BookPeople

Texas's largest independent maintains a stock of over 200,000 titles, plus an eclectic array of non-book items that elicit everything from laughs to groans. All the employees seem genuinely happy to be there, and are universally helpful and knowledgeable. Like much of the rest of Austin, BookPeople has a fun, relaxed and slightly off-center personality. It's no wonder, when you consider that energetic and fiercely pro-local-business owner Steve Bercu is a co-founder of the "Keep Austin Weird" campaign. BookPeople also offers literary camps that have one straightforward goal: to bring the books to life.