Hello travelers!
The two of us are from the Metro-Detroit Area and grew up minutes away from downtown Detroit. One of the most famous structures in the city is a used and rare bookstore called John K. King Books. Since it’s opening in 1965, it’s housed over a million books, moved several times before settling in its four story location on W. Lafayette Blvd, and has become an icon in its own right. It’s been featured on many lists of best bookstores in the world for its wide variety of literature and non-digitized system of staying old school when receiving, pricing, and shelving books.
After reading all this, you might be surprised to learn that neither of us had ever been there! We knew we needed to remedy this as soon as possible, and made an afternoon out of visiting John K. King Books. And . . . needless to say, we were impressed! It’s true: one of the best bookstores we’ve ever been to is in our hometown of Detroit! Here’s why.
When you first enter and go up the steps leading to the first floor, you are met immediately with the smell of yellowing pages and shelves packed to the gills. Upon entering, you can receive a map of the floors so you know how things are divided by section. Here’s a picture of the map so you can get a better idea of what the floors look like:
We spent some time looking at contemporary fiction, pointing out the spines we recognized while finding many new titles we didn’t know. We continued our way up each floor and every time we went up the staircases, the walls were painted with bookish designs or decorated with staff picks and fan favorites. We felt that those touches really added to the overall experience of immersion in the bookstore.
Our favorite sections were probably the science fiction area where all these retro cover designs were displayed or the Classics area displaying so many versions of our favorite authors work from centuries ago. We also greatly appreciated the vastness of genres, from parenting and women’s health, to LGBTQIA+ and disabled authors.
One note we’d like to make: when we first visited, it was summertime. Since it’s an old building with many cramped or crowded spaces filled with books, it can get quite warm. They had some fans trying to circulate air, so it wasn’t completely unbearable, but keep in mind what time of year you’re visiting when you’re there just in case you have issues with heat or warm temperatures.
Accessibility note: When you first walk into the store, you are greeted with many staircases. After doing some research, there is a freight elevator that guests with disabilities can use, but you have to seek assistance in order to use it. If not, expect a lot of staircases (four levels of stairs). It is also important to note that the walkways are filled with books, so expect narrow walkways and bookshelves everywhere. So, please be aware of these tiny paths if you use a mobility device because it may be difficult to maneuver in the store.
We loved our time at John K. King Books, and we’d highly recommend it if you live in Detroit or are visiting Detroit for the first time. If you want to read about some of our other favorite spots in Detroit, or in the Midwest in general, check out the Midwest tab under “U.S. Travel.” If you’re new here, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on our socials to stay updated on all our latest travel content.
Happy travels,