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Minneapolis local bookstores
I am going to be in Minneapolis soon and I have 1 free day which I want to spend going to local bookstores. Does anyone have a favorite local store in the city? I particularly like going to bookstores with good SFF sections, and also lots of book club/staff picks; and also to used bookstores with good SFF fictions. It's my first time in Minneapolis so every local bookstore there will be new to me!
If you want sci-fi, go to Uncle Hugo’s. It’s all sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery. New and used.
Across the street is Moon Palace books. Small independent store as well, more general collection.
Dream Haven is comics, sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, and general pulp fiction. New and used.
Downtown has the Center for Book Arts. It’s part art space, part book space. Has a local publisher.
I haven’t been to it much, but Magers Quinn in uptown is a well regarded shop that’s been there a long time.
If you like kids books, or have one to buy for, Wild Rumpus Books on the other side of the city is a hoot. They have store cats and chickens and usually other critters. But I also like Red Balloon in Saint Paul, though it’s not got such attractions.
amazing!!! thank you!! I'm gonna start plotting these out on a map and make a day plan!
Uncle Hugos and Moon Palace are across the street from each other. And, they are both relatively close to the Blue Line light rail line (the Lake Street station), which goes from the Airport/Mall of America to downtown Minneapolis. The Lake street station is halfway between the two ends and is....well, it's simultaneously one of the busiest stations but also not considered the safest. I don't want that to sound worse than it is, but just the design of it isn't super great (in fact, it's getting a redesign in the next year).
But I mention that proximity because you could likely rent a
"Nice Ride""Lime" ebike (1) somewhere along the line even before you get to Lake Street, and then use that to get to a few places.In fact, here is what I would do, assuming you have the mobility and inclination to do e-biking and a little light rail adventure-- it would spare you multiple uber trips:
Airport --> DreamHaven --> Uncle Hugos --> Moon Palace --> Boneshaker Books --> Center for Book Arts --> Guthrie Theatre Cantilevered Bridge (no ticket purchase necessary) --> Mill City Museum (with elevator ride) --> walk across Stone Arch Bridge --> Eat dinner around there (Pracna, or Kramarczuks, but there is a bunch of good stuff over there).
Oh, and here is a resource for biking in Mpls which is suprisingly handy,
including an airbnb-like bike share appapparently spinlister is dead.(1): I didn't know Nice Ride disappeared a few years ago, i guess multiple reasons...but now they have the e-scooters and e-bikes from other companies around...Lime is one of them.
oh my gosh thank you!!! this is perfect! I'm going to be there on a Friday and getting in around noon, does that order make sense given closing times? e.g. if one place closes at 8 I'd rather do it later. I probably won't go straight from the airport cos I'll want to drop my bag off at my hotel first but I'll figure out what makes sense as a starting point.
Maybe not e-bike (it's been so long since I biked that I don't even own a helmet anymore) but if the metro is easy between some of those I'll try that, would you recommend it for any of those connections?
Oh this post is making miss the Twin Cities something fierce. I'd second trying to use the blue line, if possible, if only because you get to see some of Minneapolis. Uncle Hugos/Moon Palace is a bit of a walk but you can reward yourself by flicking off the old police department (Or making a statement about how the libs are destroying the city, if that floats your boat, but Moon Palace will probably scare you too much to go into if that's your persuasion) and then treat yourself to a beer at Arbeiter (if you drink. In MPLS, everyone drinks so, gird yourself for that either way.)
I had never heard of Uncle Hugo's, it sounds like my kind of place.
Magers and Quinn.
Rumpus - has big children’s collection and store cats and birds(caged).
Content in Northfield is also wonderful, but outside of the twin cities. It’s a cross from a really nice stationery store as well !
Definitely go to the Book Arts/Book Center, it has a rooftop garden as well. The store is also nice and you may be able to time your visit for when their art gallery is open.
I think I want to stick to city limits this trip, because I don't have tons of time, and I don't want to spend too much of it on travel time. The others sound great, thank you!!
There's one I believe on the corner of Snelling and University Ave. (next to Allianz Stadium) that's a used bookstore. It's been there for ages and gets a fair amount of traffic and I heard librarian friends give it a good rating. (I do have to admit I have yet to visit it myself... im a terrible reader 😭) Parking in the area's a crap shoot in the direct vicinity, but the whole area is next to a neighborhood you can park in and walk a short distance to. If you're only going by public transit, you'll be able to get to it via the greenline, which connects with the blueline from the Minneapolis airport. 👍
There's a bunch of novelty/antique shops around the twin cities that's also full of books, so you should be able to find somewhere to shop regardless of location.
I will probably be using uber all day, because I only have about 5-6 hours between when I get in and when places will start to close, and I don't want to spend that time getting lost in a new city's public transit system. So parking is not an issue. Thanks for the rec!!
I actually was just out and about today on the greenline and saw a new place that had to have opened recently called Black Garnet Books off of Hamline and University Ave, so you've got two stops next to each other!
My family's favorites are Magers and Quinn and Eat My Words