Something I absolutely love about the city of Austin is that everything has personality. From restaurants to community spaces and even our main grocery store (this is actually a love letter to H-E-B), nowhere feels copy-and-pasted (except, of course, for chains and franchises, and even those usually have some Austin flavor). I’m a book lover, if that wasn’t obvious from my entire blog about books, and, besides a library, there’s nothing I love more than a bookstore.
Maybe I’m biased, but I think that Austin has some of the best and most unique independent bookstores in the state of Texas, if not the whole country, so I wanted to put together a round-up of some of my favorites to hopefully encourage people in Austin to go check them out!!
So, let’s talk my favorite indie bookstores in Austin, TX!
Photo by Melissa Borchardt
BookPeople – If you love Barnes & Noble, you’ll love BookPeople. This bookstore has the big capacity of a franchise without the total soullessness (kidding, Barnes, love you boo). With two massive floors packed full of books plus enough space for events and a café, BookPeople truly does it all. This is usually the place for popular authors to hold book tour events at—I’ve gone to tour stops by Chloe Gong, Riley Sager, Alex Aster, and Ali Hazelwood here—and they also have a lot of events for children as well. Their coffee area, CoffeePeople, is one of my favorite cafés to work out of! The barista is always so kind and friendly, and the drinks are delicious. BookPeople is also perfect to pop into before grocery shopping at the flagship Whole Foods location or on a weekend stroll downtown.
Photo by Kathryn Sugg
Vintage Bookstore and Wine Bar – You don’t have to like wine to love Vintage! This book shop is in a cozy older building on the east side of Austin, walking distance from some pretty great restaurants and bars. The website says “welcome to Austin’s living room”, and that’s exactly the feel you get when you walk in! They’re a family-owned business that makes you feel at home among all of the latest releases. I’ll admit, Vintage is my absolute favorite bookstore in Austin. I’m even dragging my best friends there for some light book perusal as part of my birthday celebration. They have a billion different events in the evenings: live music almost every Friday, occasional yoga-and-wine classes on Saturdays, writer events on Tuesdays, and trivia every Thursday. It also has a book club with monthly parties! If you have your own book club that you’re a part of, Vintage is always happy to host you and your friends. You can even rent a private room for your own gathering!
Photo by Hon Lam
First Light Books – First Light Books is one of the cutest bookstores I’ve ever seen, both inside and out. I ran my first marathon last weekend, and when we ran by First Light, I would not shut UP about it from miles 14-16. It has multiple book clubs with a variety of different themes guaranteed to make you think as you enjoy their book selections. They host Littles Storytime on Mondays, Chess Club on Wednesdays, and Happy Hour from 4-6pm M-Th. You can also become a member and gain access to other member-exclusive events. The menu in the café offers a huge assortment of snacks and drinks that you can enjoy inside or on their outdoor patio. Did I mention how cute this place is?!
Photo by Alanna Ludt
Reverie Books – Reverie is a community-minded bookshop tucked away in south Austin, and I think it’s the most underrated one on this list. It’s pretty small, which is why I think it’s not as well-known as some of the others here, but their mission is to call attention to underrepresented voices, especially local ones. They also have a program that supports the distribution of banned books. For the (other) book lover in your life, Reverie has themed gift boxes with books, bookish merch, and a Reverie ornament, or you can work with them to customize something extra-special, which I think is pretty cool!! It’s a wonderful local business to support, in my opinion.
That’s it for my favorite indie bookstores in Austin! I know there are a lot more in the city that I should check out, so if you have any suggestions or your own favorite Austin indie bookstore, please let me know in the comments so I can visit! I hope that next time you want to buy a book, you check out one of these independent sellers instead of Amazon. Cheers, and happy reading!
Sequels and Scribbles 