Santa Fe Independent Bookstores!
In an age where we’ve become inured to the news of one huge company swallowing up another, a streak of independence will shine brightly. While Amazon may be convenient, there is nothing quite like walking into a bookstore to hold a book and leaf through it before buying. Santa Fe has always been a book-loving town, one that appreciates and supports its independent booksellers, as well as its authors and their output. And you can hone your interests ahead of your book-buying in what we believe is the prettiest library reading room in the southwest!
Need a book on the southwest or Santa Fe itself? Check! Engaged in a philosophical search for the meaning of life? Got it. Just want a quaint children’s book for a present? No problem. Santa Fe Cookbooks? Easy as pie!
Not only have our independent bookstores survived the economic downturn, they have also broadened their horizons to include readings and book-signings by local and notable authors alike. Collected Works Books, right in the heart of downtown, hosts the Muse x Two Poetry Readings, particularly vibrant in April, which is National Poetry Month. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood, The Ark brings spiritually-inclined authors in person to elucidate on matters sacred and profane. Nicholas Potter Books will help you find that out-of-print Southwestern tome you’ve been seeking. Garcia Street Books is conveniently located next to one of Santa Fe’s most popular independent neighborhood coffee shops, and the adjacent Photo-Eye Gellery, has an online bookstore that features over 30,000 fine-art photography books. The Travel Bug, right next door to the Inn, puts world travel at your fingertips, with travel guides and maps galore. All of the Museum of New Mexico gift shops have a section of books that mirror the exhibitions they host. And if you have a car, and you’re simply looking for airplane fodder to get you home, Book Mountain has thousands of used paperbacks you can read and leave on the plane for the next hapless traveler.
And, as befits such a dedicated reading town, we also have the good fortune to have the Lannan Foundation Readings and Conversations Series, which has treated the City Different to appearances by a broad spectrum of authors, from poets like W.S. Merwin to the multi-faceted film auteur, John Sayles.
If you’re a book-lover, this is definitely your kind of town to visit…..so after you settle in to your Santa Fe hotel for a relaxing weekend, pick out something special to read, turn left at the sleeping dog, and head to our sunny Plaza for a literary escape!