When I was researching libraries and bookstores in Austria, Czech Repubic, Slovakia, and Hungary for our Honeyversary I was startled to discover that one of the top bookstores in the United States and moreover the world was in located in my backyard. For months now I’ve wanted to adventure to The John K. King’s Rare and Used Bookstore, located in downtown Detroit, but as often happens with life Luke and I’ve have been busy little bees. For Valentine’s Day, Luke decided to plan a special trip to Detroit to finally visiting this wonderful, four story bookstore. Check out the photos from our trip below!
oh wow this place looks so cool!!
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It really is! So easy to get lost/overwhelmed but has such awesome character!
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Oh my gosh, I’m super jealous – you’re so lucky! I hope you found some awesome stuff and had a great trip 😀😀
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Thank you! Thank you! It was such a fun trip! I highly recommend visiting this bookstore!
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What a wonderful, fun trip. JEALOUS!
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Thank you Linda! We had such a fun time exploring!
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Wow! This is 40ish minutes from my house. I think i also need to make a trip 🙂
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Oh you definitely should! It is such a neat bookstore!
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Yeah, so this just made my bucket list!
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Yay! It really is awesome! You’ll be hard pressed to find a bookstore with more character!
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What a nice way to celebrate Valentine’s Day! ^_^
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It really was a fun little adventure! 😀
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WOW! This place looks amazing. I used to live so close to Detroit and I never heard of it. I’ll have to visit when I go back home.
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You’ll definitely have to make a trip when you’re home! It was so easy to get to being right off he highway!
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Those are some beautiful pictures!
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Thank you! Thank you! The store really was beautiful!
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Fancy it being in your ‘backyard’ so to speak!
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I know! I was so excited when I first found it on those lists!
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Looks like you found a treasure trove; but, girlfriend, I would have been afraid to enter the building.
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Ha! When we walked in Luke and I exchanged a look like what have we gotten ourselves into! It just adds to the character! Truly a one of a kind store!
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I just did a search, and lo and behold, they’ve got some pieces that I have not been able to locate! So cool! Thank you for sharing this resource. And, I loved all of the pictures you shared, too.
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This looks amazing! It’s been on my book store bucket list for a while but I dunno when I’ll make it. So cool!
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I love that you have a book store bucket list! You should do a post about it if you haven’t already!
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I have haha 🙂
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Oh yay! What is the link?
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https://rosereadblog.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/bookstore-bucket-list/
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I can’t believe that whole building is a bookstore!!! Impressive!!! It looks full of possibilities and treasures!!
I am sure you had a great time!!
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We really did! 🙂 It was a bit overwhelming so next time I’ll have to go in with a plan but overall it was amazing!
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You forgot a picture: https://goo.gl/h03n1U 🙂
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Haha! I can imagine how creepy it would be at night!
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Four floors stocked with books – a dream. What a fun day out! 😀 Your photos really capture the feel of the shop. I’d have to be dragged out. Did you end up buying a lot I wonder?
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We spent several hours exploring. We didn’t buy very much at all because I think I was initially a bit overwhelmed and randomly looking around. Next time I’ll go in with a plan!
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😍 What a fun way to spend V-Day! Thanks for sharing the pictures so we can bookshop vicariously through you haha.
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Thanks Christy! What is the coolest bookstore you’ve been to?
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Oh, good question. Toughie! I love this little used bookstore in Northern CA (city of Willits) called “The Book Juggler.” You see it from the outside and think it’s a tiny little thing; then you just find you can keep walking and walking and walking…it feels magical, like we’re in Hermoine’s purse or something haha. And they always have great books at decent prices. It’s my favorite 😀
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Wow, it looks great. Are there long lost out of print books there? How’s the fantasy section?
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Great question! I wouldn’t be surprised, however I can’t definitively answer that question for you. I was surprised at the quantity of the selection and topics available to explore.
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[…] Googling the top bookstores in Chicago. Finding Myopic Bookstore on the same list I’d found John K. King’s Rare and Used Books, which highlighted the top bookstores in America I became intrigued and had to look more into this […]
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[…] United States by the following list that I’ve been loosely following, having already visited John K. King (Detroit), Myopic Books (Chicago), and Powell’s (Portland). Particularly catching our interest was the […]
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[…] States by the following list that I’ve been loosely following, having already visited John K. King (Detroit), Myopic Books (Chicago), and Powell’s (Portland). Particularly catching our interest was the […]
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[…] we stopped by one of my favorite locations in Michigan, John K. King Rare and Used Books! I first ventured to this highly touted bookstore back in February after discovering this gold mine featured in various top bookstore lists (Business Insider, CNN, […]
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[…] John K. King Bookstore – Detroit, Michigan […]
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