Bookstores, Bookstores Everywhere

We love books. Here are some wonderful places about Houston to buy them.

• Basket Books and Art Gallery, Montrose
  Basket Books & Art is named after Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas’ poodle, who according to Ms. Hughes and Mr. Smalling, “lived immersed in the art and intellectual avant-garde of their day.” The reference speaks to the couple’s goals for the space. They recently told Glasstire: “Our goal is to offer a unique context in which art and books can co-mingle in exciting ways, opening up alleyways of conversation. We aim to provide a space for creative and intellectual exchange through our inventory and programming, and to offer Houston’s diverse arts and intellectual communities something for the mind, a portal to the world of art, writing, and thought writ large.”—Glasstire

• Becker’s Books, Springbranch
  Originally started as what Becker calls “small bookstores – kind of glorified book stalls – at two different antique malls,” his bookstore found its home at 7405 Westview in 1992. Since then, the Beckers have built out every spare space into more shelves, giving the home an almost fairytale quality. Packed inside are books from every genre imaginable, from literature to magazines, histories and mysteries of all sorts, children’s books, Texana, cooking (which of course are located in the old kitchen), rare books and much more—Houston Press

• Blue Willow Bookstore, Energy Corridor
  There’s something for everyone, since the inventory is half kids’, half adult lit and nonfiction—unusual compared to most bookstores. While Koehler says she hasn’t read everything on the shelves (except the picture books), every volume is carefully curated by the staff, and the best feeling is when they can recommend something new. In lieu of that, they all have a great time chatting about what they’re reading. “I just like to talk to people about books,” Koehler says. —Houstonia

• Book Cycle, East End
  The concept is beautifully simple: The Book Cycle Inc has 4,231 Facebook followers who’ve discovered what might be Houston’s best-kept secret. You walk in, grab a box (or bring your own), fill it with whatever books catch your eye, and just write down how many you’re taking on your way out. That’s it. The honor system at its finest. —The Texas Insider

• Brazos Bookstore, Upper Kirby
  A casual observer might expect a tug of war between what Brazos was and what it is today, with an old guard wanting to keep things the same against an onslaught of young folks. That hasn’t been the experience at all, says Null. She points out that one of the things those millennials and Gen Zers have in common with their boomer and Gen X predecessors is a desire for community. Brazos provides that. “We have a romance book club now, where 20-somethings are talking about books with 75-year-olds,” she says. “That never happened before.” —Houstonia

• Good Books in the Woods, Woodlands
  As I meander through the maze of books, I try to to identify what “room” of the home I’m in. More often than not, I don’t have a clue. I lose my way several times. At some point I find myself in the aptly named “Lost Room.” From his perch on a comfortable couch, Bruce, the shop dog, monitors my progress. “Where can I find the fiction section, Bruce?” If he knows, he certainly doesn’t tell me. The store, which specializes in collectible books and first editions, is 3,461 square feet of nooks, alcoves, labyrinths and warrens. And it plays tricks. On numerous occasions, I think I hit a dead-end only to realize, quite excitedly, and somewhat overwhelmingly, that there are many more books ahead.—Click2Houston

• Kaboom Books, Woodland Heights
  Kaboom Books perches on a corner on Houston Avenue in Woodland Heights not far from downtown, between (because this is Houston) an antiques store and a bail bondsman. The fact that it bills itself as "Houston's Least Eponymous Used Bookstore" gives you a hint at its charm, which is rooted in intellect, humor and the lively personalities of its owners, John and Dee Dillman. (There's also a T-shirt that features a chalk outline of a body and the words "Better read, then dead.")—Chron.com

• Kindred Stories, Third Ward
  What about Houston — the longtime home of Floyd and the fourth-largest and most diverse city in America? Don’t we deserve our own Black bookstore? We do… Black bookstores offer people a “third place” — a place outside home and work — to gather and share ideas, to feel a part of something larger and connected, both to their communities, but also, perhaps even more important, other communities that are similar to their own in America or part of the global Black diaspora.  — Houston Chronicle

• Mossrose Bookshop, East End Ironworks
  Owner Andrea Sifuentes grew up on Moss Rose Street in the East End. She moved around in her adult years, and when she returned to Houston last year, she was shocked to see the lack of a bookstore in her neighborhood. "The whole time growing up, there was never a bookstore in my area, so I fully expected for things to have changed," Sifuentes says. "It really hadn't changed much. There weren't really new bookstores, none geared toward romance, none with an emphasis on any kind of Latina culture." So Sifuentes started a pop-up, making sure to include books in Spanish — and it was a hit.—Axios

• Murder by the Book, Upper Kirby
  With its coffee mugs and T-shirts shouting out famous crime-solving heroes (plenty of “Holmes& Watson& Marple& Poirot” merch), the place looks downright friendly. “There’s a lot of natural light and, depending on the time of day, natural darkness,” says Lou Berney, an Edgar-winning thriller author, who always looks forward to reading from his novels at the venerable crime bookstore. “Events start out cheerful and end up kind of ominous and spooky. I love that.”—Texas Monthly