SweisKloss’ 4th Annual Guide to Independent Bookstores

Images via iliadbooks.com

 
SweisKloss’ 4th Annual Guide to Independent Bookstores

by Sweiskloss
Oct 8, 2026
October is National Book Month, and we’re thrilled to present SweisKloss’ 4th annual guide to independently owned bookstores across the Los Angeles area.

The Village Well Books & Coffee (https://villagewell.com/)
Culver City’s Village Well Books & Coffee feeds the mind and body with “good books, good coffee and simple gourmet food.” They are a “community focused and impact-driven” bookstore-café exploring various social initiatives and encouraging community action. They host book clubs, workshops and open mics, support education organizations, promote local authors, and founded the nonprofit Village Van. It isn’t just about the books as they also have board game nights and art classes.

Tia Chucah’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore (https://www.tiachucha.org/)
Founded by author and Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez, Tia Chucha is the only bookstore in the Northeast San Fernando Valley that provides culturally relevant books to a diverse community of Black and Indigenous and People of Color. Their mission is to transform the community through ancestral knowledge, the arts, literacy and creative engagement. They offer books specializing in Xicanx and Latinx history, indigenous knowledge, bilingual children’s books, Spanish-language, and social justice issues. More than a bookstore, along with the cultural center next door, they offer bilingual art, history and literary programming, workshops such as mural painting and Mexica (Aztec) dance classes and also host an annual literary festival, Celebrating Words.

The Iliad Bookshop (https://iliadbooks.com/)
The Iliad Bookshop, located in North Hollywood, is one of LA’s largest and oldest bookstores. Specializing in literature and the arts, they carry books on most subjects, and they have over 150,000 titles in stock. Find a portrait of your favorite author or literary scene on the store’s famous mural by artist Paul Dilworth. Get lost among the endless rows of high wooden bookshelves and comfy couches. If nothing else, go for the cat therapy provided by the store’s cats, Zeus and Apollo.
Counterpoint Records and Books (https://www.counterpointla.com/)
Since 1979, Counterpoint has been selling vintage vinyl and collectible books. Located in Hollywood, they have a wide selection of second-hand books on literature, poetry, film and philosophy, and an extensive collection of jazz, rock and soul records. They deal in everything vintage from CDs and cassettes to VHS and DVDs. They also carry signed editions, magazines, comics and more.

The Book Jewel (https://thebookjewel.com/)
The Book Jewel’s “Indie Next List” epitomizes the heart and soul of passionate independent bookselling, offering the next undiscovered gem, the next great read and the next big thing. They have a robust roundup of recommendations for reading groups covering all genres from historical fiction to thrills and chills. Located at the Westchester Triangle at 87th Street, they are community oriented and offer a Saturday Stroll series with free live music, dining, art and games, regular children’s story times and local author mixers and readings, journaling workshops and poetry open mics.

Reparations Club (https://rep.club/)
Check out “The Other NBA,” a clever list compiled by the Reparation’s Club of National Book Awards written by black authors. The Black-owned, women-owned West Adams bookshop and creative space by Blackness® in Los Angeles, CA, features a thoughtfully curated selection of books from Black authors as well as a shop filled with art from Black artists, records, clothing and more. The stylish and cozy seating areas create a warm and comfortable space to enjoy author talks, community gatherings and workshops.

While these bookstores are encouraging young and old to read through engaging events, community initiatives, reading clubs and more, one country has taken a different approach and is actually paying its people to read. According to CNN, Singapore recently launched a “five-year national campaign to nurture reading habits, with incentives including small payments to citizens who log their reading minutes on a government website.” They are hoping that the rewards system along with a sense of public participation and community will combat “brain rot-inducing doomscrolling” and help develop curiosity, increase attention span and restore reading habits beyond the classroom.
 
Laura McMahon