Letter #55: Bookish Pilgrimages in the DMV Area

Book shops, libraries, a word-centric museum, and more!

Dear reader,

If you ever come to the Washington, D. C./Maryland/Virginia-ish area, or if you happen to live in the area but don’t know of these places, I hope this may prove useful on your bookish journey! These are places I’ve been, seen from afar and wanted to go, or have heard about from others. Some even may hold a special place in my heart.

I’m a big “shop local, shop small” kind of person, so I’m always looking for local spots like these. Some I’ve yet to visit, but they’re on my list!

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I. Libraries/Free

1. George Peabody Library: Baltimore, MD

   There’s a reason this place is renowned as a wedding venue; it’s stunningly beautiful! I tried to visit once, but it ended up being closed that day and I haven’t made it back. The pictures on the website are gorgeous!

2. Little Free Libraries: Many! Everywhere!

   I’ve made it a bit of a game to see how many of these little mailbox-like libraries I can find. I’ve found some in neighborhoods, parks, and city streets so far.

3. Not a library, but still free!

   The Book Thing of Baltimore: a warehouse of free books!

II. Shops and Stores

1. A cluster of (just a few!) beloved bookshops throughout Baltimore:

   1. Greedy Reads (multiple locations)

   2. Atomic Books (book shop and bar; I’ve been to the shop but not the bar portion)

   3. The Ivy Bookshop and its sister bookshop coffee shop, Bird in Hand

   4. Charlotte Elliott and the Bookstore Next Door (also doubles as an antique shop!)

2. A whole cluster of book shops in D.C. on my list:

   1. Second Story Books (lots of used books; multiple locations)

   2. Kramers (shop and cafe with afternoon tea!)

   3. Lost City Books

   4. Politics and Prose (the font for branding on their website is also gorgeous!)

3. Historic Ellicott City, MD, has two charming bookish spots:

   1. Gramp’s Attic (I’ve found some very neat older reference books here)

   2. Backwater Books (bibliopub)

4. There are also several locations throughout D.C., Virginia, and Maryland for this one:

   1. Busboys and Poets (eatery and bookish gift shop)

5. Comic shops in downtown historic Annapolis, MD:

   1. Third Eye Comics (also all kinds of board games and tabletop games; multiple locations; it’s nice to go on Free Comic Book Day to pick up free comic issues specially made for the day and then browse)

   2. Capital Comics (a friend bought me my first comic, Giant Days Vol. 1, here when we stopped in for our first Free Comic Book Day!)

6. Downtown historic Frederick, MD:

   1. The Curious Iguana (a super cool, unique shop with lots of differnt options and a great selection of stickers)

III. Museum

1. Planet Word (a word and language museum in D.C.; I’ve been eyeing this every time I’m in the city, but haven’t had a chance to go yet)

IV. Events

1. Small Press Expo (Maryland)

   1. My beloved indie comic, book, and just general creator community convention every September! This event is what really set my love of comics on fire and reignited my passion for art the first time I went back in 2019. I cannot say enough good things about this convention and will always preach the good word of it to anyone even mildly interested!

2. Williamsburg Book Festival (Virginia)

   1. This sounds like an upgraded book fair from when I was in elementary school and sounds like fun!

3. Awesome Con (D.C.)

   1. This not specifically for just books; this is generally a geek-centric comic convention that includes something for fans of books, games, music, shows, and movies.

4. The National Book Festival (D.C.)

   1. I’ve never actually been, but I randomly have a poster from the 2009 festival

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I know this isn’t everything, so what’d I miss that you feel should be on this list? Any favorite small or local events or places to visit? Lemme know!

Happy reading,

Olivia