Layla B.
Yelp
I am a sucker for a bookstore; I will ALWAYS stop if I see one. If I'm running late to something, I'll see a bookstore and BOOM: running later. Out family took a little road trip to Denton for no reason other than to just get out of Dallas for a bit and had the very good luck finding a parking spot right outside of Patchouli Joe's. Did the Patchouli in the name scare me? Yes. Did it bring up visions in my Gen X brain of unshowered white dudes with locs playing hackie sack while debating whether to follow the Dead or Phish that summer, and would their parents fund it? Yes. Yes it did. But IT WAS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL! The vibe was "upscale hippie", the scent was not at all overwhelming. It changed my mind about patchouli tbh. But I digress.
This place is fabulous. Lots of great displays, great recommendations, great representation of non-white and queer authors on display mixed in - not in a "look we're checking boxes during a celebration month", more like "we all live together, therefore we'll all be shelved together". Lots of local authors, and lots of romance/fantasy.
The best part of the whole place was chatting with the two women who were working there: Mariana and (I didn't get her name wtf?!?). They were so helpful when I told them I was in a reading rut; they asked about what I've read and loved and we went around and found some interesting options, ultimately landing on a local author (Kayla Olson). Walked out two books heavier and thrilled to have found a new book spot to visit!