Bookstore Spotlight: City Lit Books

National Independent Bookstore day really made me realize how many awesome indies I have around me; there is just something special about going to a bookstore that has its own personality. Each month, I will be highlighting an indie bookstore that I come across and would love to learn more about your indies as well! Without further ado, I introduce you to...


City Lit Books is located in Logan Square on the Northwest side of Chicago. I've only been a handful of times, usually after going to the farmer's market and it's been busy each time I've gone. The atmosphere is very community centric and they seem to have close ties to a theatre troupe. 

The bookstore opened in 2012 and was voted one of Chicago's best new shops by the Huffington Post and has been featured by a variety of Chicagoland publications. The area itself is rather hipster and the clientele reflects the neighborhood. The staff is very chill and seem very happy in their positions. 


When you walk in, you are immediately greeted with a "Top Sellers" table along with "Staff Picks". There is also a nice display of Chicago history and Chicago books in general. I would say the non-fiction sections rival the fiction sections which surprised me. Something that I noticed immediately was how many diverse books were highlighted. I don't know if you can see in the photos, A Taste of Honey was selected as a Staff Pick. In general, I noticed that books that wouldn't be the focal point at many big name bookstores were given a special place on the shelves which thoroughly impressed me. 


The children's section was a nice size and had a cute area for story time. When I went on a Sunday after 11 a.m., storytime was just ending and everyone was sitting around and just chatting. It was very community-focused. The Young Adult section was smaller than I expected, maybe two full shelves and mostly the "big name" titles. 


In short, this was a fabulous bookstore to get to know the community and read more about current events and Chicago. It's a great store to find your next favorite read!

Labels: ,