Women-owned "booktique" run by former teachers. Curated picks, book clubs, a retro vinyl parlor upstairs.

A Lakeview cornerstone since 1980. One of Chicago's oldest indies. Robust LGBTQ+ section.

Founded 1979, Andersonville since 1990. Intersectional, trans-inclusive feminist. Books as tools for liberation.

Rare and used. Niche by design.

Neighborhood-run, with book clubs and children's story time.

Wine, couches, and a front patio when the weather holds. Lincoln Square's living room.

Horror, sci-fi, fantasy — plus records. The name tells you what to expect.

Romance-focused, unapologetic about it.

Eclectic used books, plus periodicals, LPs, DVDs, VHS tapes. An archaeology of the printed and recorded.

New books organized around disability rights, racism, and adjacent reading.

Theater bookstore and coffee shop. Metric Coffee, drama and criticism section.

Café, bar, event space, used bookstore. Wi-Fi-free room. Increasingly radical.

Comic book lovers. Nerding out, specifically.

Books in Polish.

Used books in a fairy-tale-cozy space.

Books in Polish.

Shopping for a cause.

Asian American family-owned. Books organized by identity, arm chairs for reading breaks.

Used books, good prices. Two neighbors making it happen.

Woman-owned. Gently used, far Northwest.

Part bookstore, part community workspace. Consignment for Chicago-based artists.

A library and cultural institution, not strictly a bookstore — but the small shop, the readings, and the stacks earn their place on the list.

Bilingual children's books — the Latinx experience and social justice, on a bookmobile.

New, used, and discounted. Near the original Barbara's Bookstore location.

50,000+ used books across locations. Sales support literacy programs.

Bilingual children's books, carefully curated by owner Laura Rodriguez-Romani.

Contemporary fiction and non-fiction. Good light, friendly staff, a robust Chicago section.

Black-owned, woman-owned, mission-driven. Staff who can talk about books by authors of color for hours.

Heavily-curated shelves, owner-sisters who host community events (including book-themed speed dating).

~60,000 used books, chaotic by design. One of the last shops standing in post-gentrification Wicker Park.

Great views. Named for Liz Phair's 1993 album. An industry favorite.

Since 1963. Six Chicagoland locations now, including one inside the former Marshall Field's.

Woman-owned, bright. Small press book club, cozy kids' section.

Chicago's only employee-owned bookstore. Floor-to-ceiling shelves, activist literature.

Niche and intellectual reads inside the longstanding Newberry Library.

Zine lovers.

Spanish-language literature. Inheritor of the original Librería Girón.

Mental health book lounge and café. Calm, bright, open. Reportedly the best bathroom decor in Chicago.

Self-published and independently distributed artists' books on art, design, film, theory.

Used books, downtown.

Rare and specific. By appointment only.

Founded 1961. The country's first not-for-profit bookstore. Self-described as one of the best academic bookstores in the world — they might have a point.

Cozy, since 1983. Sister store to Seminary Co-op. Hugely diverse collection of writers.

Books by Black authors.

Woman-owned, fiercely independent, in a historic building since 1982.

New and used, friendly staff, right next to a running store.

Used, bargain, antiquarian, out of print.

Used books.

Black, mother-daughter-owned. Books by Black authors. Literary lounge vibes.

Black, woman-owned. Books by writers of color.