Today’s digital age of online ordering has produced miracles for consumers like me, but the one thing they haven’t quite mastered is the art of the browse. There’s nothing like losing yourself amidst old used books stacked alongside new authors you’ve never heard of. So in honor of this past Saturday’s National Independent Bookstore Day, here are the seven independent bookstores of America you really must experience before you die.

Powell’s City of Books
The headquarters of Powell’s small bookstore chain is aptly called the City of Books for a reason; occupying a full city block, this multi-level megaplex is the largest independent bookstore of new and used books in the world. Like, they actually have their own iPhone app to help you get around. They reportedly buy 3,000 used books per day, so you can imagine the amount of traffic they get. Originally founded in 1971 by Walter Powell, the store rose to prominence when Powell’s son, Michael, closed his rare and out-of-print bookstore in Chicago and returned home to elevate their new joint venture.

The Strand
It’s almost impossible to search for another used bookstore in New York City, so great is the shadow of the Strand. Located on the corner of 12th and Broadway, the Strand is the most notable new and used bookstore around, claiming an inventory of 18 miles of books! How they measure that exactly, nobody is sure. The store is never wanting for special events featuring celebrity authors due to its prime location. Make sure to check it out on your next visit.

City Lights
Founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, City Lights is the Mecca of literary alternative culture. Not only is City Lights the nation’s first ever all paperback bookstore, but it also has its own printing press, publishing the works of local and countercultural authors. Known for its “anti-authoritarian politics and insurgent thinking,” City Lights was the main literary haunt of early beatnik writers like Allen Ginsberg and still keeps that reputation to this day. Peruse its three stories of intelligent reads until closing time (midnight) and see what inspires you.

The Last Bookstore
The ironically named Last Bookstore is thankfully far from the last brick and mortar bookstore in the land—in fact, since it’s opening in 2005, the Last Bookstore has continued to revitalize the surrounding area in Downtown Los Angeles. The building is two stories of books including an Arts and Rare Book Annex and if you explore the special arts collective galleries on the top floor you can check out some handcrafted, vintage-industrial lamps that I built. Also it has a literal tunnel of books…so there’s that.

Wild Rumpus
As a child, Wild Rumpus was the stuff my dreams were made of—as a young man, I actually thought I’d dreamed it up. I had to hound my parents, “What was that bookstore that had a tiny door for little children within the main door and then had chickens and cats running around and then had an indoor shack where all the horror books were kept with a cage of tarantulas and the whole ceiling looked like you were looking up at the sky through a crack in the ice layer under a Minnesotan lake?” The answer, it turns out, is Wild Rumpus, located in the Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood of Linden Hills. The store’s design was inspired by the children’s book, The Salamander Room, such that the store begins as a conventional bookstore and then cryptically shifts more and more into a wild land of adventure and play.

Books & Books
Books & Books has been a staple of the Miami literary world since its opening in 1982. Now expanded to three stores, the flagship building is a 1927, Mediterranean-style lair complete with “original tile floors, a fireplace, beamed ceilings, floor-to-ceiling dark-wood bookshelves, an open-air courtyard and a full-service cafe.” With an emphasis on fostering community, Books & Books hosts a whopping 60 author events per month! If you aren’t able to make it out to this wonderful locale, it’s worth noting that they also have free shipping on any title ordered online.

Parnassus
What do you do when you’re a beloved author whose hometown of Nashville is rapidly losing all its bookstores? Open your own obviously. Or at least that’s what Anne Patchett decided to do when she partnered to bring Parnassus Books to the people of Tennessee in 2011. Named after the mythological home of literature, learning, and music, Parnassus Books is committed to giving stellar recommendations and also known for its canine staffers (who also have their own blog?). It’s definitely worth a visit.