NOTE: Unfortunately, Under The Table Books had to close its doors. It was a great store and it will be missed.

1443 W. Jarvis
Chicago, IL 60626 (map)
773.743.3728
hours: Wed-Fri 1-8pm, Sat-Sun 12-6pm

“For most Chicagoans, Rogers Park has a mysterious air,” says bookstore owner Julie Marcus. “People are unsure about what’s going on up here so it is difficult to get them to come just a few El stops up to the store.” If this is in fact the case, then people who are reluctant to travel to the Jarvis Red Line stop are missing out on a wonderful little store.

Opening a bookstore was always a dream of Julie’s but it wasn’t until after several years as a corporate lawyer that she decided to make a change. When she saw an ad in the Chicago Reader that a bookstore, Open Brain Books, was for sale, she left the corporate life and isn’t looking back. The store reopened in December of 2004 with the new moniker, Under the Table Books, named for her favorite place to read as a child (under the dinning room table).

The store is extremely well organized with a large fiction section as well as sections devoted to history, biography, philosophy, sociology, sci-fi, romance, Chicago, cooking, and a growing children’s section to supply the many families that live in the residential neighborhood around the store. There is also a shelf dedicated to books by local independent publisher Charles H. Kerr.

Of course, one of the biggest draws to Under The Table is the chance to visit store mascot and permanent employee of the month, Rocky the dog. Rocky is an extremely friendly, well-read, mixed-breed dog that Julie adopted from Chicago Canine Rescue. He is in the store with Julie everyday and sometimes, she admitted, he gets more visitors than she does.

In addition to running the storefront, Julie also has about 1,500 books of her collection available on sites like Alibris and Half.com. Julie explained that selling books online was necessary in order to keep the store open. Though not ideal, she felt that it was good to find new buyers online. “Like all booklovers,” Julie said, “I just want the books to find a good home.”

Under The Table Books is a terrifically charming bookshop that is definitely worth checking out. As an added insentive, Julie will be offering papermustache readers a special discount:

Buy 3 books and get a 4th book (of equal or lesser value) FREE.
Also, petting Rocky is free.

1. Second Skin, by John Hawkes. New Direction Paperback; 2nd Printing, paperback, 1964. ($3.00)
2. The Magic Kingdom, by Stanley Elkin. Dutton Oblesik; paperback, 1986. ($3.00)

3125 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60657 (map)

Store owner John Flowers hopes to be up and running by the end of May 2006.

Click here for the post about his original location.

4226 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625 (map)
773.593.9166
hours: Mon-Sun 12-6pm,
Sun 12-5pm
store website

Lincoln Square, like so many Chicago neighborhoods, is rapidly changing. New storefronts with their bright illuminated placards seem to be continually either going up or coming down. Amidst this flux there resides a store with comparatively modest signage. Simple and to the point, the small black and white sign above the door reads, “Books.” You may have passed it without noticing but if you have visited, you would surely remember Ravenswood Used Books.

Once inside, tall aisles of densely packed bookshelves give that cozy feeling I like so much about intimate bookstores, namely, being surrounded or perhaps embraced by literature. Though not recommended for the claustrophobic, this shop is one of my favorites in the city.

Proprietor Jim Mall worked as an antiques dealer for 25 years before he decided to turn his Lincoln Ave. warehouse into Ravenswood Used Books and sell books full time. The store has been open for over three years now.

The shop is about half fiction with a smattering of just about every other type of book including drama, history, dance, philosophy, art, and cooking. The store is organized into sections but each section itself is not quite perfectly organized. The fiction collection can be especially difficult to navigate if you are looking for a specific title, but if you just enjoy browsing and getting “lost in the stacks” this is hardly a bother. If you are looking for something in particular, Jim is very friendly and knowledgeable and has a keen recollection of what he has in stock.

On the subject of online bookselling, Jim commented that the internet has changed things dramatically. “It is more difficult for independent bookstores to make a living because it’s much easier for people to shop naked,” Jim said, smiling. “Though I’ve encouraged that in the store, it hasn’t happened yet.”

Jim has generously offered to give papermustache readers the following deal: Buy 4 books and get a 5th book (of equal or lesser value) FREE when you mention papermustache.

1. ZIP: A Novel of the Left and the Right, by Max Apple. The Viking Press; 1st Editon, hardcover, 1978. ($8.00)
2. All-Japan: The Catalogue of Everything Japanese, by Oliver Statler et al. Quill, 1st Edition, softcover, 1984. ($10.00)

UPDATE: City Bookshop has moved to:
3125 N. Broadway

1921 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL 60613
773.880.8003
hours: Sat 12:30-7:00, Sun 12:30-6:00

Located just one block from the Irving Park CTA Brown line stop, City Bookshop is easy to get to and well worth a visit. The store’s tag line is “used and rare books selected with care” and I found this description apt. Perusing the stacks you will quickly notice that all the books are in very good condition. This is one thing that really sets City Bookshop apart.

On the day I visited owner John Flowers, he was celebrating the shop’s one year anniversary. And by celebrating I mean attending to customers and keeping an eye on the Bears game. I had the oppurtunity to talk with John about his store and how it began. For four years he collected books and stored them in an increasingly cramped apartment. When he felt he had amassed enough titles, he found this storefront on Irving Park Rd. and City Bookshop, Inc. was born.

The content of the store is about half fiction with an area dedicated to books by Chicago authors and about Chicago. Other sections include philosophy, history, sci-fi, mystery, poetry/drama, science, children’s lit., and memoirs. When I asked John about his acquisition process he told me that the response from people in the neighborhood has been very positive and that locals come in often with books to sell and trade.

I asked John about online bookselling and its effect on booksellers like himself. After thinking for a moment he said that he wasn’t really worried because he thinks that readers will always want a place to go and buy books. Part of the reason John started the shop was that he just “liked the feeling of being around books.” Finally he said, “If I had a video rental business, then I would be worried.”

Last November, John invited Chicago-based artist Nadine Y. Nakanishi to exhibit a collection of her paintings. This is the first art exhibition City Bookshop has hosted but it’s a practice John would like to continue.

It must be mentioned that City Bookshop offers an awesome buy 4 books get a 5th book free* deal. This bargain is hard to resist as is but John has been kind enough to offer a special deal for papermustache readers:

For one time only, mention this site and you can buy 2 books and get a 3rd* free!

* = free book must be of lesser or equal value to the books purchased at full price.

Books Purchased:

1. Ask The Dust, by John Fante. Black Sparrow Press; 6th printing, softcover, 1989. ($7.50)
2. The Book Of Illusions, by Paul Auster. Henry Holt and Company; 1st Edition, hardcover, 2002. ($10.00)
3. Borges: A Life, by James Woodall. Basic Books; paperback, 1996. ($7.50)
4. V., by Thomas Pynchon. Vintage U.K. Random House; paperback, 2000. ($6.00)
5. Willard And His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery, by Richard Brautigan. Simon and Schuster; 1st Edition, hardcover, 1975. ($9.00)