529. 27th Letter Books – October 17, 2021 – Detroit, MI

Books make my heart sing! So it was exciting to visit 27th Letter Books, a Detroit-based, indie-owned bookstore.

27th Letter Books started as a pop-up but opened a permanent location on Michigan Avenue this summer. Its offerings include adult fiction and nonfiction, kid’s books, YA novels, graphic novels, and books in Spanish. Works by authors of color are well represented.

One thing I adore about visiting bookstores is seeing the staff recommendations. 27th Letter Books has those in spades. The two books I left with, Kindred by Octavia E. Butler and Scorpionfish by Natalie Bakopoulos, were because of the recommendation-card write-ups that accompanied them.

I also love when a bookstore feels like its own space, a unique personality. 27th Letter Books feels like that. Its design elements are a mix of contemporary (industrial elements, including peeling paint and exposed brick) and cozy (colorfully patterned rugs, wood-plank floors, and plush antique chairs). It’s an aesthetically pleasing place that has a welcoming vibe – in large part because of the friendly, eager-to-help booksellers at its helm.

Having experienced those inviting vibes, it’s no surprise to me that 27th Letter Books regularly holds community events, including writing meet-ups, artist talks, children’s story times, and its monthly Ampersand Book Club. Check out the Events section of its website for its latest offerings. And check out its shelves the next time your heart sings for a new book.

3546 Michigan Ave.

Detroit, MI 48216

www.27thletterbooks.com

357. Pages Bookshop – August 31, 2018 – Detroit, MI

After enjoying a delicious cold-brew iced coffee during a visit to Always Brewing Detroit, I continued my recent afternoon in the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood of Detroit with a visit to Pages Bookshop.

This jaunt was SUPER exciting for me as a lifelong lover of books (shout-out to my fellow bookworms!). Independently-owned bookshops hold a special charm for me, especially in this day and age of online conglomerates and digital over paper. They are doing the good work, keeping physical bookstores and the curated, personal book-buying experience alive!

When I buy from indie bookshops, it feels like a total win-win: I am financially supporting a business whose mission I value, AND I have an excuse to buy new books. How great is that?

And Pages Bookshop, specifically, is a FANTASTIC indie bookstore. Its one-room shop is relatively small, but it’s loaded with thoughtfully chosen fiction and nonfiction offerings – including books by local authors – as well as cute Michigan-centric goods and other items that make great gifts, such as cards and journals.

On the day I visited, Pages was helmed by the owner, Susan, and the shop cat, Pip. Susan was a delight to share my enthusiasm around books with, and Pip melted my heart with her adorably plump frame and sprawling request to be petted (Feline Friends 4L!).

I browsed in Pages for about a half hour and found loads of books I was interested in. Like most indie bookshops, Pages affixes handwritten notecards touting staff recommendations to its shelves (I’m a sucker for those!).

Limiting myself to three purchases, I decided on two novels (The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin) and one nonfiction tome (Small Victories by Anne Lamott). My fix to the conundrum of being interested in more books than I’ll allow myself to buy, BTW: I text myself the titles and authors of the ones I don’t get so I have a record of them (bookworm hack!).

I left Pages with my purchases in a complimentary canvas tote and the warm feeling that being around books infuses in me.

Once home, I scanned the list of upcoming events that Susan had given me and plotted my next visit. Pages regularly hosts author visits, sometimes several a week; a schedule is available via the Events calendar on its website.

Whether for the purpose of attending an event there or not, a visit to Pages Bookshop is most definitely worthwhile, especially if you love books as much as I do. How fortunate we are to have this indie bookstore in Detroit!

19560 Grand River Ave.

Detroit, MI 48223

www.pagesbkshop.com

 

195. Source Booksellers – October 6, 2016 – Detroit, MI

Source Booksellers – what a delight!

I am a huge bookworm and library/independent bookstore nerd. I am someone who, when researching a vacation destination, hunts down the coolest bookstore there and persuades any fellow travelers to visit it with me so I can buy books at the likes of The Tattered Cover in downtown Denver (my absolute favorite bookstore EVER) or, more recently, writer Ann Patchett’s shop, Parnassus Books, in Nashville.  Long story short, I love books. And there aren’t nearly enough independent bookstores in the Metro-Detroit area, so I was psyched to discover that this one on Cass Avenue in Midtown is a gem.

Source Booksellers is a small shop, featuring all nonfiction books – and a few select novels. The owner was manning the counter during my visit; I recognized her from a picture I’d seen online. She was lovely – welcoming, eager to interact with us, and very knowledgeable about her catalog of books, which were obviously carefully chosen. This is the reason I love a good independent bookstore (and why I am compelled to buy a few books every time I visit one, even though I’m primarily a devout library patron when it comes to my book purveying), this thoughtfulness and intimacy put into choosing its selection. As Source’s owner explained to us, and is also outlined on the shop’s website, she focuses on representing four primary subject areas with the books she sells: 1) history and culture; 2) health and wellness; 3) spirituality and metaphysics; and 4) women-centric topics. If you have any interest in these areas or simply appreciate a well-curated bookstore, I would urge you to visit Source.

Regular classes and events are held at the bookstore, as well, on such intriguing topics as belly dancing, tai chi, and urban foraging. Check out Source’s website; there are some awesome-sounding events planned for this month!

4240 Cass Ave.

Detroit, MI, 48201

www.sourcebooksellers.com

89. The Book Beat – December 19, 2014 – Oak Park, MI

What a little gem this place is. The Book Beat is one of the rare independent bookstores that continues to thrive. Wind through its shelf mazes and browse its carefully curated collections of new and used tomes, being careful to dodge the occasional box of books scattered about on the floor (they just add character!). Several people who appeared to be regulars filtered in and out during my short time here, which made me happy, because it illustrated that bookstores like this are not only places of commerce but places of communion, too (take that, Barnes & Noble!).

26010 Greenfield Rd.
Oak Park, MI 48237

http://www.thebookbeat.com/shop/index.php

34. John K. King Books North – July 10, 2014 – Ferndale, MI

I’m honestly not a used-bookstore person; I’m a major frequenter of my local library, and if I buy books I like for them to be brand-new. But I had to check out this place. I’ve never been to the famous John K. King store downtown and have always wanted to see what it’s about, and being in Ferndale on this day, this location was the next best thing.

Wow, what an impressive place! I’ve never seen such a neatly organized used bookstore. There are tons of categories here and major selection. It was really fun to stroll around and check out the shelves.

22524 Woodward Ave.
Ferndale, MI 48220

http://www.rarebooklink.com