Here is a list of some of the top independent bookstores in the USA, known for their community engagement, unique selections, and support of local authors:
- Powell’s City of Books – Portland, OR
- Strand Book Store – New York, NY
- City Lights Booksellers & Publishers – San Francisco, CA
- The Tattered Cover – Denver, CO
- BookPeople – Austin, TX
- Politics and Prose – Washington, DC
- Elliott Bay Book Company – Seattle, WA
- Books & Books – Coral Gables, FL
- Changing Hands Bookstore – Tempe, AZ
- McNally Jackson Books – New York, NY
- Parnassus Books – Nashville, TN
- Prairie Lights – Iowa City, IA
- Unabridged Bookstore – Chicago, IL
- Rizzoli Bookstore – New York, NY
- Book Soup – Los Angeles, CA
- The Book Loft – Columbus, OH
- Vroman’s Bookstore – Pasadena, CA
- Harvard Book Store – Cambridge, MA
- Blue Bicycle Books – Charleston, SC
- The King’s English Bookshop – Salt Lake City, UT
- Joseph-Beth Booksellers – Cincinnati, OH
- Women & Children First – Chicago, IL
- WORD Bookstore – Brooklyn, NY
- Books Are Magic – Brooklyn, NY
- A Room of One’s Own – Madison, WI
- The Last Bookstore – Los Angeles, CA
- Book Passage – Corte Madera, CA
- Greenlight Bookstore – Brooklyn, NY
- Books Inc. – San Francisco, CA
- Wellesley Books – Wellesley, MA
- Subterranean Books – St. Louis, MO
- Avid Bookshop – Athens, GA
- Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe – Asheville, NC
- Skylight Books – Los Angeles, CA
- Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers – Minneapolis, MN
- The Regulator Bookshop – Durham, NC
- BookBar – Denver, CO
- Northshire Bookstore – Manchester Center, VT
- The Booksmith – San Francisco, CA
- Village Books – Bellingham, WA
- Brookline Booksmith – Brookline, MA
- Square Books – Oxford, MS
- Scuppernong Books – Greensboro, NC
- Left Bank Books – St. Louis, MO
- Third Place Books – Lake Forest Park, WA
- The Book Cellar – Chicago, IL
- Wild Rumpus – Minneapolis, MN
- The Elliott Bay Book Company – Seattle, WA
- Little Shop of Stories – Decatur, GA
- Hooray for Books! – Alexandria, VA
- Lemuria Books – Jackson, MS
- Charis Books and More – Decatur, GA
- Diesel, A Bookstore – Brentwood, CA
- R.J. Julia Booksellers – Madison, CT
- Mystery Lovers Bookshop – Oakmont, PA
- Books & Books @ The Studios – Key West, FL
- Boulder Book Store – Boulder, CO
- Bookbug – Kalamazoo, MI
- Hub City Bookshop – Spartanburg, SC
- The Harvard Coop – Cambridge, MA
- RiverRun Bookstore – Portsmouth, NH
- Bookworks – Albuquerque, NM
- Porter Square Books – Cambridge, MA
- Blue Willow Bookshop – Houston, TX
- Octavia Books – New Orleans, LA
- Village Books & Paper Dreams – Bellingham, WA
- The Ripped Bodice – Culver City, CA
- East City Bookshop – Washington, DC
- Common Good Books – St. Paul, MN
- Island Books – Mercer Island, WA
- Watermark Books & Café – Wichita, KS
- Books of Wonder – New York, NY
- Reading Frenzy – Portland, OR
- McLean & Eakin Booksellers – Petoskey, MI
- Books On The Square – Providence, RI
- The Bookworm – Omaha, NE
- Brazos Bookstore – Houston, TX
- Bear Pond Books – Montpelier, VT
- BookPeople of Moscow – Moscow, ID
- The Briar Patch – Bangor, ME
- Sundance Books and Music – Reno, NV
- Bookstore1Sarasota – Sarasota, FL
- Antigone Books – Tucson, AZ
- Joseph-Beth Booksellers – Lexington, KY
- The Curious Iguana – Frederick, MD
- The Golden Notebook – Woodstock, NY
- The Learned Owl Book Shop – Hudson, OH
- Book Passage – San Francisco, CA
- BookCourt – Brooklyn, NY
- Carmichael’s Bookstore – Louisville, KY
- Phoenix Books – Burlington, VT
- Hickory Stick Bookshop – Washington Depot, CT
- Liberty Bay Books – Poulsbo, WA
- Eagle Harbor Book Co. – Bainbridge Island, WA
- Flyleaf Books – Chapel Hill, NC
- The Bookworm of Edwards – Edwards, CO
- Oblong Books & Music – Rhinebeck, NY
- Hooray for Books! – Alexandria, VA
- Anderson’s Bookshop – Naperville, IL
- Northshire Bookstore – Saratoga Springs, NY
These bookstores have strong reputations for supporting local authors and fostering a love for books within their communities.