We were fast running out of time.
At one point, we didn’t think even we would make it. It was our first time joining the annual Independent Bookstore Day’s Chicagoland Indie Bookstore Crawl, now in its 11th year. Sponsored by the American Library Association, Independent Bookstore Day is held on the last Saturday in April. This year, 46 bookstores in the Chicago area participated. Customers who visited 10 bookstores received 10 percent off on purchases for an entire year, and a 15 percent discount for stopping by 15 stores. (No purchase necessary, but for book lovers not buying a book on a book crawl is like not ordering a drink on a pub crawl.) Patrons received a “passport” at the first store and took it with them to each subsequent shop. This year three bus routes were added: one to Lake Forest, another to St. Charles/Geneva, and still another to the Beverly neighborhood. Think of the Independent Bookstore Crawl as a literary version of Louisville’s Bourbon Trail––without the bourbon.
Our journey took us, in a roundabout way, from the South Loop to the Loop to the Gold Coast to Wicker Park to Hyde Park to Lincoln Square to Andersonville to Lakeview on foot, by bus and L, and, finally, by car. All in all, it took us 10 hours to accomplish the task.
We finished our purchases and then set off to our next destination. We walked to Exile in Bookville, the über-cool bookshop in the Fine Arts Building before moving on to After-Words, off Michigan Avenue, and then to the Newberry Library Bookstore, spending more than a few minutes browsing and buying in each shop. Before long, it was decision time again. Where to next?
To save precious time, we decided to take the #66 Chicago Avenue bus to Milwaukee Avenue. After a short ride, we got off and walked north to Wicker Park. Our first stop was the Secret Agent Supply Co., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their writing and expository skills, and then onward to Volumes Bookcafe, where we grabbed a much-needed cold drink as a respite from the heat and sun.
Our final stop in Wicker Park was the perennially quirky and fun Quimby’s, which specializes in indie ‘zines, periodicals, and comics. It's also, in my estimation, the most photogenic bookshop in town. It certainly has the most endearingly goofy mascot: a mouse (actually two mice, one of them reading a book). Quimby’s opened in 1991, and has survived while other once popular places that were around during the same Liz Phair-era heyday are now gone (RIP: Urbus Orbis, Earwax Cafe, Busy Bee, Double Door, and Café Absinthe, to name a few). Its self-deprecating sticker says it all: “Quimby’s Bookstore: Disappointing You Since 1991.”
We took the Blue Line at Damen, transferred to the Red Line at Jackson, got off at Roosevelt, and drove in a mad rush to Hyde Park where a handful of bookstores awaited us: Powell’s, Seminary Co-op, and 57th Street Books, each distinctive in its own way: Powell’s with its endless aisles of new and older books and, protected under glass, a few antiquarian gems; Seminary, with its academic yet approachable ambiance and carpets reminiscent of books themselves; and 57th, with its magical Tardis-like entry way. We didn't realize at first, but 57th Street turned out to be our tenth stop, which meant we were awarded with a satisfying series of hoots and cheers from the staff and given a 10 Store Champ card. (The card itself is a hoot in itself: a slice of deep dish pizza with spindly legs and holding an Indie book in one hand and a Team book in the other.)
Initially, the traffic back north on Lake Shore Drive seemed daunting. We didn’t think we would be able to reach the magic number of 15. Should we continue on what might be a quixotic journey anyway? We decided we had to try. Once we were past Oak Street, the traffic became lighter. We looked at the closing times of the various bookstores and planned strategically, like generals on a literary battlefield. Some, we noticed, closed at 6:30, others at 7 p.m. With that in mind, we exited at Montrose and made our way to the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square. To make the best of the situation, we double-parked. I ran in and got both our passports stamped. Next up were Women and Children First, the Understudy, and Uncharted Books—all in Andersonville.
That’s when we realized we might be able to pull it off. All we needed was to make one more stop. But which one? Roscoe Books and the Last Chapter Book Shop, both in Roscoe Village? Unabridged Bookstore in Lakeview? We decided on Three Avenues Bookshop near the corner of Southport and Lincoln.
Shortly after 6 p.m., we triumphantly arrived at Three Avenues, our final destination. Three Avenues is one of the newer bookstores on the tour (it opened about a year or so ago). It’s an inviting kind of place with a cheerful young staff, comfy chairs, and a large children’s section. When a staffer stamped our passports and we heard the now familiar cry of hoots and cheers, we felt both gratified (our hard-earned efforts were not in vain) and relieved (we did it!) With plenty of time to spare, we were able to browse in a leisurely fashion.
As the 7 o’clock witching hour approached, a few people ran in to the shop in a frantic last-ditch effort to make sure they received their stamp before time ran out. “Last call, last call,” a staffer announced. It was the only time I have ever heard the phrase “last call” in a bookshop.
Everyone seemed happy if a bit weary.
“What is the earliest someone can go to bed tonight?” another staffer asked. “7.01,” came the reply.
When we got home, we added up our treasures. Between the two of us, we bought 13 books (from Jon Fosse to James Baldwin to Joan Didion to David Lee Csicsko) and one very cute dachshund hot dog plush toy.
We were exhausted. Although glad the day was over, we were ready to do it again.
But not until next year.
