Editor’s Note: This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. See what else is cookin’ now at blog.rismedia.com:
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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that bibliophiles are big on bookstores and libraries. If you identify with this group and feel your current city is failing you in the reading department, here are some pointers as to where you might want to flee.
If you don’t have enough places to buy books, then what kind of life are you even leading? According to Publishers Weekly, these are the states with the most bookstores per capita (which will surprise you):
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Vermont
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Nebraska
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Missouri
- Alaska
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Washington, D.C.
- South Carolina
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- Georgia
- Indiana
- North Carolina
While you would expect places like New York and Massachusetts to come up, they don’t because there’t just too many people for the amount of bookstores.
In addition, Amazon* ranks the top 20 well-read cities around the States every year. These were the chart-toppers for 2016:
- Seattle, Wash.
- Portland, Ore.
- Washington, D.C.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Austin, Texas
- Las Vegas, Nev.
- Tucson, Ariz.
- Denver, Colo.
- Albuquerque, N.M.
- San Diego, Calif.
- Baltimore, Md.
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Louisville, Ky.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Houston, Texas
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Chicago, Ill.
- Indianapolis, Ind.
- Dallas, Texas
- San Antonio, Texas
*Do keep in mind that Amazon gets its numbers from the amount of Kindle and Amazon purchases, but they do also include magazines and newspapers in the lot.
And last, but not least, you may want to consider a move (or a visit) to the homes of the nation’s prettiest libraries:
New York, N.Y. – New York Public Library/Morgan Library & Museum
Boston, Mass. – Boston Public Library
Washington D.C. – Library of Congress
New Haven, Conn. – Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library/Sterling Library
Ridgefield, Conn. – Jay Walker’s Private Library
Salt Lake City, Utah – Salt Lake City Public Library
Baltimore, Md. – George Peabody Library
Exeter, N.H. – Phillips Exeter Academy Library
Being surrounded by other bibliophiles is like setting yourself up for positive peer pressure!
Gabrielle van Welie is RISMedia’s editorial intern. Email her your real estate news ideas at gvanwelie@rismedia.com.
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