<\/p>\n
Chicago is a literary city\u2014though it doesn\u2019t always get credit for it\u2014and its many independent, locally owned bookstores have long been the backbone of a thriving bookish culture. Across the city, readers prioritize supporting Chicago shops, Black-owned businesses and indie bookstores that offer not just books, but spaces for representation, discovery and community. And during the holidays, there are few better places to put your money.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re squeezing in some last-minute gift shopping<\/a> while hoping to support small businesses<\/a>, Chicago\u2019s bookstores are an easy\u2014and thoughtful\u2014solution. Read on for holiday gift guides and the best books of the year, curated by some of the city\u2019s finest booksellers.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED: The best bookstores in Chicago<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Pilsen Community Books<\/p>\n Chicago’s first employee-owned and operated independent bookstore as of 2020, Pilsen Community Books<\/a> welcomes readers with wall-to-wall shelves of books spanning every genre. This year, the staff\u2014understandably reflecting on a year marred by loss\u2014has opted against a traditional holiday gift guide. Instead, they gathered favorite titles across thoughtful categories, including books that inspired hope, works by Chicago-based community organizers and selections spanning different eras and civic movements. Shop PCB’s holiday gift catalog online here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Top picks:<\/strong> Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed el-Kurd; Is a River Alive? By Robert Macfarlane; Heaven Looks Like Us: Palestinian Poetry<\/p>\n Women & Children First<\/p>\n Chicago\u2019s legendary feminist bookstore\u00a0has been serving Andersonville and beyond since 1979. While its feminist and queer literature selection remains a standout, Women & Children First<\/a> offers expertly curated picks across all genres, along with fun bundles and subscriptions. Highlights of the store\u2019s holiday guide include the \u201ctrust me, bro\u201d section\u2014books that require a leap of faith with major payoff\u2014and a roundup of \u201cbooks for your cool Gen X mom.\u201d Titles are available both in-store and online. Since August, the shop has encouraged customers to mask seven days a week, making it a strong option for those prioritizing Covid safety while holiday shopping.\u00a0Shop WCF’s holiday\u00a0gift guide online\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Top picks:<\/strong> Stag Dance by Torrey Peters; Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley; Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood<\/p>\n Unabridged Bookstore<\/p>\n At Unabridged<\/a>, handwritten recommendations from staff line the shelves, offering helpful, heartfelt tips for customers. The store has expanded on that tradition with an extensive list of staff favorites from 2025. From the delightful off-kilter Sky Daddy\u2014about a woman who becomes romantically involved with airplanes\u2014to Ocean Vuong\u2019s widely acclaimed The Emperor of Gladness, the list offers something for nearly every literary predilection. Shop Unabridged’s holiday selections online here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Top picks:<\/strong> Sky Daddy: A Novel by Kate Folk; Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy; I Do Know Some Things by Richard Siken<\/p>\n Call & Response Books<\/p>\n Hyde Park\u2019s Call & Response is a Black women-owned bookstore dedicated to platforming works by writers of color. For readers craving representation and intentionally curated shelves, owner Courtney Bledsoe\u2019s vision doesn\u2019t disappoint. The staff\u2019s holiday gift guide organizes recommendations by reader archetype\u2014\u201cThe Curious Young Reader,\u201d \u201cIn Their Healing Era\u201d and so on\u2014making it easy to shop for even the trickiest reader on your list. Shop Call & Response’s 2025 gift edit online\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Top picks:<\/strong> Birds of the Great Lakes by Dexter Patterson; The African Gaze: Photography, Cinema and Power by Amy Sall; Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo<\/p>\n City Lit<\/p>\n Under the stewardship of local resident and former librarian Stephanie Kitchen, City Lit<\/a> has grown into one of the city\u2019s most formidable\u2014and cozy\u2014bookstores, complete with a fireplace and reading nook. Browse the store\u2019s holiday gift guide for picks by Chicago authors as well as fiction, fantasy and\u00a0sci-fi\u00a0and more, then reward yourself with a snack at neighboring Lula Cafe<\/a>. Shop City Lit’s holiday gift guide online here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Top picks:<\/strong> Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon; Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab; Bread of Angels by Patti Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago is a literary city\u2014though it doesn\u2019t always get credit for it\u2014and its many independent, locally owned bookstores…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":454382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[60843,960,5386,1818,60844,2107],"class_list":{"0":"post-454381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-categories-shopping","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois","12":"tag-news-shopping-style","13":"tag-shopping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115737675983001479","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}