"A Bookstore Among Bookstores Brimming with all things pulp and ink, and oozing the olfactory enjoyment that is 'old book smell,' Powell's Bookstores are a Chicago institution. Focusing on academic and scholarly works for the past four decades and counting, their three locations are your literary oasis in the bustling city of Chicago. From newly written works, to those hard-to-find tomes, Powell's is steeped in a plethora of choices guaranteed to please all. The Lakeview location pictured above is staffed by incredibly knowledgeable folks, and even has a sitting area in front for reading, or that random game of chess that may break out at any time because of the pre-populated board that is always at the ready."