Prairie Lights
Iowa City, Iowa
What better place for a bookstore than just blocks from one of the best known Writers' Workshops in the country? Set near the University of Iowa and the aforementioned workshop, Prairie Lights is a first-class bookstore that benefits from the surrounding town's enthusiasm for literature. The books inside tend to lean toward fiction, travel, children's, and poetry — the owners are poets themselves — but with three and a half floors of selections, there's bound to be something there that sparks your interest. And don't think you have to rush home with your purchase, either — the store includes a cafe serving coffee, baked goods, small snacks, and wine and beer, making it an ideal spot to sit and read.
