Best of Houston® 2019: Best Bookstore

Best Bookstore: Brazos Bookstore

Any bookstore must have the main commodity on hand to be a successful enterprise – books, and lots of them. Brazos Bookstore certainly has its share, but what it offers readers beyond titles is a true love for all things literary, a love that is shared by way of special events, book clubs and affiliations with organizations like Inprint and its Margarett Root Brown Reading Series.

Seemingly everything the Rice Village area bookstore does is in service to writers, which is a boon to avid readers. In-store author events at Brazos are more than sales opportunities; they’re networking events, too, since Houston’s literary elite frequent these offerings. Go to the store to hear a local writer chat up her new novel and you’re likely to meet her fellow authors, indie publishers, literary podcast hosts or book reviewers. It’s all part of the blueprint established by store founder Karl Kilian 45 years ago.

The engine that keeps this vehicle running is its staff. They’re not just folks who neaten shelves and run registers, they’re also writers, by and large. Take a look at the store’s web page and you’ll see that its staffers have a vested interest in promoting the virtues of reading. Many share their insight on all things literary in blogs on the bookstore’s website.

2421 Bissonnet, Houston
713-523-0701
brazosbookstore.com

Readers' Choice:
Half Price Books
Multiple Locations
hpb.com