If I came to your city what Bookstore would you recommend and why?

Not technically muh city, but 'Zero' in Didsbury (Manchester, UK) is utterly wonderful and surprising and friendly and great, fo' sheecetera...

Last time I was there I came away with 'Mimes on Miming' and 'King Lear: The Comic Book' for a grand total of four pounds = A WINNER WAS ME.

For new and used, Elliott Bay Books down in Pioneer Square (after you do the Underground Seattle walking tour). For huge wonderful selection of used only, particularly sci fi, Twice largest variety of bookshop cats. Catch the 8 from Seattle Center after you've been up the Space Needle - there's a stop directly in front of the store. For new books only: Queen Anne Books, at the top of Queen Anne, just moved to a new space adjacent to El Diablo Coffee (Cuban coffee, Mexican hot chocolate, various tasty treats). It's comfy, everyone there is a reader with excellent suggestions, and though the inventory's not huge, it covers everything. Stop in there either before or after you've had lunch at the 5-Spot and taken in the best view of the city from the small park on Highland.

Then, when you are done with Seattle, take the train down to Portland and visit Powell's. And once you're done there (3 days maybe, one for each floor...), head over to Lincoln City on the Oregon coast to Robert's Books, the most amazing used bookshop I've been in. The owner also collects original cover art from '40s and '50s paperbacks. A well-organized shop, much larger than it appears, good prices, astounding stuff on the shelves.

Welcome to Austin, TX. Please proceed immediately to Bookpeople. Not a used bookstore but two floors, a coffee shop and a unique sense of place. As for used books well you can try Half-Price Books, and alternative MonkeyWrench Books, if it's still open by the time any of you get here. Since I am Hispanic I should certainly leave you with a plea to search out Resistencia Bookstore. Peace.

If anyone makes it to my part of the US Midwest region, you deserve an afternoon at The Source Used Bookstore. Three stories of lovely, old, divine books - and the espresso's on me at Theo's Java Hut.

In DC it would probably be Second Story Books at 20th & P NW (a block from Dupont Circle). Unfortunately, it's really not that great nor that cheap, though as the weather gets nicer there will be good deals outside on the sidewalk.

In Salt Lake City check out the King's English Bookshop, Sam Weller's (for new, used, and rare books) and Borders (for atmosphere).

I know I am repeating what Steve said in his original posting, but if you come to Boston, come to Cambridge as well and check out the Harvard Bookstore (not to be confused with the Harvard COOP, which is a B&N now). Just to show that I am not biased since I work there, also check out Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner (great area).

London Calling. A few at random: Stoke Newington Bookshop, Foyles on Charing Cross Road (there appears to be some order to this store now - three years ago it was like a library after a tornado, Charing Cross Road second hand shops, the one opposite Black Heath, the stall on Rupert Street market in Soho etc etc

The Avenue Victor Hugo bookstore in Boston is another great one.

Thanks Lee and let us not forget that other great used bookstore
in Davis Square, Somerville McIntyre & Moore. Great collection
and in a block with a bunch of great taverns , eateries, and coffee
shops to kill a few hours looking over your purchases.

The cool thing used to be to say "Madison's best bookstore is Canterbury," but Canterbury always sucked, pretentious bullshit with shit-ass selection. Borders and Barnes & Noble are where I shop for new stuff. For used...well, you're in paradise here. Avol's, Paul's, Shakespeare, Frugal Muse, it's all gravity.

Unfortunately in my mid-sized Central Florida town, your only options are Barnes and Noble on the north side and Books A Million on the south. However, venture twenty miles to the east and enter downtown Winter Haven, where you will find BookTraders...dusty, ill-lit, missing the requisite coffee shop...and a jolly good time =)

If you come to Dublin you should head out to the Southside of the city on the DART as far as Dalkey and go to the Exchange bookshop. It's a bit more expensive than your average second-hand shop, but the owner has great taste, doesn't usually keep rubbish on the shelves, and will do a good trade-in deal on books with you.

There's also the Winding Stair, which has a lovely cafe in it and a great view out over the River Liffey, and is an excellent place to buy obscure Irish history books and pamphlets. There is also talk of opening new book kiosks on Grattan Bridge in Dublin, which is a good thing in theory, except that the kiosks themselves look like public toilets and totally spoil your view of the few nice buildings we have up that end of town.

There's also a fantastic second-hand bookshop in Universal City, CA (where I do not live) which has sofas and cats and some great out of print books about the film business for not that much money. I don't remember the name of it, it's years since I was there.

2 Bookstores here in Johannesburg really rate with me:

Estoril in Cresta Shopping Centre; cos there's a Seattle Coffee Company inside it, with big black leather couches,

and

Outer Limits, best and one-and-only comix store in SA

In Tulsa, OK, there's Gardner's. It's the HUGEST used bookstore I've ever seen, and they frequently have sales to clear out their overstock. Also, when you buy $25 worth of books and bring in your receipts, they give you credit towards $10 worth of more books. Love this store!

If you make it to Chicago, we have the nice big chains, and we have some excellent small independents, the best of which are Unabridged, Women and Children First, Quimby's (zines, alternative comics, etc.), Barbara's, and, a bit out of the way for tourists but quite an amazing twosome, 57th St./Seminary Co-op. I link to all of them from my humble little visitor's guide to Chicago (which I'm hoping to add visuals to soon).

I live in (actually quite near to) Portland, Oregon, and I have long patronized the "world famous" Powell's Books. It is an enormous bookstore, incoporating new books, remaindered books, and used books. They claim rather more than a million titles and, as their inventory is computerized (even the used books), it is a credible claim.

I am spoiled, I suppose, but it seems to me that Powell's has slipped a bit recently. Not so much in selection, but the owner has been squeezing the store for more profits by lowering the prices paid for used books and raising the prices asked. That makes it far less attractive to me than in the past. If you are already acclimated to paying high prices, Powell's will seem like heaven to almost any bibliophile.

The owner has also been very hard-assed toward his highly knowledgable and dedicated employees lately, prompting them to unionize a couple of years ago. His response has been to battle the union at every step, even though his profitability is at an all-time high.

I don't patronize Powell's as much as I once did, but it is still an experience not to be missed in Portland.

anyone coming to Birmingham, Alabama has GOT to go to Reed Books, a literal museum of old books, posters, magazine, ads, antiques, you name it. I used to spend hours in there regularly.

http://www.jimreedbooks.com/

check it, yo.

Also in D.C., Politics and Prose and the Georgetown Book Shop (which is actually in Bethesda. Very small, but interesting selection, cool owner, and lots of cheap review copies of recently released books).

If in New York Colliseum Books on 42nd. bet. 5th and 6th. Biggest independent bookstore in NYC.

Great idea for a thread.

In Dublin : Chapters in Abbey Street is full of crap but has so much stock that I always find something I want, usually in the second hand section downstairs.

In London: the Stalls outside the NFT on the South Bank are pretty good, the Book & Comic Exchange in Notting Hill is pretty good too...

In Brighton/Hove (UK) it has to be City Books on Western Road for new, and the Oxfam bookshop on Kensington Gardens for used.

**** **** in Toronto. Cause I work there. Although sadly I cannot reveal its name.

IF you are in Sydney Australia, a few options for new books include Abbeys & Galaxy on York St in the CBD, Gleebooks in Glebe and the Constant Reader in Crows Nest. Not the largest bookshops in the city, but always have a good collection of books, including those that you do not normally see in chain book stores.

Second hand books, best option is King St Newtown, which has lots of small second hand bookshops (as well as some nice cafes and restaraunts).

If you are ever in Adelaide go to Peggi Williams. Its not a chain store so they have staff who ACTUALLY WANT TO HELP YOU!. Peggi got hit by a car a couple of years ago so i think her son runs it now. P.S they can order in anything they don't have and they have a great childrens section.

For all the cities large enough to have good bookstores that I've lived in:

In Tucson, I'd take you straight to Bookmans, a simply massive used books/music/magazines/everything store with three convenient locations. Woohoo!

In East Lansing, it would be straight to Schuler's, which unfortunately moved into the posh mall right before I left town. But still, the best independent new bookstore in town.

In Wichita, my favorite would be Eighth Day Books. They carry both new and used books, heavy on the religious literature and theology, but a lot of other good quality stuff as well. They also have website, www.eighthdaybooks.com, and a great mail-order catalogue. (which is even heavier on the religious books, but oh well.)

I live in Portland. I would take you to Powell's. Several branches of Powell's, even. Have I mentioned that we have no sales tax?

When I lived in New York I would take any friends who were in town and up for it on my personal Walking Tour Of Bookshops, which would take anywhere from 10 to 12 hours and still miss a few that were too far away. Only two people ever actually went on the tour, but wow did they have a time of it.

St. Louis was once home of the largest independent bookstore in the country, I believe. Sadly, it caved to Borders a few years ago. But the obvious recommendation for the Lou now is Left Bank Books. It's one of those bookstores where you can sit on the floor for hours reading used anthologies and only their cat will bother you.

My favorite place in Chicago so far is Myopic Books on Milwaukee in Wicker Park. The newer/more popular books can be slightly overpriced (not ridiculous), but they have a good-sized stock which seems to rotate fairly often. Plus they have cats.

Were you to swing by SF and not go to at least City Lights, I'd no longer respond to your letters to the sex columnist.

I suppose you do have to make the pilgrimage, but I didn't care for City Lights that much as a bookstore -- it's cramped in a bad way, and something about the vibe, the way that it is someplace you have to make a pilgrimage to, put me off as well.