A Booklover’s Guide to Texas
More on the state’s indie bookstores, storytelling champions, and literary destinations turning the page
The Wild Detectives
Dallas
“The Wild Detectives was never conceived as only a bookstore, but as a cultural space where all people could gather around books, ideas, and curiosity,” says owner Javier García del Moral. This cozy store offers a wonderfully diverse selection. I walked away with my first Roberto Bolãno book, 2666.
Blackbird Books & Spirits
Belton
Black Bird is a true original, and once you find the entrance you’ll understand why. That’s all I’ll say because getting in is part of the initiation. Once inside, you’ll find that owner Kris Snyder offers shelves and shelves of books, a fully stocked bar, comfortable seating, and a fireplace. Perfection.
Búho
Brownsville
Located downtown in the historic Calderoni Building, Búho is the first independent book café in Brownsville—and the first brick-and-mortar bookstore in the city in over a decade. While the shop carries thousands of books (and owl merchandise), it also serves as a community gathering place for events, games, and conversation.
Front Street Books
Alpine
Front Street Books has served Big Bend for over 30 years. Former bookkeeper and now owner Kendra DuBois describes the store as “the kind of place that instantly makes you want to slow down and stay awhile.” That feeling is what inspires my annual 400-mile trip there from Austin.
BookWoman
Austin
The United States once boasted more than 100 feminist bookstores, but today Austin’s BookWoman is one of around two dozen that remain. Looking back, owner Susan Post feels joy over hosting events with literary icons like Gloria Steinem, who cofounded Ms. magazine, and Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple. In 2001, the store hosted an event with the philosopher and social critic bell hooks that was so packed, hooks impulsively jumped onto the checkout counter so she could see the crowd while she read from her book. “It’s been 51 years of magic!” Post says.
Chapterhouse Books
Amarillo
Located on historic Route 66, Chapterhouse Books is the first queer-owned bookstore in Amarillo. While queer authors and stories are front and center, the store carries a wide variety of new and used books. “I’m proud to offer a space where everyone feels welcome,” owner Lauren Pronger says.
Village Books
The Woodlands
I am blown away by Village Books co-owner Teresa Kenney’s commitment to The Woodlands, including founding the nonprofit Reading Is Revolutionary, which focuses on fighting book bans and censorship. “Making a meaningful impact in my community has been the most rewarding part of opening a bookshop,” she says.
Booked Up
Archer City
In 2025, I finally made the pilgrimage to Archer City to visit late author Larry McMurtry’s former bookstore, Booked Up. The space has been reincarnated as the Larry McMurtry Literary Center, with programming devoted to the writer’s legacy. The center’s executive director, George Getschow, says they opened inside the store because it meant so much to McMurtry. “Larry’s will directs that his ashes be kept here forever. That’s why we consider it a sacred place,” Getschow says. It’s wild to walk through the hundreds of thousands of books McMurtry personally priced, put on the shelves, and occasionally made notes in. It’s a book lover’s treasure hunt.
Recluse Books
Fort Worth
Each title in Recluse Books is hand-chosen by its owners, a rarity these days. “We set out to create a refuge for the literary weirdos of Fort Worth,” say co-owners Josie Smith-Webster and husband James Webster, “and it turned out that there were more of them than anyone had anticipated.”
Kindred Stories
Houston
Part of Houston’s Third Ward, Kindred Stories sits on hallowed ground as part of the historic night club Eldorado Ballroom, where such luminaries as Ray Charles and Etta James performed. Owner Terri Hamm showcases Black writers and Black voices in this wonderfully curated bookstore where much thought goes into which books the store will carry. Kindred amplifies works by authors in every genre, from romance to history, cookbooks to classics. They have an especially impressive collection of art books by Black artists, perhaps due to the store’s partnership with the art nonprofit Project Row Houses.
