Print is not dead.
Okay, so it’s a little closer to death than it may have been twenty years ago—but stiff and six-feet-under it is not. For those of you that still revel in the feel of pages between your fingers and the look of a bookshelf stocked with beautifully designed hardcover novels just waiting to be delved into, Boston has a few independent bookstores of note. Bibliophiles, beware—these bookstores bust bank accounts.
Brattle Bookstore—9 West St. Boston, MA 02111
Founded in 1825, Brattle Bookstore—located in downtown Boston—offers fans of antique books unparalleled selection. As one of America’s oldest and largest used book shops, Brattle’s collection consists of an outdoor sale lot, two floors of used books, and one floor of specialty rare books.
Raven Used Books—263 Newbury St. Boston, MA 02116—52 John F. Kennedy St. Cambridge, MA 02138
With locations in both Cambridge and Boston, Raven Used Books is a must visit for people on both sides of the Charles. Raven Used Books has books at 50-80 percent off cover price displayed in a small, intimate, comfortable setting. The Raven on Newbury, in addition to selling books, has evening reading events. In the past these have included visits from Noam Chomsky and avant garde poetry readings.
Trident Booksellers and Cafe—338 Newbury St. Boston, MA 02115
A cafe is the perfect accouterment to a bookstore. Espresso with some Edgar Allan, a scone with some Shakespeare, a nice coffee with your C.S. Lewis. Trident Booksellers and Cafe, however, one-ups typical bookstore cafes in that the substances in their drinks are not limited to caffeine. Mimosas, wine, and beer are all offered along with traditional cafe beverages to wash down moderately priced fare. Trident also has an impressive magazine selection and discounted used books. Yum.
Get reading.
—Carly Loman, Future Boston Intern
I really appreciate this post, as I’ve been trying to buy locally. It’s good to know that there are still a lot of bookstores thriving in Boston, as I’ll be needing to stock up on books for the beach this summer!
Trident is a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee and read! Love spending a rainy day there when I don’t have work!
Used bookstores are awesome and sustainable!
I agree that it’s important to support these local bookstores. There’s something about reading off a page, rather than a screen. I hope we can help bookstores survive.
I absolutely love Trident. We need more cool innovative places like that around the city!