The Secret Life of Bookshops

You probably think you know what a bookshop is. A place to buy books. Maybe browse. Maybe linger.

But is that really all?

This Indie Bookshop Day, we're asking the question out loud — and we've brought two of the most thoughtful people writing about bookshops today to help answer it.

Evan Friss is the author of The Bookshop, a New York Times bestseller and Goodreads Choice Award winner in History & Biography — named one of Time's 100 Must-Read Books of 2024. A history of the American bookstore from Benjamin Franklin to Amazon, it argues that bookshops have never just been retail spaces — they've been sites of resistance, community, and cultural life.

Anika Horn is the writer behind 40 Bookshops Under 40, a personal journey through independent bookshops across the country, and beyond. Her project began, fittingly, when she walked into an indie bookshop and found Evan's book.

Together with…