Bookworms: Here’s Where to Move if You Like to Read

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):

1. Montana
2. Wyoming
3. Vermont
4. Alabama
5. Tennessee
6. Nebraska
7. Arkansas
8. Colorado
9. Kansas
10. Missouri
11. Alaska
12. Iowa
13. Minnesota
14. Washington, D.C.
15. South Carolina
16. Mississippi
17. West Virginia
18. Georgia
19. Indiana
20. North Carolina

While you would expect places like New York and Massachusetts to come up, they don’t because there’s 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:

1. Seattle, Wash.
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. San Francisco, Calif.
5. Austin, Texas
6. Las Vegas, Nev.
7. Tucson, Ariz.
8. Denver, Colo.
9. Albuquerque, N.M.
10. San Diego, Calif.
11. Baltimore, Md.
12. Charlotte, N.C.
13. Louisville, Ky.
14. San Jose, Calif.
15. Houston, Texas
16. Nashville, Tenn.
17. Chicago, Ill.
18. Indianapolis, Ind.
19. Dallas, Texas
20. San Antonio, Texas

*Do keep in mind that Amazon gets their 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, New York – 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!