an incomplete list of favorite bookstores
highlights from berlin, atl, dc, nyc + pvd
When I’m having a bad day or need to get out of my head for a while, there’s no better salve than a bookstore. The displays, the squashy chairs, the hand-written staff recommendations... It’s cliché, maybe, but there’s nowhere I feel happier or more at peace.
As I travel and move through my twenties, I’ve noticed that every city has a unique bookstore culture. In DC, my favorite town teeming with overeducated, underpaid nerds, I was spoiled for choice — Capitol Hill Books, Kramers, Politics & Prose. And those aren’t even the best ones! Berlin also has a unique scene, where most selections are largely used (not surprising, given the city’s proclivity for vintage everything). Genre-specific bookstores like Die Hammett-Krimibuchhandlung (mystery) and the Otherland Buchhandlung (science fiction) are also popular. Atlanta, my hometown, has bookstores that double as event spaces, like the South's oldest independent feminist bookstore, Charis.
When I ask myself why I love bookstores so much, Constance Grady, a book critic at Vox I love, put it well:
“Books are a good thing to turn to when the world is developing in unpleasant directions around you. Art in general is, actually — art that pulls you into a state of focus and then asks you to stay there, patient and unhurried, in dialogue with the work for as long as it takes. The experience does something to your mind that nothing else does. It is hard and it is pleasurable, and it holds you steady.”
Which neighborhood bookstores do you love? What am I forgetting? 💌
📍 D.C.
Most loved: Lost City Books
Ask any of my close friends — Lost City is truly my #1 happy place. When I lived in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, I would come by multiple times a week, sometimes just to inhale the smell of books after a stressful day at work. They have a mix of new and used, and a great reading room. It’s the best.
Close seconds: The Solid State location on H Street has a huge selection and is really well-designed. They also put on excellent author talks and host fun events like craft nights. Up in Petworth, I like Loyalty Bookstore, another Black-owned, independent bookstore. The staff is great and the children’s section is adorable! For food lovers, I recommend the darling Bold Fork Books in Mt. Pleasant. It’s conveniently located next door to Each Peach, a gourmet market. (Get the mozzarella bufala sandwich!!) Last year, my friends and I saw Sohla El-Waylly and bought her cookbook at one of their events.
📍 Berlin
Most loved: St. George’s English Bookshop
Located by the trendy Kollwitz Platz, this creaky, cozy spot is in my favorite neighborhood. Owned by a British family, it has insane inventory of new and used English books— the largest in Berlin and possibly all of Germany. I love going here without a list, and taking my sweet time.
Close seconds: Also in Prenzlauerberg, I love Minoa — a Turkish bookstore with a gorgeous, sunlit cafe and a strong selection of English books. If you hop over to Neukölln, check out the small, independent bookshop Die Buchkönigin (“book queen”). Their English selection is limited, but very strong. Case in point: this is the only place I could find Shuggy Bain.
📍New York
Most Loved: McNally Jackson
It’s sort of lame to pick McNally Jackson given it is New York’s most popular bookstore, with five locations and a huge merch line. But I just love it so much! I have especially fond memories at the Soho location — where I once saw Jude Law browsing the history section. A very New York moment indeed.
Close seconds: Books Are Magic, owned by author Emma Straub, is located in my favorite Cobble Hill neighborhood and has really special vibes. I also love Three Lives in the West Village, a teeny corner bookshop with a robust offering. And if you’re a tourist, make sure to visit the sprawl of The Strand. It’s worth it.
📍 Providence
Most loved: Books on the Square
I loved SO many things about living in Providence, and the bookstore scene really delivered. I feel most nostalgic for Books on the Square, just south of Brown’s campus. Wayland Square will always have a place in my heart, and if this bookstore ever closed, I would have to take time off to grieve.
Close seconds: For less traditional fare, I suggest Riffraff in an industrial part of the city. Half bar, half bookstore, it makes an ideal date spot. And although it’s technically not a bookstore, I also must recommend The Athenaeum, a stunning library founded in 1836. In college, I would study here and pretend I was in The Secret History (without the weird cult aspects). If you’re in town, you have to stop here. It’s breathtakingly gorgeous.
📍 Atlanta
Most loved: Bookish
If you’re looking for a truly Indie bookstore experience, Bookish in East Atlanta should be on your list. It’s small and located in an unassuming corner of town, but the curation is really thoughtful. The owner is always there, and every time I’ve been, she’s recommended some great stuff.
Close second: I’d be remiss to exclude A Cappella Books, an iconic bookstore in Inman Park. I wouldn’t come here to find the latest bestseller, but it’s worth exploring their selection of rare and vintage books.
📚 On my shelf
So far, the 2025 books are off to a good start! I adored Colored Television by Danzy Senna. The story’s protagonist is Jane, a biracial writer in LA struggling to finish her magnum opus. Drowning in debt and unable to sell the book, she turns to television writing. Chaos ensues. Like all of Senna’s books, this one grapples with race, marriage, and ambition. I gobbled it up. (Fun fact: Senna is married to Percival Everett, so if you liked James, make sure you check her out, too!)
I also finished The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a Czechoslovakian-born psychologist and Holocaust survivor who I learned about on my visit to Prague.
On my TBR: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, and In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.
📚 Links and Things
On Friday, I saw The Seed of the Sacred Fig, a masterful offering from acclaimed Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof. Set in Tehran, the story follows one family’s unraveling crisis during the Mahsa Amini protests. The movie was largely filmed in secret, and since it debuted in Berlin last year, Rasoulof has been forced to flee the country. I really hope a lot of people see and support this film. My heart was in my throat the whole time.
Belated, but I so appreciated
’ vulnerability in this edition of Downtime.I really want to try this Spicy Tomato Feta Spaghetti Squash with Chickpeas from
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XOX and happy reading! 💛
Alli
Not at all lame to pick McNally as your top NYC store, it’s sooooo fricken good! if you’re looking for one a bit off the beaten path of NYC bookstore recs, check out Spoonbill and Sugartown in Williamsburg, it is so eclectic and excellent.
love this post! 💗📚
I need to go back to Bookish! I am also so glad I have my Lost City merch 🤗🤗