Our Favorite Used Bookstores in Town

Chicago Magazine / by Edward McClelland / August 5, 2025

Is there any better place to hide out for an afternoon than a used bookstore? Any better place to take shelter from a rainstorm? Because they’re so small, dark, and tightly packed, they’re better for browsing than the new bookstores, with their fluorescent lights and the smell of shiny paper. All the books in a used bookstore have been read before, so you can’t do any damage by reading them a little more. And the owners are famously laissez-faire (The Onion once ran the headline “Used-Bookstore Owner Rises From Chair”) so nobody will hassle you with a “Can I help you?,” no matter how much time you spend in the stacks. As a book fiend, and a cheapskate, I buy most of my books used. Here are my favorite places to shop around the city. Read More Here.