In the modern electronic age, independent bookstores are becoming a rare breed. But even for someone who prefers electronic reading, it is not a good enough reason to consider casting them off completely.

Independent bookstores in and around the Philadelphia area represent more than just an ode to nostalgia, they provide support from the smartest literati shopkeepers and are some of the most inviting hangouts you can find, writes Marina Lamana for Philadelphia Magazine,

Making it to the list of 15 brick-and-mortar independent bookstores around Philly are two from Chester County. Wellington Square Bookshop situated at 549 Wellington Square in Exton in eighth and Baldwin’s Book Barn at 856 Lenape Road, West Chester in twelfth.

Wellington Square Bookshop is recommended for its book club that features books you actually want to read. With multiple book clubs, weekly story time, a coffee bar and an owner-hosted podcast called ‘The Avid Reader’, it is described as a place that is better suited for the extroverted reader rather than for solitary browsing.

Baldwin’s Book Barn, on the other hand, is recommended for its indulgent, transcendent browsing. Housed in a dairy barn built in 1822, this five-story bookshop offers modern paperback as well as first editions, antique hardcover books and has chairs conveniently placed throughout notes the magazine.

Top of the list is the Penn Book Center located in University City and according to the magazine, this bookstore situated next to a Citizens Bank may not feel as appealing at first glance as some of its more romantic looking counterparts, but inside are titles by local authors and key study texts displayed prominently on its tidy shelves.  

To find the complete list of recommended bookstores see here.