Turn the Page at These Enchanting Used Bookstores in Chicago
Myopic Books, found along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago’s West Town, contains thousands of tomes just waiting for you to bring them home
While there is never a bad time to pick up a good book, something about turning those pages while curled up somewhere warm in the later months of the year just hits different. Throw in something hot to drink, say coffee, tea, or maybe even a hot toddy (hey-o!), and a blazing fireplace, and I am there. Before you can settle in with a decent read, however, you first need to acquire your reading material. Fiction or non-fiction, romance or adventure, novel or short story collection: most anything will do. But sometimes holding something older than you or your parents (or grandparents!) just feels a little extra special.
Vintage books are by no means a necessity, but if you’re in the market for some classic tomes — if, perhaps, you have a collection going, or are looking to begin one — there are a few spots around Chicago that need to be on your radar. Here are three of them.
Ravenswood Used Books
We begin with my personal favorite: Ravenswood Used Books, which can be found at the intersection of Montrose and Damen avenues, straddling the border of Chicago’s Ravenswood and North Center neighborhoods. The place may look small from the street, but step inside and prepare to be thrust into an elongated, labyrinthine treasure trove of pages in which every inch of space is maximized. If you are looking for something in particular, staff will kindly point you in the right direction, but it’s just as easy — not to mention loads of fun — to simply get lost in the place.
When I say this shop is filled floor to ceiling with books of all shapes and sizes (and publication dates!), it is not an exaggeration. My purchases here have included James Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room” and A.A. Milne’s “Now We Are Six”, both of which are editions of a certain age. If you are going to pay Ravenswood a visit, carve out at least a half hour and make sure you do NOT park in the lot across the street (unless you are also planning on visiting one of the establishments over there), because they’ll boot your car faster than you can say, “tut, tut, it looks like rain”.
Myopic Books
Found along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago’s sprawling West Town neighborhood, Myopic Books is a tri-level used book hotspot that boasts tens of thousands of tomes and occasionally hosts concerts and poetry readings. The interior of the store feels cavernous, with many an aisle so narrow that only one jazzed-up book junkie can pass through at a time. Here, too, the books are floor to ceiling and wall to wall, but you’re adding two more layers, with the fiction section alone spanning two levels. Depending on the time you have to peruse, that either sounds exhilarating or intimidating. If the latter, fear not, as a friendly staff member who can help you find exactly what you’re look for is never far.
Literary treasures are stacked floor to ceiling at Ravenswood Used Books in Chicago
On a recent visit to Myopic, I walked out the door with a trio of L. Frank Baum classics: “The Marvelous Land of Oz”, “The Emerald City of Oz”, and “The Magic of Oz”. If and when I head this way again, I am sure I will be hard-pressed to leave the place emptyhanded.
Open Books
Finally, we have Open Books, which has not one location but three (!) — one each in West Loop, Pilsen, and Logan Square — to go along with a seasonal pop-up shop in North Lawndale. Probably the best part about shopping here is knowing you are supporting a local business that gives back by donating to literacy programs in the Chicagoland area and offering other resources to the local community, such as book grants and the free children’s section at their Pilsen location. You can also help them give back by donating your own used books.
Whether you stop in at the main location in West Loop, hit up either the Pilsen or Logan Square stores, or make time to mosey over to the pop-up shop in North Lawndale, you’re bound to find something worth reading and certainly worth purchasing, knowing your book buying addiction is promoting literacy across the city.
-LTH