A bookstore is a bookstore, and I have plenty of love in my heart for Barnes and Noble and Borders (RIP, RIP), where I got my Harry Potter books at midnight. There is, however, nothing like an independent bookstore. Here are a few of my very favorites.

1. Anderson’s Bookshop —La Grange and Naperville, IL

My mom taught me to read from a book called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," which she bought at an Anderson’s. We went to one I was home for Thanksgiving, and I’ve never felt luckier for those lessons.

Highlights: The staff recommendations, the selection of autographed books, and the author visits. J.K. Rowling visited the Naperville location on book tours in 1998 and 1999 and I’ll always be bitter that I was 3 and 4-years-old and couldn’t read yet at the time because she was an hour away from me (twice) and I missed it.

2. Barner’s Books — New Paltz, NY

I ran my hands over some beautiful leather journals with thick, textured paper and then moved on to look at the beautiful illustrations in "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady." The store’s layout had corners that just kept turning, revealing more tucked-away shelves. There were so many enticing titles that I started a “Books to Read” note on my phone right there in the store. With Inquiring Minds Bookstore right across the street, I could wander between the two despite the bitter cold.

Highlights: A first-edition copy of "The Great Gatsby" and a picture book called "Barbie Goes to Camp" published in 1958. And those journals. I asked a Magic-8 Ball whether I should spend nearly $30 dollars on one, and it said I should, but I sadly talked myself out of it.

3. Inquiring Minds Bookstore — New Paltz, NY

This immeasurably lovely bookstore had me by the heart from the moment I laid eyes on the beautifully illustrated "The Book of Goddesses." In addition to a great selection of novels, I found a five-pound "Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells" and a children’s section that made me so nostalgic I teared up over a book of fairy tales.

Highlights: The children’s section’s incredibly range of representation of different backgrounds, sexualities, and gender identities.

4. Myopic Books — Chicago, IL

I credit this bookstore with helping me figure out Chicago public transportation when I was in high school, because it was almost always my destination. The winding hallways of ten-foot shelves are so heavy with books that when I’m on the third floor mezzanine level, I’ve worried that the floor might give out.

Highlights: The sheer number of books, the musty smell of pages, and the biography section in the basement.

5. Prairie Lights Books — Iowa City, IA

You might be noticing a pattern here: bookstore children’s sections really get me. The entire basement of this three-floor shop is dedicated to kid's books, and I found so many of my old favorites, from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to the Jan Brett holiday books to D'Aulaires' Greek Myths.

Highlights: When you drink a sea salt cappuccino from a china cup after flipping through stacks of feminist magazines, it was a good day.

6. Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books — New York, NY

Not only does this place have the best name possibly of all time, it has a veritable Bob Dylan section to the right of the spirituality section and across from the travel section.

Highlights: Piles of books in a narrow store in New York City, what’s not to love? Also, a hilariously odd “Complete Historical Sourcebook” to children’s clothing.

7. Women and Children First — Chicago, IL

I was here when my sister was born. Many of my earliest memories are crossing the street with my parents and pushing the door open under the dark purple awning. When I was here with friends this past summer, we spent hours browsing and it was every bit as good as I remembered.

Highlights: Feminism, feminism and more feminism. An extensive LGBTQ section. Staff recommendations that made me want to read every single one.