#12. Books & Books
📚 BOOKS & BOOKS (Coral Gables)
📍 LOCATION: 265 Aragon Avenue, Miami, Florida, USA 🇺🇸
🕰 HOURS:
Mon-Tue: 10am-8pm
Wed-Sat: 10am-10pm
Sun: 11am–7pm
📲 SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: booksandbooks.com
Instagram: @booksandbooks
Facebook: /booksandbooks
YouTube: @BooksBooksMiami
Welcome to Miami! I was so excited to check out beloved local gem, Books & Books, while in Florida.
Longtime bookseller and Miami native, Mitchell Kaplan, opened the first Books & Books in 1982 in a 500 sq ft space after dropping out of law school at the age of 25. The first bookshop grew such a loyal literary following that Kaplan has since opened five locations across Miami in the forty years since inception — all while remaining a locally owned independent bookshop.
In 2001, the original store moved across the street into an exquisite 1927 building listed in the Coral Gables Register of Historic Places. The bookshop has been a pillar in the community and a cultural focal point for over 30 years having brought the Miami Book Fair, the Key West Literary Seminar, eMERGE Miami, and more to South Florida.
Flanked by palm trees, the 9000 sq ft flagship location wraps around a gorgeous garden courtyard that boasts an indoor/outdoor café with a cabana bar (great Spanish wine offerings) where there’s near daily live music, trivia nights, author events, writing meet-ups, and stunning floor-to-ceiling shelves of impeccably stocked books in both English and Spanish.
The exterior stucco entrance is painted with the message: “Censorship leaves us in the dark. We read banned books & books…& books” along with the titles of banned books hand-painted around the door frame. In response to Florida’s book ban, the owner remains staunchly against the weaponization of books and launched a series called FREADOM that brings readers and authors together to celebrate everyone’s right to read.
Other fun features include, a framed gallery wall and table with the signatures of all the famous figures and writers who’ve wandered the halls, a cute children’s nook, a Lego replica of the bookstore on display, and a separate section showcasing the funky pop art covers of the Assouline coffee table books.
Books & Books is the perfect bookstore to get lost in. I could have spent the entire day browsing, working, hanging out, reading, sipping coffee (or wine) in this cherished Miami hideout.
