After a gorgeous, yet nail-biting, drive along the rugged coastline between San Francisco and Point Reyes on the way to a friend's wedding reception, we needed the pit stop afforded by Stinson Beach Books (3455 Shoreline Hwy. Stinson Beach, Ca 415-868-0700-no website.) Fortunately, it offered so much more. 

Billed as "the only bookstore located directly on the San Andreas Fault," it's a real gem of an old-style village bookshop.  The knowledgeable and spirited owner interrupted our chat to call the restaurant across the street and tell them to tone down the live music so she could talk to her customers without shouting. The music softened immediately. 

We could have spent all afternoon there, but we had to get back on the snake of a road.  I picked up a copy of Patricia Unterman's wonderful San Francisco Food Lover's Guide and walked across the street for a latte from the Espresso cart before climbing back in the car.

Another surprise in Georgia: Indie Coffee and Books in Decatur, right outside Atlanta.  The selection is not huge, but that's the charm.  All titles are handpicked by the owners and range from classics to contemporary fiction and nonfiction.  There's a wall of BookSense bestsellers, and a display of recommended titles.

It's the kind of place where you can browse, find something you've been meaning to read for years, or stumble across something completely new.  It has that personal vibe and genuine enthusiasm for books so sorely missing from most mega-chains. Odds are the person at the register can chat with you about your purchase and suggest other books of interest.  (Can't tell you the last time that happened to me at one of the biggies.)  Then you can order a coffee, take a seat and read for a while.  I bought a copy of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire (a brilliant read) and did just that.

On a recent trip to the southern U.S., I ended up with an afternoon to kill in Madison, GA. It's promotional material lauded it as "the town too pretty to burn," a nod to its exclusion from Sherman's highly flammable March to the Sea. Travel Holiday Magazine named it the best small town in the U.S.  It is charming, the architecture stunning, and the general ambience quintessential small town America.  But the biggest surprise for me was its local independent bookshop: Dog Ear Books. They have a great selection and a cool display of recommended reads.  I picked up two fantastic short story collections: Dan Chaon's Fitting Ends, and David Means Assorted Fire Events.  Drop in if you're in the area, or visit online.

Listings for independent bookshops in the UK, some with online ordering

The Guardian’s list of Best UK Bookshops

Listings for independent bookshops in the US, some with online ordering. Also try BookSense.

Some favourites:


U.K.

London Review Bookshop — Bloomsbury, London

Foyles — Charing Cross, London (Not exactly a quaint village shop, but a booklovers cabinet of wonders, and a London institution)

The Bookseller Crow on the Hill — Crystal Palace, London

The Owl Bookshop — Kentish Town, London
(no website, but worth a trip, and I don’t say that just because I gave my first reading there.)
209 Kentish Town Road, NW5 2JU
020 7485 7793

Kew Bookshop — Kew, London

Daunt Books — Marylebone, London (also the Hampstead branch)

QI Bookshop — Oxford


U.S.

Malaprops Bookstore & Café — Asheville, NC

Bookpeople — Austin, TX

The Concord Bookshop — Concord, MA

Just Books — Greenwich, CT

Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers — New York, NY

Four Seasons Books — Shepherdstown, West Virginia

Politics and Prose Bookstore & Coffehouse — Washington, DC