“So fabulous. If you are in Chicago and need a legitimate bookstore experience, go here.”

After-Words New and Used Books - Chicago

After-Words located in downtown Chicago, selling both new and used books, is one of the few remaining independent bookshops left in the area – and is alive and well. It is a breath of fresh air in a world of corporate chain bookstores. The bookstore is made up of two floors, with used books downstairs in the basement and new books kept on the upper, street level floor. Both selections are well laid out, which is surprising considering that in total the bookshop stores over 70,000 new and used books. Downstairs in the basement you will find some reading chairs and a table, perfect for hanging out with friends, or reading alone.

The genres provided by After-Words are vast, including the generic fiction, poetry and children’s books – but also the more unusual, including art and photography books, cookbooks, local books, history books, books about health and healing, and new age/occult books. If you want to learn something new whilst in downtown Chicago, After-Words is the place to go! If you’re looking for a specific book which the store doesn’t currently have, they will order them for you, and are also willing to locate any out-of-print titles which you may be interested in finding. In addition, even if you are not in downtown Chicago, or you have no way of possibly going there, you can still help keep this independent bookstore alive; they ship all their books worldwide, five days a week!

If you have a special bookish event coming up – such as readings, lectures, or a book signing – the store is willing to host these. Furthermore, there is rental space available all year round for private parties, what better place for a book fanatic to hold their birthday party?! After-Words goes above and beyond, as they are also equipped to sell books at off-site events, so if you have a group talk elsewhere, they can bring books to you!

There has been nothing but good reviews about the friendly, knowledgable staff, including claims that they know the exact locating of everybook. When purchasing a book, they will also offer to add you to their database, which means they will send you a card for $5 off any purchase during your birthday month – how could you resist? As well as the thousands upon thousands of books, there is also a small, but lovely selection of greeting cards and postcards available for sale.

If you love regular markdowns, and finding a good place to read, you will love this bookstore – and with the excellent opening times, you can pretty much visit whenever it suits you!

Address: 23 E Illinois St, Chicago, IL 60611, US

Hours: Monday to Thursday 10:30am to 10:00pm, Friday 10:30am to 11:00pm, Saturday 10:00am to 11:00pm, Sunday 12:00pm to 7:00pm

Telephone: +1 312-464-1110

Website: http://www.after-wordschicago.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/After-Words-Bookstore