Chicago's Maze of 70,000 Old Books

Myopic Books is one of Chicago’s most beloved used bookstores — and in my heart, the city’s most soulful one. Founded in 1991 by John Chandler, it started as a tiny underground book stall and has since grown into a three-story literary fortress holding over 70,000 books. 📍 1564 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 Tucked along Wicker Park’s bustling main street, you might easily pass its unassuming storefront. But once inside, you step into a maze of paper and thought — a world built from pages. 📚 A City in Books, a Universe in a Building This isn’t just any bookstore — it feels like something more. 📜 First floor: Literature and contemporary ideas take center stage. Wooden shelves are packed with novels, poetry, philosophy, and fragments of bygone eras. None of the books are brand new — each feels alive. Inscriptions on endpapers, yellowed ticket stubs tucked inside — like whispers between book and reader, overheard by chance. 📖 Second floor: Feels like a quiet reading room — with windows, light, and sofas. Time moves slowly here, accompanied by the creak of the wooden stairs. 🪜 Basement: The most mysterious level — nonfiction, history, politics, psychology… It’s like entering a hidden chamber. The air smells of paper, dust, and old wood — as if ancient souls are murmuring just beyond sight. 📖 The Romance of Myopic: No coffee, no trendy merchandise, no “Instagram corners.” Instead, you’ll find shelves curated by staff with care and personal passion — a gentle, thoughtful logic behind every section. 🎶 Sometimes you might stumble upon a poetry reading, a jazz night, or a wandering poet’s impromptu performance. 👁️ The “myopia” here is really a kind of steadfastness — ignoring trends, resisting commercial pull. They simply guard this forest of paper, letting words and ideas grow freely. We move so quickly in the outside world — so fast we forget the sound of turning pages, the feeling of time spent reading a poem in full. But stepping into Myopic Books, all I want is to slow down… and listen to the quiet conversation of paper and ink. It feels like a brief but precious pause between worlds. #ChicagoLife #IndependentBookstore #ChicagoFinds #LiteraryLife #BookstoreWandering