BOOKED & Busy: Bookstores You'll Love While Traveling

Letters Bookshop 
Durham, NC 

Of course, I couldn't start this post off without mentioning one of my FAVORITE bookstores ever right in the heart of the Bull City, LETTERS bookshop! What I love most about LETTERS is the cute and cozy feel the store creates, and PLUS they have a pretty sick music corner! I LOVE to explore my city, and this chill spot right off Main St is the way to go! As a book lover and adventurer like myself, Letters Bookshop might catch your eye with its creative storefront signage (another cool way to invite bookworms in). With a well-organized selection of used and new books, this friendly store offers great staff-picks and recommendations for any book connoisseur. Open until 8pm Tuesday-Saturday, why not make it a stop on your downtown date night?

Blue Bicycle Books ​
Charleston, SC 

I absolutely LOVED exploring this bookstore during my first trip to Charleston! My girlfriend and I were just finishing up our millionth scoop of ice cream, when we ran across this cute and eccentric bookstore right off 420 King St downtown and wondered inside! I absolutely love to find local bookstores during my travel ventures, and this place was absolutely adorable! With an impressive selection from military history, to young adult fiction, this bookstore is a MUST SEE! I really loved the different reading rooms especially the kids reading nook! This was the bookstore that I purchased The Hate U Give x Angie Thomas, which is now my book of the month of November! Open from Monday-Saturday 10am-7:30pm and Sundays 1pm-6pm, this bookstore is a wonderful mix of good vibes and must reads! You will not be disappointed! :)

Posman Books ​
Atlanta, GA 

This amazing bookstore I found while exploring the heart of Atlanta! Located in the center of Ponce City Market, this NYC transplant bookshop opened just over a year ago and has blessed  bookworms across the city ever since! The cool aspect about Posman is that it has only two other locations, both of which are located in the Big Apple, and both of which are highly sought in Rockefeller Plaza and Chelsea Market. With endless books, merchandise, children's section, greeting cards, and stationary, you can't help but fall in love with the feeling! I love that this bookstore has a special area for the classics alongside with bestsellers. What I love most about this bookstore is that it offers fun book/author events, signed editions and other dope community events for visitors and residents of Atlanta, so don't hesitate to pick up a flyer on your way out! Open Monday-Saturday from 10am-9pm and Sundays 11am-6pm, if you're looking for a place with an amazing book selection WITH Booze Pops located right across the breezeway, this is the place to go! 

UncleBobbie's Coffee & Books ​
Philadelphia, PA 

Now, I haven't visited this bookstore yet, but I hear nothing but AMAZING things about it! Owned by Marc Lamont Hill, host of BET News, Hill created Uncle Bobbie's in honor of his late uncle, Bobbie Lee Hill, a war veteran of WWII who introduced him to his love for books. During his youth, Hill visited his uncle’s home in North Philadelphia where he was exposed to books by African-American authors, Black Enterprise and Jet magazines.What I love about this bookstore is that it is black-owned. Sorry, had to throw the black card in there! BOOM. I follow this bookstore on Instagram, and I LOVE the black feeling it has. I love that it not only serves amazing coffee with a dope arrangement of books, but they hold black events here as well! It is definitely on my list of places to visit when I make my way to Philly for a cheesesteak, and I can't wait to experience it! One piece that stuck with me that Hill said was,  "Black bookstores were where I developed my sense of identity. It's where I discovered the world. It's where I got a different curriculum than what school gave me. So for me, I thought it was important to pay it forward and to build something for the community in the same vain. My life is better because I had those places and I want to create them for the next generation." Open from Monday-Thursday from 7am-9pm, Friday 7am-11pm, and Saturday from 8am-11pm, and Sunday from 8am-7pm, check out this amazing bookstore! 

Mahogany Books ​
Washington, DC 

Lastly, another place that I have not yet visited but can't wait to explore when I travel back to the DC area is Mahogany Books! I have already read Black Girl Magic x Mahogany Browne through this bookstore, and it was AMAZING! Still one of my favorite reads to this day! Taken straight from their website, "Mahogany Books is a local independent bookstore that believes in social entrepreneurship  We take a leadership role in the African American community by promoting reading, writing, and cultural awareness as tools to improve self-esteem, self-love and ultimately our communities to enrich the lives of motivated individuals." There are not enough black owned bookstores, and I love seeing them across my timeline on social media and especially visiting them when I travel! It's amazing how many times I've heard from the black community that reading is "boring" or how it doesn't share a big of an interest as makeup, fashion, hair, food etc shares in the black community. Reading is so important, and I love that Derrick and Ramunda instill this within their business and their household. SUPER DOPE! Definitely can't wait to visit! Open Tuesday-Friday from 11am-7pm, Saturday from 10am-7pm and Sunday 12pm-4pm, this is a must stop when I visit DC next! Who's coming with me? :)