Ten bookshops out here, one of them open since 1788
One made Atlas Obscura's global list. Another was founded in 1788. A third has board games and coffee behind the shelves.
The Philly suburbs have more independent bookstores than a region this size has any right to, and most of them are the kind of place where you walk in for one thing and come out with three. Here are ten worth the trip, from a 1788 subscription library in Quakertown to a children's shop steps from the Haverford train.
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On South Main since 2019, with Giselle Toys tucked inside for the kids and monthly book clubs running the back end of the calendar.
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The Eagleview shop that made Atlas Obscura's list of the world's 62 best independent bookstores, with a cafe and enough nooks that an errand rarely stays an errand.
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Small and tightly curated on Haverford Ave, by staff who actually read what they shelve.
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Relocated in fall 2023 to the Village of Newtown South shopping center, same strip as the farmer's market, with a children's section that will slow you down.
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Used books and vinyl on State Street, where you trade a bag of paperbacks or records for store credit and dig back out with something better.
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Independent shop on Skippack Pike with new titles alongside staff picks, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
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The comic shop on West Main where shipment day gets its own sneak-peek post, with curbside pickup if you are rushing.
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Founded in 1788, one of the oldest subscription libraries in Pennsylvania, open Wednesdays 1 to 4 and Saturdays 9 to 12.
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A cafe stocked with board games and books instead of just wifi, open till 10 on Fridays and Saturdays.
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Given over entirely to children's and young adult titles, steps from the Haverford train station, family-owned and closed Sundays.
More field notes
- Twelve ice cream stops, one of them run by teenagers
- Eleven coffee shops that beat driving into the city
- Eleven water ice stands that close at the first cold snap
- Ten cheesesteaks worth the trip, one served at 3 a.m.
- Nine antique shops out here, one funds a shelter
- Ten pizza spots worth the drive, one bakes a 30-inch pie
- Every field note
