You may love your local independent bookstore, but do you love it enough to adopt it? When Augie McGinnity-Wake heard that State Street stalwart Paul’s Book Store was closing after 70 years, he bought 2,000 books from its inventory.
The store owner threw in some shelves, and McGinnity-Wake ended up starting his own online bookstore, Augie’s Books, in his basement. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, executive producer Hayley Sperling talks to McGinnity-Wake about keeping the spirit of Paul’s alive through his new venture.
Here are a few other locally-owned independent bookstores that inspire that same level of devotion from Madison bibliophiles. Be sure to check out our map of all these cool spots on Overlook Maps, as well as our other Madison maps!
At The Decemberists’ show at the Orpheum Theatre last weekend, singer Colin Meloy bemoaned that he couldn’t find Madison’s historic feminist bookstore in its longtime location on Gorham Street. But don’t fret, Colin! A Room of One’s Own just relocated to a beautiful new space on Atwood Avenue. The store remains welcoming to all, but is particularly centered on being a home for the LGBTQ+ community in troubled political times.
Two longtime employees of this beloved Monroe Street store bought it from founding owner Joanne Berg last fall. While the store has an extensive mystery-thriller collection – as the name implies — it also includes plenty of general fiction and non-fiction books, and a children’s section created with a grant from bestselling author James Patterson.
This charming garden-level bookstore has a dynamite location on N. Hamilton St. just off the Capitol Square, a perfect oasis to browse the well-curated collection of new and used books, along with cards, puzzles, and Madison-themed gifts.
Madison’s newest bookstore is a family affair, started on Regent Street by the mother-daughter duo of Shannon & Eden Anderson. The cozy store features a curated selection of books, artwork and learning toys, and aims to make itself especially welcoming to young readers.
“Old books. Weird books. Good books.” Owner Todd Henderson started selling his eclectic collection of used paperbacks at flea markets and music festivals, and has now opened the city’s smallest bookstore on Atwood Avenue. You’ll find books you literally won’t find anywhere else in town.
Started in an unlikely location in a pair of offices off the Beltline, the owners of this used bookstore moved their large inventory to a spacious new location on Mineral Point Road in 2023. Not only do they have lots of books for grownups, but they give away free books to children to help inspire the next generation of readers.
Owner Sam Brown reimagined the bookstore concept when opening his place on Regent Street, from a well-curated selection of books organized by regions of the world to a gorgeous bar offering coffee during the day and cocktails at night.
“Open by chance or by appointment,” this family-owned bookstore just off Excelsior Drive specializes in antiquarian books and other collectible editions in both fiction and nonfiction.
