Inside book homes: Quimby’s Bookstore, Chicago

Having been fascinated by zines lately, I was very excited to visit the bookstore since I’ve been following it on Twitter for quite some time now. Last weekend’s beautiful winter Sunday seemed like the perfect opportunity for a quick trip to Chicago.

Because I had been visiting the bookstore's website and watching video updates, I had some idea of what to expect inside. The bookstore was a little smaller than I had anticipated. It has fewer popular titles but a large number of alternative ones, specializing in sales of "unusual publications, aberrant periodicals, saucy comic booklets, and assorted fancies, as well as a comprehensive miscellany of the latest independent <<zines>>", in its own words.

However, when it comes to zines for which I went there, it was a true paradise. I was expecting one or two zine shelves, but there were plenty. It was fantastic to go to a place where I could physically touch and leaf through zines. Until recently, the only place I looked for them was Etsy. I thought that so many zines could only be seen at zine festivals. Speaking of festivals, two upcoming events in Chicago are the Midwest Perzine Fest on April 9th and the Chicago Zine Fest on May 14th, 2022. The visit was a great source of inspiration. There were so many zines to look at: variously bound, printed on different types of paper, with text or only photographs or sketches, large-format and mini-zines, self-published or issued by independent publishers.

I loved the vibe, the nerd in me felt like I belonged there. The staff is the friendliest I've come across. It seems that I am not the only one who appreciates it. I was surprised to see so many people browsing the shelves of this unconventional place on a Sunday afternoon. I went home with three zines and two postcards.

I have a feeling that this visit was exactly what I needed to get started making my own zines. I'm feeling more encouraged and confident now. I was looking for titles about typewriters, introversion, and Japan that would pique my interest. I haven't found anything on the subjects, which motivates me to create my own even more. Quimby's might also be the best place to distribute them. Until then, happy zine hunting!