Three-floor used bookstore in Wicker Park with roughly 70,000 volumes, open daily until 8pm; bought from its founders by longtime staffers Matt Revers and J.R. Nelson in 2022.
Best for Three floors of used books
Myopic Books occupies three floors at 1564 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago's Wicker Park, stocking an inventory the shop itself puts at over 70,000 used volumes. Sources place its opening in the early 1990s, after an earlier spell on Division Street before the move to Milwaukee Avenue. In May 2022, longtime employees Matt Revers and J.R. Nelson-both of whom had spent years selling books on the floor-bought the store from its previous owners, keeping it independently run. It remains one of the larger secondhand bookstores in Chicago, open daily into the evening.
Founded 1961 in a Hyde Park basement, the Seminary Co-op became the scholarly bookstore — front tables that read like a syllabus of everything. Now a not-for-profit owned by its purpose.
Independent bookseller in Hyde Park with one of the one of the largest academic book collections in the United States, serving University of Chicago readers and scholars. The co-op curates a staff-picked "Front Table," hosts author events, and publishes its own titles under the Ode Books imprint.
Best for Academic books, staff picks, author events and Ode Books imprint
Founded in 1961 as a member-owned cooperative by University of Chicago students, this Hyde Park institution runs two shops, the scholarly Seminary Co-op and the general-interest 57th Street Books, and reorganized as a not-for-profit devoted to bookselling as a cultural act. Its shelves run deep in philosophy, history, and university-press titles rarely stocked elsewhere.
Torn Light Records began in Northern Kentucky in 2014, spent a decade in Cincinnati and moved to Chicago in January 2024. The Bucktown shop at 1855 N Milwaukee carries new and used records alongside books and print, and buys collections of any size.
Best for New and used records, tapes, CDs, books and zines
Novelty spy-gear storefront at 1276 N Milwaukee Ave in Wicker Park that funds 826CHI, the Chicago chapter of the youth creative-writing nonprofit 826 National, founded by Dave Eggers.
Best for Spy gear, gadgets, and creative writing supplies at this 826CHI shop front
Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co. is the retail front for 826CHI, the Chicago chapter of 826 National, the youth creative-writing and tutoring nonprofit co-founded in 2002 by author Dave Eggers and educator Ninive Clements Calegari. Located at 1276 N Milwaukee Ave, the shop's shelves are stocked with tongue-in-cheek spy gear - shaving-cream cans with false bottoms, fake security cameras, tuxedo phone cases - alongside stationery, games, and gadgets, plus published writing produced by students in 826CHI's programs. Every purchase supports the nonprofit's free tutoring, writing workshops, and publishing programs for Chicago youth, following the same disguised-storefront model as the original 826 Valencia pirate-supply store in San Francisco.
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