Why local bookstores are the best way to understand a city

What you find there might not just tell you what people are reading — it might tell you who they are.

There’s a quiet and personal ritual I’ve fallen into every time I visit a new city: I go to a local bookstore. What started with visits to the big chains like Barnes & Noble in New York City has developed into a full-blown hunt for independently run spots across the country. On the shelves will be handwritten staff picks or chairs that invite you to hang around for an afternoon. And hang around, I do!

Over time, this habit has become more than a novelty pit stop. It’s become my favorite way to discover the soul of a place.

I believe bookstores offer something uniquely intimate: a glimpse into a city's psyche. The selection on the shelves, the tone of the community bulletin board, even the conversations overheard between regulars and staff: these are all insights into what matters to the people who live there. So let me tell you how it started.

Last year I drove through Bastrop, Texas, to visit The Painted Porch. The store is owned by one of my favorite writers, Ryan Holiday, and it contains plenty of books on stoicism, non-fiction thrillers, and, of course, classic reads. With his work on display and other icons highlighted in every corner of the building, I felt as if I was stepping into my own mind as the physical walls became a reflection of what was inside my head for all these years.

Suddenly, I was connected to the people of Bastrop. A town with a population of 13,000, that I would never have visted without this store, was now on my radar. And in many ways, I knew that at least a small portion of its people shared my interests, had explored similar ideas to me, and had been challenged in the same way I had been.

Visiting Bastrop, Texas, in March 2024.

A few months later when I returned to Texas to explore Austin (population nearly 1 million), I wandered through the aisles of BookPeople, the state’s largest independent bookstore. There, it showed me a collection of political satires and graphic novels that were on display mere days after the election. I bought “Mr. Texas: A Novel” by Laurence Wright, which I took with me on my trip to Boston almost a year later.

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My visit to BookPeople was in the days following the 2024 election

And of course, there’s my own home of Tel Aviv, with shelves blending English, Hebrew, and Arabic texts — a reflection of the layers that define Israeli society and the staple of peaceful coexistence.

During my visit to Boston last week, I walked the MIT campus and I ate plenty of Lobster rolls. I got the selfie on Harvard Bridge, then I grabbed coffee at Tatte Bakery and Cafe. Cities are often described in terms of their food, architecture, or weather. And Boston has all the worthwhile markers, indeed.

But I also indulged in my ritual once again. Beantown is known for its blend of entrepreneurial and academic accomplishments, so I was excited to step inside these havens and ‘meet’ the locals through two specific bookstores: Beacon Hill Books and Cafe and Trident Booksellers & Cafe.