Madison Street Books

Madison Street Books, West Loop

Author: Meng Xu

Program of Study: Master of Public Policy (MPP)

Description: Let’s explore Chicago’s bookstores as if they were people—each with its own personality, soul, and story to tell.

Transcript:

Goood morning, Good afternoon, Good evening.

“Welcome to the ELI’s Finding Chicago Global Perspectives Podcast Series for AEPP 2025.

I’m your host, Meng Xu, and I’m currently enrolled in the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.”

We are all new here in Chicago. Where would you like to go as your very first stop?

For me, it’s always the bookstore—that’s the first place I want to visit whenever I arrive in a new city.

So today, I’d love to talk with you about bookstores in Chicago.

And maybe. Another question : How do you feel when you read?

When I read, it feels like a conversation with people from the past, the present, from different sides, or even with non-humans — maybe an alien.

So I started to think, a bookstore is not only a shop with books. It’s like a person, with its own personality. Kind of like a shop filled with different souls. Sounds a little strange? Like in Harry Potter — books that can fly, books that have their own thoughts.

By the way, there is a Harry Potter shop on Michigan Avenue. And there, you can buy books that can fly. If you can’t, that just means you are a muggle. After you buy books there, you can even ask a clerk to use the Sorting Hat to divide you into different houses. I am in Gryffindor. How about you?

Hold on one sec, Muggles or wizards with flying books — how many words can you use to describe a person? Funny? Interesting? Mature? Assured?

“Alright, back to my topic — the personalities of Chicago’s bookstores. Do they all share the same style, or does each have its own?

The first one I went to was the campus bookstore, right across from where we have AEPP lessons. It has two floors. On the second floor you see textbooks, kids’ books, even a ranking shelf of popular books. You can buy textbooks, or colorful quick-learning guides.

To me, this place feels like a straight-A UChicago student — very smart, very proud, always showing top grades.

The second is Seminary Co-op, near Booth. This shop feels super academic. The layout makes it look like squares of shelves, with a chair in the middle. It feels like a wise scholar, just sitting there, surrounded by books. The books are all academic. So yeah, I think this one is a scholar.

Oh, and by the way, there’s a café near it called Plein Air — the omelet and sandwich are delicious.

The third is Madison Street Books, in West Loop. It’s woman-owned, independent, and very warm. The staff really love reading. They even put small handwritten cards under many books — what the book is about, why they like it, how they felt reading it. That made me feel so cozy, like I stepped into a small, caring community.

I’d say this bookstore feels like a counselor. A female counselor — always listening, recommending good solutions, helping you find peace, giving warm encouragement.

And after that, you can even go to McDonald’s Hamburger University nearby — they have international menus. So this bookstore is like a diverse and warm community.

Finally, my favorite: Powell’s Books Chicago on 57th Street, in Hyde Park. When you step inside, your first thought is, wow, so many books. You pass a small door and suddenly it’s like heaven for book lovers. Books from floor to ceiling.

Most of them are used or rare, but very well kept. Sometimes you find a book for 4.9 dollars instead of 49, and it’s even unopened.

It’s hard for me to describe Powell’s as just one person. So I asked the staff, and one answer I really liked was: ‘Assured.’

For me, Powell’s is like a mature, confident scholar — standing in history, reading through thousands of books, and waiting there to share knowledge with you. That’s why I love it.”

“We are lucky to live in this era of information boom. But at the same time, our attention is more precious than ever. Reading is still the best way to calm down and have a deeper talk — with books, with authors, or with ourselves.

Chicago’s bookstores are waiting for us — each with a different personality. Different shops, different souls. To read, to talk, and to find happiness in pages.

Thanks for listening. Love you, and see you next time in a bookstore.