Every year, CityBeat publishes the Best Of Cincinnati®, wherein readers and staffers alike pick which bars are the booziest, which people are the coolest and which shops are your best bet for dropping a pretty penny. There’s nothing like diving into a good book, and fortunately, Cincinnati is filled with incredible independent bookstores to help you find your next favorite read. From shops packed with used tomes that still give off the scent of old pages to ones with whimsical literary scenes adorning the walls, here are the top 10 (well, really 12) bookstores CityBeat readers love to patronize.

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Best Indie Bookstore No. 10: Cincy Book Bus/The Book Bus Depot 10936 Reading Road, Sharonville Photo: Provided by the City of Sharonville
Best Indie Bookstore No. 9: The Hidden Chapter Bookstore 118 N. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas Photo: facebook.com/The Hidden Chapter Bookstore
Best Indie Bookstore No. 8: Conveyor Belt Books 410 W. Pike St., Covington Photo: Aidan Mahoney
Best Indie Bookstore No. 7: Household Books 5854 Hamilton Ave., College Hill Photo: Aidan Mahoney
No. 8 Best Bookstore: Shake It Records 4156 Hamilton Ave., Northside Photo: Mike Spitz
No. 8: Ohio Book Store 726 Main St., Downtown If you’re like us, there’s nothing quite as intoxicating as the smell of old books — and there’s no better place to find them than downtown’s five-story Ohio Book Store. It’s easy to get lost among the racks of classic literature, cookbooks and secondhand fiction, but wherever you wander, be sure to take a look at the glass cabinet in the middle of the first floor. It’s full of rare and wonderful tomes. And if you have some vintage books of your own you’d like to learn more about, be sure to ask about their appraisal services. The Ohio Book Store can appraise rare books, documents and other literary ephemera. Photo: Hailey Bollinger Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Best Indie Bookstore No. 6 (TIE): Blue Marble Books 1356 S. Ft. Thomas Ave., Ft. Thomas Photo: Provided by Scooter Media Company
Best Indie Bookstore No. 5: Downbound Books 4139 Apple St., Northside Photo: Bill Bogenschutz
No. 4 Best Bookstore: The Friends of the Public Library Warehouse 8456 Vine Street, Hartwell Photo: facebook.com/cincylibraryfriends
No. 3: Roebling Point Books & Coffee 306 Greenup St., Covington As the name suggests Roebling Point, is both an indie bookstore and community coffee shop. Owner Richard Hunt likes to refer to it as a “third place” — that space that isn’t work or home but feels just as comfortable. Roebling Point has created its niche by providing fair-trade, organic coffee in addition to books and by sharing profound quotes on the chalkboards on the building’s exterior. Multiple rooms house a customer-influenced book inventory. Fiction and non-fiction works rest among local authors, poetry, children’s books and a handful of classics. Photo: Francisco Huerta Photo: Francisco Huerta
Best Indie Bookstore No. 2: Bookery 3704 Eastern Ave., Columbia Tusculum Photo: facebook.com/BookeryCincy
Native American Heritage Month Storytime When: Nov. 4 from 2-3 p.m. Where: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Hyde Park What: Storytime in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Who: Joseph-Beth Booksellers Why: An informative and entertaining mid-day story session is never a bad idea. Photo: facebook.com/JosephBethCincy

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