Tweet

As much as we love technology (if you couldn’t tell from our recent travel app and tech gloves posts), there’s something to be said for a good, old-fashioned tangible book. Maybe it’s the sweet, musty scent that makes us nostalgic for the library books of old. Or maybe it’s just that we love the slight air of mystery that accompanies anyone reading a novel in public (a dim coffee shop warrants extra mystery points). Our love of literature got us thinking: what are some of the country’s best bookstores?

Photos courtesy of Fodor’s, Brattle Book Shop, The New York Times and LibraryThing

{Clockwise from left}

1. Known for publishing Allen Ginsberg’s controversial Howl and Other Poems, City Lights Booksellers & Publishers in San Francisco is a literary landmark that offers classic and newly-released literature, frequent in-store performances and alternative-culture vibes.

2. Brattle Book Shop, conveniently located near The Langham hotel in Boston, is one of America’s oldest bookstores; it was founded in 1825 and boasts 3 floors loaded with used and antiquarian books, among other interesting things (you might want to sneak a peek at the signed photo of Abe Lincoln).

3. Recent SniqueAway spotlights on Monaco Portland and RiverPlace, both Kimpton Hotels, led us to Powell’s City of Books. The independent bookstore (which claims to be the largest in the world) fills up an entire city block with more than 1 million new, used and out-of-print texts.

4. Boasting a total of 18 miles of books, The Strand in New York City opened in 1927 and is the only remaining bookstore on what was once Book Row. Here you’ll find new, used and rare titles—but it’s best not to go in search of something particular as browsing is the name of the game here.

Happy reading!