This weekend, independent bookstores across Chicagoland were packed with readers from all walks of life, with books loaded in stroller caddies or tote bags. Saturday, April 25, was Independent Bookstore Day, a citywide bookstore crawl that united people from across Chicagoland on one fact alone: that they love to read.
“I love seeing so many people out and people who love books, and I also love supporting all my indie bookstores,” DePaul alum and middle school teacher Kate Soupiset said. “I just love that Chicago has so many. It makes me so happy.”
Independent Bookstore Day occurs annually on the last Saturday of April. Over 80 bookstores participate in the Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl, with some offering free breakfast, discounts and author signings. Participants receive a “passport” to get stamped at any bookstore they visit — no book purchase necessary. Those who visit 10 or 15 stores in the day get 10% or 15% off of purchases at all participating bookstores until the next year’s crawl.
The day is a big deal for many readers.
“It’s like my Super Bowl,” Soupiset said. “It’s my favorite day of the year. It’s like a holiday.”
The event draws thousands of bookish people across Chicagoland, both to their local stores and beyond where they might usually shop.
“We see a lot of people in our community, which is wonderful, but it’s wonderful to see all of Chicago that loves books, and they’re out here because they love books,” said Yasmeen Schuller, owner of Lilliput Books in Lincoln Park.
Haven Follmar, senior animation major at DePaul and employee at Goblin Market Manga & Curiosities in Lakeview, said Independent Bookstore Day reaffirms the power of a hard copy of a book.
“With the way that things are right now with AI and with all these online digital spaces, it’s really encouraging to see all these people come out who like to read and who are so interested in buying books and physical media,” they said.
Sidewalks, buses and train cars fill up with readers carrying their stamped passports and newly acquired books. They travel together and chat with others they’ve never met before.
“You really can just follow all the cute people with tote bags from store to store all around the city,” UIC English major Bobby Robbins said.
Visiting up to 15 bookstores in a day is no easy feat. Participants must plan a route ahead of time, navigate bus delays and wait in lines outside of crowded stores. But what makes it worth it for many is seeing the wide variety of bookstores, even within a single neighborhood.
“Every owner has a different personality and it’s very nice to see that influencing what you see when you walk in,” said Zoe Stein, a librarian at Fremont Library in Mundelein, Illinois.
At Lilliput Books, each bookseller has a few favorite genres that, according to Schuller, come together as “complementary loves and passions.”
Bookstore owners are also in tune with what the community wants. Ryvre Hardrick, co-owner of Goblin Market and an organizer of the bookstore crawl, said she curates her store’s stock based on what people want to read but cannot get locally. Goblin Market started as a manga and graphic novel store but has expanded to carry queer romance to fill the niche in the neighborhood.
Community interest also informs the programming and events at Goblin Market.
“We also really like to respond to what the community is looking for. And right now, that’s just a third space to go, to make art, to play games and just to not be at home and not at a bar,” Hardrick said.
Beyond selling books and hosting events, independent bookstores are havens of literacy. For Stein, reading means “everything, quite literally.”
“It is the thing that keeps me sane. It keeps my mental health from being super depressed,” she said. “It’s truly a life saver and a life changer.”
For Soupiset, the middle school teacher, reading means setting an example for her students.
“I’m encouraging reading in my students, so it’s so important to me that I read along with them,” she said. “Literacy is ever important right now.”
But for Robbins, a knack for reading is more than a love for stories.
“We should be reading everything. Reading signs, reading the bottom of our shoes and each other and everything,” Robbins said. “I’ve been loving seeing books be popular again.”
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