A row of wooden booksellers' huts climbing the slope beside the Retiro and the Botanical Garden, trading in used books for a century and now protected as part of Madrid's cultural heritage. Many of the stalls are still run by the children and grandchildren of the original booksellers, and a slow walk up the hill is a classic Madrid Sunday.

New & secondhand in Madrid, Spain

A multilingual shop near the Royal Palace that runs an international short-story prize.

Independent bookshop in Madrid, Spain

A meeting place for intellectuals under Franco, now strong on children's books.

Antiquarian in Madrid, Spain

A family-run antiquarian bookshop since 1947, dealing in incunabula and rare Spanish books.

Secondhand in Madrid, Spain

A bookstall-turned-shop in the narrow passage between Calle Arenal and Calle Mayor, on a site where books have been sold for centuries. Tables of secondhand books, postcards and prints spill into the lane, a few steps from the famous chocolatería.

Independent bookshop in Madrid, Spain

A cinema bookshop of film books, posters and DVDs.

Independent bookshop in Madrid, Spain

A visual-arts bookshop known for graphic design and illustration.

Independent bookshop in Madrid, Spain

A multilingual bookshop praised as one of the best of its kind in the world.

Independent bookshop in Stockholm, Sweden

The leading art bookshop in Scandinavia, for architecture, design and photography.

Independent bookshop in Stockholm, Sweden

An English-language bookshop in Södermalm.

Independent bookshop in Bangkok, Thailand

A Bangkok specialist in art, design and photography books.

Independent bookshop in Tunis, Tunisia

A Tunis bookshop on Place Barcelone.

Independent bookshop in Istanbul, Turkey

An Arabic bookshop and cafe founded by Syrian artist-publishers.

Antiquarian in Istanbul, Turkey

The old booksellers' bazaar beside the Grand Bazaar, a shaded courtyard of shops trading in secondhand and antiquarian books, some of them in Ottoman script.

Independent bookshop in Kampala, Uganda

Operating since 1927, Uganda's oldest bookshop.

New & secondhand in Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

A bookshop with a strong Welsh-language focus.

Independent bookshop in Abingdon, United Kingdom

An Oxfordshire independent known for its children's events.

Secondhand in Alnwick, United Kingdom · since 1991

One of the largest secondhand bookshops in Britain, housed in a Victorian railway station in Northumberland. A model train runs along the tops of the shelves, there are open fires in winter, and the old waiting rooms now serve tea. It is also where the original 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster was rediscovered.

Independent bookshop in Bath, United Kingdom

A publisher's shop reprinting neglected twentieth-century writers, mostly women, in signature grey covers.

Independent bookshop in Belfast, United Kingdom

An Irish-language bookshop in Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter.

Independent bookshop in Belfast, United Kingdom

A crime-fiction specialist that won the most recommendations in an Irish Times survey of readers' favourite shops.

Independent bookshop in Birmingham, United Kingdom

A Kings Heath bookshop named the UK's independent bookshop of the year in 2025.

Independent bookshop in Bishop's Castle, United Kingdom

A shop that 'prescribes' poems for the soul, in a former Shropshire chemist's.

Independent bookshop in Brighton, United Kingdom

A Brighton neighbourhood independent.

Independent bookshop in Bristol, United Kingdom

A Bristol independent on North Street with a busy events calendar.

Independent bookshop in Colchester, United Kingdom

A long-running Colchester independent.

Independent bookshop in Edinburgh, United Kingdom · since 2021

A Leith Walk independent shortlisted for the British Book Awards.

Secondhand in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Floor-to-ceiling shelves, narrow aisles and a lamp-lit atmosphere that feels lifted from a novel. Armchair is loved for its Victorian and older fiction and for the sense that something good is always on the next shelf up.

Antiquarian in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

A substantial secondhand and antiquarian shop on the West Port, the street that has long been Edinburgh's bookish quarter. Rooms run down into the basement, one is given over entirely to Scotland, and a whole room of pound books keeps bargain hunters busy.

Secondhand in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

A small, independent secondhand shop round the corner from the West Port, strong on Scottish history, labour history and radical politics, with old prints for the walls. It is also a small poetry press, so its own chapbooks sit beside the secondhand stock.

Antiquarian in Edinburgh, United Kingdom · since 1957

Scotland's oldest surviving secondhand and antiquarian bookshop, in the same basement at the top of Leith Walk since 1957. A Georgian tenement holds a well-chosen general stock alongside rare and collectable books, and a small gallery shows original art. Open daily, and late on Thursdays.

Independent bookshop in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

A shop that stocks only women writers, across every genre.

Antiquarian in Edinburgh, United Kingdom · since 1978

On the curve of Victoria Street, one of the Old Town's most photographed streets, this shop has dealt in antiquarian, rare and secondhand books since the late seventies. Scottish books, art and architecture are the strengths, and the drawers of old Scottish maps and prints reach back to the seventeenth century.

Secondhand in Edinburgh, United Kingdom · since 1985

One of Edinburgh's longest-running secondhand shops, on the edge of the Meadows, with a coal fire glowing at the back of the room. Good literary fiction, quirky science fiction, history and philosophy, and the occasional antiquarian gem make it a natural stop between the university and the Southside.

Independent bookshop in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Rolling ladders, high shelves and free tea for browsers; also in Bath, Ely and St Andrews.

Independent bookshop in Grasmere, United Kingdom

A Lake District bookshop trading in Wordsworth's village since the nineteenth century.

Independent bookshop in Harrogate, United Kingdom

A Harrogate independent shortlisted for the British Book Awards.

Secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom · since 1987

A rambling, eccentric, many-roomed shop where each little room has its own subject and its own character. Good for modern literature and first editions, and for losing an afternoon.

Secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

A warren of rooms near the clock tower shared by many independent dealers, so each corner has its own specialist: military history, natural history, Ladybirds and Observer books, sheet music, maritime and transport, modern firsts and a sound general stock. Open seven days a week.

Antiquarian in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

Tucked beside Hay's Victorian clock tower, this shop gathers stock from several booksellers under one roof: secondhand and antiquarian books on most subjects, with a few new titles mixed in. Small enough to browse properly in half an hour, varied enough to make it worth doing.

Antiquarian in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

Open-air shelves set into the old walls below Hay Castle, where cheap books are paid for by dropping coins in an honesty box, and the takings go towards the castle's upkeep. Open around the clock, it is a simple idea that has become one of the emblems of the book town.

Secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

A former cinema turned into one of Hay's largest secondhand bookshops, with a vast general stock arranged by subject. Outside, the bargain shelves are a local ritual.

New & secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

Behind a striking black-and-white timbered front on the town's main square, one of the older names in Hay spreads secondhand and antiquarian books across several floors, with heavily discounted new books alongside. A good first stop for getting your bearings in the book town.

New & secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom · since 1997

A specialist shop devoted to crime, detective fiction and horror, decorated accordingly. Golden Age paperbacks, hardback thrillers and true crime fill the shelves under the watchful eye of a chalk outline.

New & secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

The shop at the heart of the town that invented the idea of a book town. Spread over several floors behind a tiled Victorian façade, it mixes secondhand stock with new books and a small cinema.

Secondhand in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom

A shop dedicated solely to secondhand and antiquarian poetry in English and Welsh.

Independent bookshop in Holt, United Kingdom

A Norfolk market-town independent.

Secondhand in Inverness, United Kingdom · since 1979

Scotland's largest secondhand bookshop fills a converted Gaelic church, with a wood-burning stove in the nave and a café in the gallery. Shelves climb toward the rafters and the Scottish history section is especially deep.

Independent bookshop in Leeds, United Kingdom

A Leeds independent shortlisted for the British Book Awards.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

One of the survivors of Charing Cross Road's once-famous run of secondhand shops. The pavement bargain trays draw in passers-by; inside, the stock runs from paperback fiction to art monographs, with a basement worth the stairs.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A Balham bookshop and wine bar, named London's best independent bookshop for 2026.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

A Mayfair dealer in travel, natural history and fine illustrated books.

Secondhand in London, United Kingdom · since 1967

A Notting Hill fixture since the late sixties, a few minutes from the Portobello Road. Secondhand books and comics of every kind come in over the counter for cash or exchange, so the shelves turn over daily and there is always something new to dig for. Open late, seven days a week.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A Notting Hill shop of thousands of cookbooks, with a test kitchen cooking recipes from the shelves.

New & secondhand in London, United Kingdom

A Haggerston independent with a strong events programme and theory shelves.

Secondhand in London, United Kingdom

A small, dark-panelled shop on a quiet Bloomsbury street, beloved of anyone who cares how a book is made. Private press editions, typography, design and books about books are the specialities, and its frontage will look familiar to fans of Black Books, which was filmed here.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

A specialist in early maps, sea charts and atlases.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

An Edwardian bookshop with long oak galleries and a stained-glass window, shelving travel writing by country alongside fiction from each place.

New & secondhand in London, United Kingdom

A Broadway Market shop of art, photography, counterculture and theory, admired by other booksellers.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

A Chiswick shop of fifty years' standing in an eighteenth-century building.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

Open in Bloomsbury since 1979, the UK's oldest LGBTQ+ bookshop.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

Trading on Piccadilly since 1797, London's oldest bookshop and holder of three Royal Warrants.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

A Charing Cross Road survivor selling rare, vintage and remaindered books for over fifty years.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom · since 1761

Trading since 1761, Sotheran's is among the oldest antiquarian booksellers in the world. After almost ninety years on Sackville Street it now keeps shop on Cecil Court, the bookish alley off Charing Cross Road, with further rooms on Charing Cross Road itself: fine bindings, travel and exploration, illustrated children's books and a deep stock of prints.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A radical bookshop in King's Cross, run by a peace-movement trust since 1945.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom · since 1969

Directly across the road from the British Museum, Jarndyce trades from an eighteenth-century house that still has its working fireplace. Named after the endless lawsuit in Bleak House, it is the place in London for the nineteenth century in print, with Dickens at the heart of the stock. Weekday opening only, so plan the visit.

Secondhand in London, United Kingdom · since 1992

A Bloomsbury shop of secondhand and bargain new books that runs much deeper than its frontage suggests. The ground floor gathers art, architecture, film and literature; downstairs the basement turns to history, philosophy, politics and the social sciences, all at prices that reward a patient browse.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A contemporary-fiction bookshop that becomes a late-night bar and events space.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A Notting Hill shop started by literary agents, stocking only books its customers and staff have recommended.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

A rare-book firm founded in 1853, with premises in Bloomsbury.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom · since 1969

A Chelsea institution for collectors since 1969, its double-fronted Fulham Road premises spread first editions, inscribed copies and fine bindings over four floors. Even for the browser who is only looking, the shelves are a museum-grade education in what makes a copy desirable: condition, jackets, inscriptions and provenance.

Secondhand in London, United Kingdom

A basement warren beneath the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, Skoob is the place students and scholars go to sell and buy serious reading. Tens of thousands of volumes are shelved by discipline, so a browse for one philosophy title tends to end with an armful of history, poetry and criticism.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

The map and travel specialist trading since 1853, whose customers have included polar explorers.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A Cecil Court shop for art books, zines and small editions, with a gallery downstairs.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A queer bookshop and cafe in Shoreditch.

Antiquarian in London, United Kingdom

A rare-books shop devoted to women writers, from modern first editions to forgotten works.

Independent bookshop in London, United Kingdom

A Dulwich Village bookshop, a neighbourhood fixture for decades.

Secondhand in London, United Kingdom · since 2010

A secondhand bookshop aboard a 1920s Dutch barge moored on the Regent's Canal at King's Cross. Books line the cabin, more sit on the roof, and on good days there is live music on the towpath.

Secondhand in Lyme Regis, United Kingdom

Ten rooms over four floors of secondhand books on the Jurassic Coast.

Independent bookshop in Norwich, United Kingdom

A rural children's book specialist in north Norfolk.

Independent bookshop in Norwich, United Kingdom

A Norwich independent in a city named England's first UNESCO City of Literature.

Independent bookshop in Penarth, United Kingdom

A Vale of Glamorgan bookshop with a loyal local following.

Independent bookshop in Penzance, United Kingdom

An independent near Land's End, close to the westernmost tip of England.

Secondhand in Sedbergh, United Kingdom

A volunteer-run charity bookshop on Sedbergh's main street, where every sale goes back into the town's community fund. The stock changes constantly, with music, puzzles and curios alongside the books, and it is a natural companion to a visit to Westwood.

Antiquarian in Sedbergh, United Kingdom

The flagship of England's book town, set in Sedbergh's former cinema at the foot of the Howgill Fells. Around eighty thousand books fill two floors, mostly secondhand, with a Collector's Room for scarcer titles, sofas upstairs and a coffee machine below.

Secondhand in St Andrews, United Kingdom

A small St Andrews shop strong on the arts and Scottish literature.

Independent bookshop in Totnes, United Kingdom

A bookshop in Totnes's historic high street.

Independent bookshop in Ullapool, United Kingdom

A Highland harbour-village bookshop.

Secondhand in Wigtown, United Kingdom

A converted stable off Wigtown's main street, given over to folklore and mythology, Scottish and Gaelic interest, archaeology, poetry, theatre and film. There is a small, peaceful garden for reading your finds. Opening days are limited, so check before travelling.

New & secondhand in Wigtown, United Kingdom

A bookshop and cafe dedicated to books by and about women.

Antiquarian in Wigtown, United Kingdom

A large, labyrinthine secondhand shop in Scotland's National Book Town, made widely known by its owner's diaries of bookselling life. Rooms of stock run back from the high street toward a garden.

Secondhand in Wigtown, United Kingdom

Scotland's largest secondhand bookshop, with about a mile of shelving in Scotland's National Book Town.

Secondhand in Wigtown, United Kingdom

A general secondhand bookshop in a former bank on Wigtown's broad main street, one of the many stops that make up Scotland's National Book Town. A good place to fill the gaps between the town's specialist shops.

Independent bookshop in Winchester, United Kingdom

A historic Winchester bookshop near the cathedral, trading for centuries.

Independent bookshop in York, United Kingdom

A crime-fiction specialist in York.

Antiquarian in York, United Kingdom

York's rare-book dealer now has a handsome home on Micklegate, in the fifteenth-century building long occupied by Ken Spelman. Signed copies, first editions, illustrated books and collectable modern literature fill the refurbished rooms, with space for exhibitions and events.

New & secondhand in York, United Kingdom · since 1970

A tall Georgian townhouse in the shadow of York Minster, with secondhand books on five floors reached by a winding stair. Maps and prints add to the pleasure of an unhurried climb.

New & secondhand in Anchorage, United States

Alaska's large used bookstore, with hundreds of thousands of books and records.

Independent bookshop in Ann Arbor, United States

An Ann Arbor shop known for its public typewriter and the anonymous notes customers leave in it.

Independent bookshop in Asheville, United States

Asheville's downtown independent since 1982.

Independent bookshop in Astoria, United States

Queens' neighbourhood independent, an anchor for local readers and writers in Astoria.

Independent bookshop in Athens, United States

An Athens shop with an in-schools literacy programme and a loyal university-town following.

Independent bookshop in Austin, United States

Texas's largest independent bookstore, open since 1970.

Independent bookshop in Baltimore, United States

A worker-owned radical bookstore and coffeehouse.

Antiquarian in Berkeley, United States · since 1959

Four floors of used, new and antiquarian books on Telegraph Avenue, a Berkeley landmark with deep scholarly and art sections.

Independent bookshop in Bethlehem, United States · since 1745

Established in 1745, often described as one of the oldest continuously operating bookstores in the world.

Independent bookshop in Boise, United States

Boise's downtown independent, known for book clubs and community events.

Antiquarian in Boston, United States · since 1825

One of America's oldest antiquarian bookshops, with two floors of general used books, a third floor of rare and antiquarian stock and an outdoor lot of bargain carts beside the building.

Independent bookshop in Boston, United States · since 1984

A Newbury Street bookstore-cafe with a big magazine wall and late hours.

Independent bookshop in Boulder, United States

A three-storey Pearl Street landmark hosting hundreds of author events a year.

Independent bookshop in Bozeman, United States

Montana's long-running independent, established in 1957.

Independent bookshop in Brooklyn, United States

Novelist Emma Straub's Cobble Hill shop, opened after the neighbourhood lost its previous bookstore.

Independent bookshop in Brooklyn, United States

Park Slope's oldest bookstore, with a garden out back and a resident cat.

New & secondhand in Brooklyn, United States

A Williamsburg favourite for art, design, philosophy and rare used books.

New & secondhand in Brooklyn, United States

A Prospect Heights shop of used and new books with deep poetry and small-press shelves.

Independent bookshop in Cambridge, United States

Founded in 1927, one of the oldest poetry-only bookshops in the United States.

New & secondhand in Cambridge, United States

An independent since 1932 on Massachusetts Avenue, with a used basement and a print-on-demand machine.

Independent bookshop in Cambridge, United States

A Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year with its own writer-in-residence programme.

New & secondhand in Charleston, United States · since 2007

A long, narrow King Street shop of used, rare and new books.

Independent bookshop in Charleston, United States

A bookstore with built-in cafe, art gallery and live music.

Secondhand in Chicago, United States

A Wicker Park used bookshop by the Damen Blue Line stop, with several floors of well-organised stock and a quiet, reading-room atmosphere.

Secondhand in Chicago, United States

A bright nonprofit used bookshop in the West Loop with tens of thousands of donated books and a big children's and young-adult room. Every purchase helps fund literacy programmes for Chicago students.

Antiquarian in Chicago, United States · since 1970

A Hyde Park landmark near the University of Chicago, selling used, rare and discounted books since 1970. More than a quarter of a million volumes lean scholarly, with deep runs of ancient and medieval studies, philosophy, science and history.

Independent bookshop in Chicago, United States

Chicago's home for zines, comics and small-press oddities.

Independent bookshop in Chicago, United States

A scholarly bookstore near the University of Chicago, now the first non-profit bookstore of its kind in the US.

Independent bookshop in Chicago, United States · since 1979

An Andersonville feminist bookstore since 1979 with tens of thousands of books by and about women.

New & secondhand in Cleveland, United States

A Cleveland-area shop with 100,000 titles and a famous 'Stump the Bookseller' service.

Independent bookshop in Columbia, United States

A Columbia bookshop co-founded by novelist Alex George.

Independent bookshop in Concord, United States

Selling books in New Hampshire's capital since 1898.

Independent bookshop in Coral Gables, United States

Mitchell Kaplan's Miami-area independent, whose founder co-created the Miami Book Fair.

Independent bookshop in Davidson, United States

A small-town shop with a monthly mystery-book subscription.

Independent bookshop in Decatur, United States

Founded in 1974, the oldest independent feminist bookstore in the American South.

Independent bookshop in Del Mar, United States

Founded in 1896 and run by the same family for generations, one of America's oldest family-owned bookstores.

Independent bookshop in Denver, United States

Denver's beloved independent since 1971, with several branches and comfortable reading chairs.

Antiquarian in Detroit, United States

A former glove factory holding more than a million used books over four floors, with a separate rare book room. Browsing is by hand-drawn sign and patience, and the reward is a stock deep enough to surprise anyone.

Secondhand in East Bradford Township, United States · since 1946

Five floors of used books in an 1822 stone dairy barn.

Independent bookshop in Eau Claire, United States

A woman-owned shop focused on women writers and authors of colour.

Independent bookshop in Fairway, United States

One of the first US bookshops built around author events, serving greater Kansas City.

Independent bookshop in Fargo, United States

A quirky Fargo emporium of books, gifts and curiosities.

Secondhand in Fayetteville, United States

A labyrinthine used and rare bookshop near the University of Arkansas.

Secondhand in Fort Wayne, United States

A rambling secondhand shop with resident cats.

Independent bookshop in Hoboken, United States

A woman-owned Hoboken independent.

Independent bookshop in Houston, United States

A Houston shop split evenly between children's and adult books.

Independent bookshop in Houston, United States

A Black-owned bookstore in Houston's Third Ward.

Independent bookshop in Iowa City, United States

A UNESCO City of Literature landmark whose reading series has hosted generations of Iowa Writers' Workshop authors.

Independent bookshop in Key West, United States

A non-profit Key West bookshop co-founded by author Judy Blume.

Independent bookshop in Kingston, United States

A bookshop with coffee and beer in a historic building at Kingston's Four Corners.

New & secondhand in Lake Forest Park, United States

A Seattle-area trio of bookshops built as community 'third places' with commons and food.

Independent bookshop in Lexington, United States

A large regional independent with a skylit bistro attached.

Independent bookshop in Lincoln, United States

A community bookstore and cafe in Lincoln's Haymarket.

Secondhand in Los Angeles, United States · since 2005

A former bank in downtown LA turned into a huge used and new bookshop, known for its tunnel of books, sculptural displays, vinyl and an upstairs labyrinth of bargains.

Independent bookshop in Madison, United States

A feminist and LGBTQ bookstore founded in 1975.

Independent bookshop in Madison, United States

A Connecticut independent known for its author events and subscription service.

Independent bookshop in Manchester Center, United States

A 1976 Vermont landmark in a former inn, a third of it devoted to children.

Independent bookshop in Menlo Park, United States

A Silicon Valley independent founded in 1955 that became a gathering place for the counterculture.

Independent bookshop in Milwaukee, United States

A non-profit poetry and small-press book centre since 1979.

Independent bookshop in Minneapolis, United States

Louise Erdrich's small shop specialising in Native American literature and art.

New & secondhand in Minneapolis, United States

A large Uptown independent mixing new, used and rare books.

New & secondhand in Minneapolis, United States

A neighbourhood shop of new and used books named after the Paul Auster novel.

Independent bookshop in Minneapolis, United States

A children's bookshop with a tiny kid-sized door and resident animals.

Secondhand in Montague, United States

A used bookshop in a nineteenth-century grist mill over a river: 'Books you don't need in a place you can't find.'

New & secondhand in Montclair, United States

Over 10,000 square feet of new and used books, including vintage science fiction.

Independent bookshop in Naperville, United States

Run by the same family since 1875, a five-generation Chicago-area bookseller.

Independent bookshop in Nashville, United States

Co-founded by novelist Ann Patchett in 2011, with resident shop dogs.

Independent bookshop in New Hope, United States

A New Hope independent since 1967.

New & secondhand in New Orleans, United States

A tiny French Quarter shop in the building where William Faulkner wrote his first novel.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

A French- and English-language bookshop inside the French cultural services' Fifth Avenue mansion, beneath a painted starry ceiling.

Antiquarian in New York, United States · since 1925

New York's oldest independent bookshop, now in its third generation of family ownership, filling a six-storey Midtown townhouse with first editions, Americana, leather bindings, antique maps, prints and autographs. Bargain carts outside catch the passing trade.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

Manhattan's long-standing children's bookshop, with a gallery of original picture-book art.

Secondhand in New York, United States

A used bookshop focused on nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction and literary history.

New & secondhand in New York, United States

A Bond Street specialist in photography books, prized for its expert curation.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

A community-funded Fort Greene independent that became a template for neighbourhood bookshops in Brooklyn.

Secondhand in New York, United States

A SoHo bookshop and café selling donated secondhand books to fund housing, healthcare and justice work for New Yorkers. Wooden galleries, spiral stairs and a busy calendar of readings make it a downtown institution.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

A literary independent with several New York branches, known for its fiction-by-country shelving and busy events calendar.

Secondhand in New York, United States · since 1990

A small Greenwich Village used bookshop open since 1990, a reliable stop for literary fiction, philosophy, art and French-language books near NYU, with crates of records alongside the shelves.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

A non-profit devoted to artists' books and zines, and organiser of the NY Art Book Fair.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

A grand, chandeliered shop on Broadway devoted to illustrated books on art, design, fashion and architecture.

Antiquarian in New York, United States · since 1927

The last survivor of Manhattan's old Book Row, famous for its '18 miles of books' and still run by the founding family. Used, new and rare books fill four floors, with a rare book room upstairs and dollar carts on the sidewalk.

Secondhand in New York, United States

A Lower East Side used bookshop that also sells house-made pickles.

Independent bookshop in New York, United States

Tribeca's specialist in crime and detective fiction, with signed firsts and a long-running mystery publishing arm.

Antiquarian in New York, United States · since 1971

A tall, narrow Upper West Side shop that has been trading since 1971, crammed with literature, art, poetry and LPs, with a rare book room up a flight of stairs in the middle of the store.

Independent bookshop in Newport, United States

A Newport shop founded in 2020 with a signed-first-editions club.

Independent bookshop in Oakland, United States

Opened in 1960, the oldest independent Black-owned bookstore in the United States.

New & secondhand in Ojai, United States

A largely outdoor bookshop where shelves line the street and after-hours browsers pay through an honesty slot.

Independent bookshop in Oklahoma City, United States

Oklahoma City's independent with some 60,000 titles across rambling rooms.

Independent bookshop in Oxford, United States

A celebrated literary independent spread across several buildings on Oxford's courthouse square.

Independent bookshop in Pasadena, United States

Southern California's oldest and largest independent bookstore, founded in 1894.

New & secondhand in Philadelphia, United States

Founded in 1973, among the oldest LGBTQ bookstores in the United States.

Independent bookshop in Portland, United States

A downtown Portland independent named for the city's native poet.

New & secondhand in Portland, United States

An artist-run shop for rare design books and counterculture ephemera.

New & secondhand in Portland, United States · since 1971

Often called the largest independent bookshop in the world, taking up a full city block in downtown Portland. Colour-coded rooms mix used and new books on the same shelves, and the Rare Book Room on the top floor is worth the climb.

Independent bookshop in Rapid City, United States

A cosy Rapid City independent.

Independent bookshop in Rehoboth Beach, United States

A beach-town independent founded in 1975.

New & secondhand in Richmond, United States

Two floors of used and new books with a resident cat.

Independent bookshop in Rockland, United States

A small coastal Maine shop that posts its customers' reading lists and gives to local causes.

New & secondhand in Saint Louis, United States · since 1973

Founded in 1969, a St. Louis institution with monthly open book clubs.

Independent bookshop in Salt Lake City, United States

Founded in 1977 in a warren of small rooms in a Salt Lake City cottage.

Independent bookshop in San Diego, United States

A genre specialist for science fiction, fantasy, horror and mystery.

Secondhand in San Francisco, United States

A cooperatively run used bookshop and art space on 24th Street in the Mission, where the shelves share the room with a small gallery and a calendar of readings and shows.

New & secondhand in San Francisco, United States · since 2015

A science-fiction, fantasy and horror bookshop funded in part by its customers through a sponsorship scheme.

Independent bookshop in San Francisco, United States

Co-founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti; the Beat-era publisher-bookshop is now a designated city landmark.

New & secondhand in San Francisco, United States · since 1992

A Mission District corner shop selling new, used and remaindered books since 1992. It leans toward the Beat, the off-beat, small presses and local writers, and its window displays are a neighbourhood conversation piece.

Secondhand in San Francisco, United States · since 1967

A creaky, much-loved Inner Richmond shop of used and new books with handwritten staff recommendations everywhere, and a used-book desk that will check the shelves for you.

Secondhand in San Francisco, United States · since 1974

Founded in 1974 and the last bookshop left on a stretch of Polk Street that once had a dozen, this San Francisco Legacy Business mixes quality used books with rare editions, old sheet music and ephemera.

Independent bookshop in San Francisco, United States

A Haight Street independent since 1976 with a strong author-events programme.

Independent bookshop in Santa Fe, United States

Santa Fe's long-standing independent with an organic coffeehouse.

Independent bookshop in Seattle, United States

A Capitol Hill institution since 1973 with cedar shelves and a vast reading-events programme.

Independent bookshop in Seattle, United States

Founded in 1900, the oldest independent bookstore in Washington State.

Independent bookshop in South Hadley, United States

A western Massachusetts independent known for its signed first-editions club.

Independent bookshop in Spartanburg, United States

The bookshop of a non-profit literary press in a restored 1920s hotel.

New & secondhand in Tempe, United States

An Arizona independent since 1974, with a book bar at its Phoenix branch.

New & secondhand in Waimea, United States

Billed as the westernmost bookstore in the United States, on the island of Kauai.

Antiquarian in Washington, United States

A townhouse by Eastern Market stuffed with used books in every room: fiction in the Fiction Room, mysteries in the Mystery Room, cookbooks in the kitchen and, famously, foreign-language books in the bathroom. Witty handwritten signs keep order of a sort.

Independent bookshop in Washington, United States

A Dupont Circle bookshop and cafe, a late-night literary hangout since 1976.

Independent bookshop in Washington, United States

The capital's leading independent, famous for its political and literary author talks.

Antiquarian in Washington, United States

A cavernous warehouse of used and rare books with delightfully specific subject sections.

Independent bookshop in West Hollywood, United States

A Sunset Strip fixture since 1975, crammed with 60,000-plus titles and a heavy roster of author events.

New & secondhand in West Hollywood, United States

Hollywood Boulevard's veteran cinema and theatre bookshop, with film stills and posters.

New & secondhand in Wichita, United States

A distinctive shop specialising in theology, philosophy, classics and literature.

Independent bookshop in Wichita, United States

A Wichita independent for more than four decades, with its own imprint and a literary cafe.

Independent bookshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

An English-language independent in Saigon.