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.