A Book Lover's Bounty
Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day in style
Independent Bookstore Day is upon us again (this year, 2025, it’s on Saturday, April 26th), which means there’s no better time for me to extol the many glories of independent bookstores and seduce you into giving one or more indies your patronage. I’ll highlight ten area bookstores, where I’ve been a customer, each of which highlights one or more aspects of the overall experience of buying from independents.
Brookline Booksmith
When I first began buying books en masse, two independent bookstores dominated the local scene. One, the late, lamented New England Mobile Book Fair, besides being as quirky a store as you could imagine (with books filed by publisher!), also appealed because even new titles sold at a discount, something none of the books on this list do today, alas. The other, blessedly still in business, is Brookline Booksmith, in Coolidge Corner. Perhaps its most appealing aspect is that it sells new books, remaindered books, and used books, meaning for me that it’s hard to escape the store without buying something. Another plus, one shared by many of the stores on this list, is that the Booksmith is in a funky neighborhood well worth a visit on its own.
Papercuts Bookshop
The first time I experienced Independent Bookstore Day was about a decade ago at Papercuts, then called JP Papercuts as a nod to its Jamaica Plain home (talk about a funky neighborhood!). The store back then was in a different, far more cramped location, but part of the appeal was the fact that you could literally stumble over books. On that particularly Independent Bookstore Day, Papercuts had a slew of reader’s copies on display; a purchase of any other book meant you could pick something for free from the reader’s copies. Indie bookstores often facilitate these serendipitous experiences.
Porter Square Books
I’ve never been one to combine my bookstore visits with a cup of coffee and a pastry, but I can certainly see the appeal. Should that combination be to your taste, try Porter Square Books in Cambridge. I suspect that if this was my neighborhood bookstore, maybe I would partake in a coffee or two, on occasion at first and addictively eventually. Porter Square hosts author talks, where it seems almost criminal not to buy the featured book, given that you can spend a moment or two with the author afterwards and come away with a personalized signed copy.
Brattle Book Shop
Yes, that’s Paul Giammati, in a scene from The Holdovers, perusing the outdoor book stalls at the Brattle Book Shop at Boston’s Downtown Crossing. The indoor store is full of bargains for the thrifty and rarities for the collector, but the outdoor browsing experience is as good as it gets (as long as the weather cooperates). All of the outdoor books are priced from one to five dollars; I start my browsing at the dollar racks and often find something great there. Recently, around forty copies of the Wallace Stevens Journal were on sale, each for a buck. I took three, then second guessed myself all the way home as to why I didn’t buy them all for what would have been the total cost of just one new book.
Hummingbird Books
I’m past the days of visiting bookstores with young children in tow, but should that still be your world, I know they would love Chestnut Hill’s Hummingbird Books, one of the newest indies in the Boston area, with its Great Oak Tree dominating the interior. There’s weekly story hours under the tree, but there’s nothing to stop you no matter what your age from taking a book off the shelves and sampling it nestled under the oak. Also, the Hummingbird has a Little Free Library across the way from it, so what’s not to like? Like many indies, Hummingbird Books has carefully curated its selection, and provides employee blurbs extolling favorite titles. Don’t be one of those who visit a store like Hummingbird Books, encounter a wonderful book you never knew existed, note the title, and then go and buy it from Amazon. Repeat: Don’t Be That Person!
Frugal Bookstore
The Boston Public Library has a fun program (I hope it’s still happening) where you can pick up a booklet-sized passport with all the library’s branches featured, and then get a librarian to stamp your passport when you visit that branch. Among the branches I visited was a beautiful new building in Roxbury’s Nubian Square. While in the neighborhood, I also checked out Frugal Bookstore, with a curated selection highlighting the African American experience. The store was a go-to destination for many after George Floyd’s murder, as readers (and yes, I counted myself among them) caught up on their reading by black authors. But, guess what…serendipity again as I also picked up for a couple of dollars a brand new, luxuriously illustrated book about the Beatles US tours (the salesperson told me that some company sent them unsolicited a boxful of copies).
Grolier Poetry Bookshop
There really should be more one-genre bookstores in my opinion. Yes, until I suddenly caught the poetry bug in the past few years, I never would have stopped into the Grolier, but now that I’ve been bitten, I’ll time my visits to Harvard Square to coincide with its infrequent open hours. The Grolier hosts poetry readings, and since their store is so small, they stream them online. Their tight quarters result in impromptu conversations with patrons you’re literally rubbing elbows with, especially since you know they are poetry lovers too. It’s interesting that as I’ve expanded my knowledge of poetry, I can find myself frustrated that the Grolier doesn’t have many of the titles I seek. But here’s the thing: indies will order books for you, so if you love poetry, do anything you can to buy it from the Grolier, founded in 1927 and ready to serve Cambridge and beyond for another hundred years.
Trident Booksellers and Cafe
Just last week I dropped by the Trident looking for a Louise Gluck title that postdated her Poems: 1962-2012, one of my favorite books. Not only did the Trident have it on their poetry shelves, but it was available at a remaindered price, a surprise and a steal at $8.98. The Trident is notable for hosting book lovers get-togethers, often involving book swaps. You find yourself at a table with folks you don’t know (in my case, they’re about a half-century younger than I am), and end the evening chatting away. The Trident also serves as the anchor for a Boston book walk I like to take, which includes Commonwealth Books near Government Center, the Brattle, Beacon Hill Books and Cafe on Charles Street, Posman Books on Newbury Street, and finally, the Trident.
Harvard Book Store
The Harvard Book Store is a mainstay in Harvard Square. Like Brookline Booksmith, it has plenty of new titles, plus a generous supply of remainders, and a good sized used book section. Unique to the Harvard though is its periodic Warehouse Sales, where you can shop their Needham facility for remaindered titles, with a particularly attractive selection of art books, graphic novels, New York Review of Books Classics, and children’s books. You can get on their email list to learn about their sales, as well as author events at the mothership in Cambridge.
Newtonville Books
I’ve saved my neighborhood store for last and in praising Newtonville Books will highlight still another handful of reasons why independent bookstores rule. I’m in the store all the time, so I get to know the staff, including the owner, and can talk about ideas for the store with the people who can make them happen. I regularly attend a store-hosted book club, where I can engage with our slowly growing group of participants, including host and Newton author Jonathan Wilson, who is both erudite and charming. Finally, I can become a Frequent Buyer member, where even though the savings for me still means I’m paying more than I would from Amazon, I can quantify the business I am bringing to Newtonville Books, and can recognize that, in my small way, I’m helping keep them in business. Our city would be poorer without them and our region would be far poorer without all the independent bookstores I’ve featured here, and the many I didn’t. Go see for yourself this Independent Bookstore Day.