Tina Long has been a bookworm since she was little. For most of her life, she dreamt of opening a bookstore.
“I had dreamt that it would be something you do when you retire,” she said. “I would open a little cozy bookstore and just be this old lady surrounded by books.”
But after feeling burnout and post-pandemic stress pile up, Long decided to speed up her timeline.
“I realized that it might be OK to just start your dream earlier in life,” she said.
Tina and her husband, Anthony, now own both Cupid’s Bookshop, a romance bookstore, and Thrillerdelphia, a horror, thriller and true crime bookshop.
Cupid’s Bookshop, on Grape Street in Manayunk, came first and was warmly received by the local community. But, Anthony said, there was an appetite for other genres, particularly horror.
“Manayunk does have a pretty lively Halloween community,” he said. “And we also have a haunted house on Main Street called Lincoln Mills, which is open a few different times throughout the year as well. So we felt like there was a good little spooky community here to cultivate as well.”
From there (a couple blocks down Main Street), Thrillerdelphia was born.
“Six months in, we realized that we wanted to expand beyond romance,” she said. “And Anthony has been managing Cupids with me, and it was great for him to have because he loved horror.”
Thrillerdelphia and Cupid’s Bookshop are just two of the options for readers to enjoy in the city. Novice readers, audiobook lovers or Booktok experts can all find a niche in Philly’s reading scene.
From themed book stores and book clubs to events and social circles, there are plenty of ways to get involved. Billy Penn has put together a small guide.
Bookstores
Philadelphia has a wide selection of bookshops and stores in all parts of the city. There are over 40 bookshops, but here are some unique highlights:
A Novel Idea
Husband-and-wife team Alexander Schneider and Christina Rosso-Schneider run this East Passayunk bookshop.
The store centers around community – offering events such as tarot reading, book discussions and “night out” date nights for couples. The store also offers classes on a variety of topics (this month’s is a self-love meditation, journaling and a group brainstorming activity!)
Check them out at 1726 E Passayunk Avenue.
Blindestiff Books
This volunteer-run bookstore focuses on offering discounted books – with genres including literary fiction, graphic novels, art, cookbooks and history.
The store also offers related merch – think puzzles, tarot card items and notebooks.
You can visit the store in West Philly at 4530 Baltimore Avenue.
Hakim’s Bookstore and Gift Shop
One of the first Black-owned bookstores in the entire country, this bookshop is a family operation. The store focuses on offering rare books that aren’t available elsewhere, as well as children’s books, African American studies, and other books.
The store’s founder, Dawud Hakim, was an African American scholar, author and publisher. His daughters and granddaughters continue to run the store.
You can visit the bookstore in West Philly at 210 S. 52nd Street.
Head House Books
Bordering on Queen Village and Society Hill, this bookstore aims to serve the community with an experience focusing on ambiance and curated collections.
The bookstore, which has been around for over twenty years, frequently holds ticketed events, including author chats and several types of book clubs.
You can visit them at 619 South 2nd Street.
Julia De Burgos Bookstore
This bilingual bookstore is the only one of its kind in the Philly area, said Lisa Moser, the bookstore manager.
“We only sell books by Puerto Rican and Latinx authors, as well as merchandise by local Latin artists, and merchandise from Puerto Rico,” she said.
The bookshop has all book genres in both Spanish and English, but children’s books tend to be most popular, Moser said.
“Those are really popular because, especially for Puerto Ricans in Philly or anyone that is like wanting to teach their child Spanish, or like having their own cultural heritage reflected in a book,” she said. “Those books are very popular because, if someone is second or third generation, they may want to pass down both the culture and the language to their child.”
Moser said the store frequently collaborates with other bookstores like Head and the Hand and Uncle Bobbie’s.
The unique focus of the bookstore also attracts people from all over the East Coast, she said.
“We have become a destination that people actually travel to,” she said. “They travel from Connecticut or Virginia or Delaware, and make a day trip or weekend trip out of it, because it’s so special. People have told me that they don’t know another bookstore like it.”
In addition to books, the store also sells local merchandise from Latinx artists, hosts “Meet the Author” events for the community, and supports nonprofit programming for Taller Puertorriqueño, a cultural center offering community events and youth programming.
You can visit them in West Kensington at 2600 N. 5th Street.
Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books
This Black-owned coffee and bookshop in Germantown focuses on pairing drinks with a good book.
The store’s motto, “Cool People. Dope Books. Great Coffee,” embodies its laid-back vibe – with a selection of various cappuccinos and espressos and book selections that focus on Black authors.
It’s owned by Mark Lamont Hill, a frequent media contributor who also teaches media studies at Temple, and has regularly hosted notable authors for meet-up events.
You can visit Uncle Bobbie’s at 5445 Germantown Avenue.
Book Clubs/Social Events
There are a lot of book clubs in the city – and the sheer number can make finding one that fits your wants and interests a challenge.
Ijanae Dawkins. 27, started the popular “Philly Book and Sip Club” in the beginning of 2024. The club, which is a chapter of a national “Book and Sip” organization, was created to foster reading in a creative way.
“It’s not your average book club,” she said. “Because essentially, we take the idea of having a book club and having a book discussion with your friends, and just putting it in a new perspective. We’re having these discussions in unconventional environments, like lounges and clubs and places in Philly where you wouldn’t typically talk about books.”
She said the club’s first meeting in January 2024 had less than 10 attendees. Now, her club has 550 active members and a waitlist of almost 1,000 women.
She said the club’s signature event is their book parties – where members dress up, mingle, grab drinks and discuss books at different venues. From there, she said the club’s offerings have expanded.
“It started out with just the book party, and then we got feedback from the girls who said they would love to hang out outside of the book party,” she said.
The club now offers everything from philanthropy events and workout classes to crafting nights and sporting events.
Dawkins said the biggest part of her club is community – bringing women together.
“It’s truly a blessing every month to see these girls come together,” she said. “Someone always comes up to me at the book party saying something like ‘This is my first book party, and I was so nervous to come, and I made three friends, and we’re going out for drinks and stuff after this. And I probably would have never met them if it wasn’t for you and this club.’”
The city has many other book club offerings.
Bookstores often offer their own book clubs. Long said both of her stores, including Cupid’s Bookshop, offer various genre-focused book clubs.
“We have four book clubs per store, so it’s like ‘roman-tasy,’ contemporary, queer book club, and then we have dark romance,” she said. “So, I think it’s a place for people to gather.”
The Free Library of Philadelphia offers book clubs – with options for different age group focuses or book genres. Meetings can also focus on relevant events – such as an upcoming Black History Month book club event.
Websites such as bookclubs.com or joinphilly.com offer options for focused book clubs as well.
A big community
For Tina Long, owning and managing two bookshops in Philly has been rewarding.
“Philly loves Philly,” she said. “We support local businesses. So, I think it’s just been great. The outpouring of support we’ve had for books gives us more of a budget to buy more books, and expand to our second store.”
While the number of bookstores in the region makes Philly an attractive stop for authors on tour, Long said the business is challenging.
“I think we love books, but I know it’s a really tough environment right now to help a general bookstore, because there’s just so many titles that come out every week and just to store all of it [is a lot],” she said. “The margins are tight, so you have to find other ways to make it work.”
Her store has gotten creative with how they approach this problem, she said.
“We have a great relationship with Kiss and Tell [a romantic bookstore], which is in Collingswood, New Jersey,” she said. “So we try to partner up and do things that will drive business to both our stores.”
She said many bookstores in the city have relationships with one another, making collaboration and business pursuits easier.
In addition, Tina’s story holds a “silent book club,” where people gather to read in the same room, but wait until the end to socialize.
The Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl each year also gives people options to explore Philly’s book landscape.