You may have experienced a bar crawl where you choose a neighborhood, map a route and spend a few hours moving from one stop to the next. A book crawl offers a literary twist on the familiar idea.
Ditching pints of beer for stacks of books, friends move from one bookshop to the next, browsing shelves, trading recommendations and comparing their latest TBR (to-be-read) lists.
Here are four East Valley bookstores ideal for a crawl. Each thoughtfully serves its readers and community while offering something for everyone, from fantasy lovers to collectors of rare books.
The Bookish Shop
Trending reads, romance and romantasy
This female-owned, carefully decorated store—think oversized gold-framed mirrors, checkerboard floors and gorgeous book covers—is a great place to start the crawl. Its coffee bar serves rotating seasonal drinks, such as Strawberry Matcha and Salted Date Lattes, alongside locally sourced pastries, including a ham-and-cheese croissant and brown sugar or raspberry Pop-Tarts, keeping readers caffeinated and fed when the story refuses to be put down.
The Bookish Shop began as a subscription service before expanding into a brick-and-mortar bookstore focused on romance and romantasy.
Leaning into what their readers love, you’ll find special editions and collectible details, such as sprayed edging and character artwork.
60 W. Vaughn Ave., Gilbert
Literally A Bookshop
Children’s stories, community events
Laura Sharp started Literally A Bookshop as a pop-up in 2022 before opening its Gilbert storefront in February 2025. She launched the business after realizing her own children didn’t have the kind of neighborhood bookstore she wanted them to experience.
“Everyone is welcome,” Sharp says.
Housed inside a charming homelike structure that’s small, but welcoming, this bookstore’s inventory primarily focuses on children’s literature, but Sharp has a well-curated adult section with a shelf full of new releases.
The store also partners with local schools to bring authors and books directly to students.
Community events include Sunday story time, children’s book clubs for three age groups and four adult book clubs.
397 S. Gilbert Road, Suite 140, Gilbert
Wijaya House
A little of everything
Melati Parker opened Wijaya House in August 2023 with an eclectic inventory that includes classics, essays, poetry, nonfiction and books by local authors. Rather than organizing the store around a single genre, Parker chose to offer as much variety as the space allowed.
The result is an interior that feels like a “cozy burrow.”
The shop also sells seasonal flowers and offers themed classes. For $15, guests can take home supplies to bedazzle a book, and books purchased for decorating receive a 10% discount.
1706 E. Warner Road, No. 1, Tempe
Book Gallery – Mesa
Vintage finds, rare books and classics
Big wooden shelves, soaring ceilings, original creaky floors and a weathered stucco finish preserve the vintage feel of Book Gallery – Mesa, housed in what was once The Majestic, a vaudeville and silent movie theater dating to the 1910s.
Owner Mike Riley personally purchases and prices every book in the 38-year-old store, selecting requested titles, overlooked classics and books he believes deserve a place on readers’ shelves. Rare books sit alongside subjects ranging from knitting to icebergs, while knowledgeable staff help visitors discover their next favorite read.
50 W. Main St., Mesa
Side note: If you're interested in faith-based books, you may also want to add Queen Creek Family Bookstore & Boutique to your book crawl located at 26319 S. Power Rd.
The book crawl is a literary twist on the traditional pub crawl