April 26, 2025

It’s Independent Bookstore Day! Since 2014, the American Booksellers Association has been celebrating independent bookstores on the last Saturday in April (April 26 in 2025) to generate media attention, attract new bookstore customers, create community goodwill, and to help keep indie bookstores front of mind.

My favorite independent bookstores in the San Francisco Bay Area (where I live) include:

Although I buy most of my books from chain bookstores, big box stores, and online retailers, I often seek out and buy from an independent bookstore when visiting a new city to support the local community.

Here are a few indie bookshops I’ve been to in recent years.

Powell’s City of Books, Portland, Oregon

Website: Powell’s Books

Powell’s Books is the world’s largest independent bookstore. Open since 1971, their mission is to be the world’s best destination for readers, a place that fosters a culture of reading and connects people with the books they’ll love.

I spent six hours at Powell’s one day in 2023

Kramers, Washington, DC

Website: Kramers

Kramers opened in 1976 as Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café, the first bookstore/café in Washington, DC.

I remember having good food here in 1998 and 2017

Shakespeare and Company, Paris, France

Website: Shakespeare and Company

In the early 1950’s, an American named George Whitman opened this independent English-language bookstore at its present location on 37 rue de la Bûcherie. He named it Shakespeare and Company after the original bookstore in Paris that another American expatriate, Sylvia Beach, had opened in the early 1920’s.

Read my post > Visiting les Bouquinistes and Shakespeare and Company in Paris

In 2018, I got to see the cat that lives at Shakespeare and Company

Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops, Portland, Maine

Website: Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops

Sherman’s story began in 1886 when Bill Sherman bought a printing press and established “W.H. Sherman, Printer & Stationer.” He sold books and office supplies from his Bar Harbor storefront. Throughout the years, Sherman’s and another bookstore, Maine Coast Book Shop have received “Best in Maine” and other prestigious awards. In 2016, their 130th year, Sherman’s purchased the Maine Coast Book Shop and changed their name to Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops.

Portland Old Port location
Maine’s Oldest Bookstore
Sherman’s was established in 1886

Beacon Hill Books & Café, Boston, Massachusetts

Website: Beacon Hill Books & Café

This charming bookstore opened in 2022 and is located in a narrow, five-story building. Each level is dedicated to a different genre, like fiction, art, travel, and children’s books. The café is located on the ground floor.

The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles, California

Website: The Last Bookstore

The Last Bookstore is California’s largest used and new book and record store. It began in 2005 in a loft. Today, it’s in a 22,000-square-foot space in Downtown LA.

the iconic tunnel made of hundreds of books at The Last Bookstore in LA

Eagle Harbor Book Company, Bainbridge Island, Washington

Website: Eagle Harbor Book Company

Eagle Harbor Book Company has been serving the Kitsap Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest since 1970. It’s a short ferry ride from Seattle and a short walk from the ferry terminal to the bookstore.

I liked their selection of children’s books

Tell me in the comments: What’s your favorite independent bookstore?

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