Chicago - bookstores, etc.

[MadsPLP]

Hello Everyone,

I'll be going to Chicago on Saturday to see a very good friend getting married. I'll be staying there for some ten days. I was wondering if anyone here would know of interesting bookstores to visit? And interesting record stores and vintage clothing stores, for that matter.

Also, sites of interest are very welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[qcrisp]

Quote Originally Posted by MadsPLP

Hello Everyone, I'll be going to Chicago on Saturday to see a very good friend getting married. I'll be staying there for some ten days. I was wondering if anyone here would know of interesting bookstores to visit? And interesting record stores and vintage clothing stores, for that matter. Also, sites of interest are very welcome. Thanks in advance.

I don't really know of how much interest this will be, but the house where Ernest Hemingway grew up is somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago, and is open to the public. There's also a Hemingway museum nearby. I went along to both. Not bad for a relaxing touristy kind of excursion. Trying to think if I discovered anything particularly fascinating in Chicago...

I do remember a reasonable bookshop, but can't for the life of me remember what it was called...

If anything comes back to me, I'll let you know.

[waffles]

I hate to say it, but bookstores are almost non-existent in Chicago. The good ones are in Hyde Park, but forget about the northside.

Although one place that might be interesting is
Shake Rattle Read Book Box

Also nearby.next door is the Green Mill.

I recommend visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art. It's a nice space and never as crowded as the Art Institute (it's also free on Tuesdays). Another thing which is fun is the Chicago river boat tour (Wendella). It sounds a bit touristy, but it is a nice way to spend two hours.

There's a lot to do actually. Don't visit Sears Tower. Instead go to the bar below the observation deck of the Hancock building (no admission, but you can still walk around and catch the view).

If you have a time for a movie, go to the Music Box
Music Box Theatre

[MadsPLP]

Many thanks to both of you!

Indeed, all the things you mention sounds interesting. The Hemingway thing is indeed very close to where I'm staying the first few days, and it seems there's something Frank Lloyd Wright-related nearby.

The record store/ book shop looks very good too, and it's nice to know a museum which isn't too crowded.

Once again, thanks! If you, Quentin, come up with the name of the bookstore, I'd be very grateful.

[g]

I'm biased because I read there on tour years ago, but Quimby's is twenty years old and specializes in "zines, small press and other unusual publications" and is worth a look just for being so unusual and geared toward the underground and lunatic fringe...Quimby's Bookstore

[MadsPLP]

I forgot to post a thank you to anyone who answered here. I managed to miss Shake, Rattle and Read, which I regret thoroughly. However, Quimby's was extraordinary, and very close to Reckless Records as well as Myopic Books, which is definitely worth going for as well.

Also, Chicago held a church by Ralph Adams Cram, which proved to be of some interest. Apart from that, I didn't get to see that many things, as there were wedding preparations and then a wedding throughout most of the time I was there. And a lot of excellent margaritas, (un?)fortunately free, from which I am still trying to recover.