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Bookish Places to Visit in Chicago
13
items Chicago's best bookstores, coffee shops, and bars that are a book lover's dream.
Map
Sections
3
Book Shops
Coffee Shops & Bars
Libraries
Book Shops
Romance bookstore made for the girls! Great selection of books, bookish merch, and really cute photo ops. Be sure to write your favorite book boyfriend on their book boyfriend wall!
The Last Chapter Book Shop Chicago
Really cool place to go if you collect zines or comic books!
Quimby's Bookstore
Cheerful little bookshop with a great selection of children's books too!
Lilliput Books
Large collection of books written by black authors. They often have events & book signings going on!
Da Book Joint
Feminist bookstore that's been around since 1979! They always have community events. Love their summer reading bingo too!
Women & Children First
Love the personal touch of this store! They have handwritten summaries/recommendations by their staff around the store.
Sandmeyer's Bookstore
Massive bookstore — two full stories, so come prepared to spend a while browsing here.
after-words bookstore
Nonprofit bookstore with a huge selection of used books at super affordable prices. They have locations all over the city.
Open Books
Coffee Shops & Bars
Book-themed coffee shops and bars. Perfect places to plan a solo reading date or meet with a local book club!
Phone-free bar that's all about real life connections. Easily one of my favorite places in the city! They have the main bar room and then a couple rooms branching off of it with board games and books.
kibbitznest books, brews & blarney
Genuinely love everything about this place. Beautiful interior with one half of it being a bookstore and the other half being a coffee shop. Great place to go to read or do work for an afternoon. I was surprised by how large their selection of books ...
The Understudy Coffee and Books
A place literally designed to unwind with a good book and a glass of wine. They have books to choose from or you can bring your own. They also host a lot of community events, wine tastings, and wine/book pairings.
Passages Wine and Books
Libraries
My favorite Chicago Public Libraries. They're always hosting free community events, crafting workshops, and more!
Most famous library in Chicago, definitely worth the visit. Head to the 9th floor for the Winter Garden that you always see pictures of. Beautiful place to get some work done.
They also have a maker's lab where you can use their 3D printer, embroidery machine, laser cutter, etc.
They also have a maker's lab where you can use their 3D printer, embroidery machine, laser cutter, etc.
Harold Washington Library Center
The newest branch of the Chicago Public Library and by far the coolest. The trip to the Obama Presidential Center is worth it on its own, but this library could keep you entertained for hours. They have quiet reading rooms, Makers Lab (3D printer, se...
Obama Presidential Center Library Branch