Riot Headline Book Riot’s 2025 Read Harder Challenge

#Cool Bookish Places

826 Valencia: A Writing Center and Pirate Store In One

Taking a trip to the writing center slash pirate store in San Francisco.

How PoC-Only Bookstore Duende District is Changing the Game

Angela Spring has launched a pop-up, mobile bookstore that only sells work by people of color. Here, we chat with her about trends, customer experiences, and the joys and troubles of her job.

More Men Should Visit The Ripped Bodice

One Rioter makes a successful visit to The Ripped Bodice, a romance-only bookstore in Los Angeles, California, with a male friend in tow.

Visit London’s Radical Bookstores

Whether you call it home or you're visiting, the next time you're walking around London, pay a visit to these radical bookstores that highlight diversity.

How to Build a Book Festival for Teens

We chatted with a cofounder and volunteer with the NoVa TEEN Book Festival about how to build a book festival for teens.

Old Brag of My Heart: Experiencing ONE LIFE: SYLVIA PLATH

One Rioter visits the ONE LIFE: SYLVIA PLATH exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and considers the impact Plath has had on her life and beyond.

Cool People, Dope Books, Great Coffee: A New Bookstore in Philadelphia

Check out author Marc Lamont Hill's awesome new bookstore in Philadelphia!

5 Reasons Local Bookstores are Better Than The City Info Booth

Want to explore a new city? Skip the city's info booth and head to the independent bookstores.

The Bookstore That Isn’t Always There

A Rioter talks about Three Lives & Company, a mysterious West Village bookstore that isn't always there and with a history that suits its name.

Censorship, HOWL, and City Lights of San Francisco

How City Lights, an independent bookstore in California, helped end "obscenity" censorship in the United States.