Here on Bookstr we are here to recommend you some gifts for your loved ones who appreciate a good book! Have you ever been stuck on finding a creative gift during the holidays for one of your bookish friends or family members? Recently a study has been done to find the best cities for book lovers. Conducted by Lawn Love, a company focused on lawn care business, the study shows which cities honor the love and appreciation for books. What better way to find a good trip for your loved ones who do the same!
Looking at the 200 largest cities in the U.S., they analyzed which gave access to a wide variety of book access points, such as public libraries, privately owned book stores, Little Free Libraries, book clubs, and events solely dedicated to books and reading.
Let us take a look at some of the possible cities that you can consider if you choose to plan an exciting trip for the holidays!
1. Pasadena, CA
This city in SoCal has the most bookstores per 100,000 residents. It has a well-established, flourishing bookstore community. Also, the surrounding area offers the most public libraries. Not to mention, California overall is such an exciting and beautiful place to visit! There is so much to do. You can even take a trip to LA, which also offers so many private bookstores. They also have an online community called BookCrossing, in which readers leave their books “in the wild” for a stranger to find. How exciting!
2. Jersey City, NJ
This city has the most bookstores per 100,000 residents! Overall it is the top city for book stores. There are endless bookish community opportunities. It also has independent bookstores per 100,000 residents. Think of all the cool places you could go visit! Off of Newark Avenue in Jersey City there is an in-house cafe called “WORD,” that doubles as a bookstore! This bookstore also consistently keeps an inventory of books that reflect the current cultural and political climate. Customers are also welcomed to browse stage picks for good recommendations on what to read next! I always appreciate it when bookstores offer what the staff is currently reading, in case I am stuck on what to buy!
3. New York, NY
I feel like this is a dead giveaway. Of course, New York City is up there on the list. With its countless public libraries, and independent bookstores it is a bookish person’s dream. Not to mention there are endless things to do, even non-bookish people adore the city. It places first in Book Rentals in Lawn Love’s analysis (meaning as aforementioned, there are countless public libraries), as well there are many book clubs and communities to appreciate bookish culture. Also, New York has plenty of literary sights to see, including Central Park’s Literary Walk: the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage, and Logos Bookstore. This is actually where the actual bookstore in Netflix’s “You” was filmed! You can even take a literary pub crawl to get a taste of the books and brews.
If you are near these cities, it would be a great little trip for the holidays with your bookish friends or loved ones! There are endless sights to see, and if you would like to check out more out of the 200 cities studied check it out here! You have plenty of time before the holidays, and this month we will be sure to keep you in the loop with more gift guides!