Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way, and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.

Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.

This week we have Booked in Evanston, Illinois!

What’s your store’s story?

Chelsea Elward, a lifelong Evanstonian, opened Booked in 2018 as Chicagoland’s first children’s focused independent bookstore — and the only one with a tiny door just for kids. Today, the store is owned by two employees, Abby Dan and Betsy Haberl. 

Recently, we’ve filled the shelves, launched weekly kids’ programming (including two trans and nonbinary Dungeons & Dragons Groups for tweens and teens), expanded the adult section, and added adult book clubs! 

Our aim is to be a community space and a community asset, helping Evanston’s families, schools, congregations and businesses connect through books.

What makes your independent bookstore unique?

We’re the store with the tiny door! (Technically, our door is called a “wicket,” but Evanstonians and visitors know that we’ve got a little door within a door just for kids.)

We love to see them confidently (or nervously) striding through our tiny door to find a magical space with books at their level, a cozy rainbow rug, as well as puzzles and toys. 

We’re a storytime spot for a fleet of toddler parents and caregivers, thanks to our musically talented and enthusiastic staff. We also host our trans and nonbinary Dungeons & Dragons group, began with four kids and has expanded to a weekly after-hours event for tweens and teens. And as we’ve grown and curated our adult shelves, we’ve built two enthusiastic, committed book clubs: Booked Club (which reads literary fiction and nonfiction) and Sunday Smut (which reads modern romance). 

Many community members come in to talk books with us, and we love building these relationships. Most importantly, we are all hand-sellers. You tell us what you need, what you’re feeling, what you want to feel or communicate with a gift, and we can find you the right title.

What’s your favorite section in your store?

I love our Middle Grade section — there is just so much depth there! Middle Grade authors are doing everything from talking dogs to neurodivergent narrators in verse to dragon flights to dust bowl family sagas to elite private schools and everything in between. 

I love it when parents or grandparents come in with a great idea of who their kid is but no idea what they should read next. We always have something new or different, and we love it when they come back to tell us we nailed it!

Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?

Evanston is everything to Abby and Betsy — we both live here, send our kids to schools here, employ fellow Evanstonians, spend our own money at local businesses. 

Booked is a physical place where kids and adults can come to gather and shop, but we’re also a community entity that gets diverse books into classrooms, homes, shelters and other community spaces. We bring authors to the community and its schools, and we bring people of all ages together. Without customers, we can’t add this layer of richness to Evanston, enrich the lives we touch, and we can’t be a cool spot to pick out great stickers. We just won’t be here.

Check out these titles recommended by Booked owner, Abby Dan:

• “The Sentence” by Louise Erdrich
• “Shark Heart” by Emily Habeck
• “Finally Heard” by Kelly Yang
• “The Other Valley” by Scott Alexander Howard
• “Sheine Lende” by Darcie Little Badger
• “Funny Story” by Emily Henry
• “The Birchbark House” by Louise Erdrich
• “Pretty Ugly” by David Sedaris

Several Illinois counties that have explored the idea of secession might be welcomed with open arms in Indiana.

Legislators in Indiana’s Republican-majority General Assembly have introduced a house bill that would establish a commission to discuss whether it’s advisable to adjust the boundary between Illinois and Indiana.

The House Republicans included the bill on a list of their top priorities for the 2025 session, which specifically noted that dozens of counties in Illinois have voted since 2020 “to secede from their high-tax state,” the Indianapolis Star reported.

“To all of our neighbors in the West, we hear your frustrations and invite you to join us in low-cost, low-tax Indiana,” House Speaker Todd Huston said, according to the newspaper.

In the November election, a total of seven counties in Illinois faced a ballot question on exploring the idea of secession, and all seven voted in favor of the proposal, according to county clerks’ offices. The group includes: Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Green, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties.

Prior to the 2024 election cycle, at least two dozen counties voted affirmatively on the non-binding initiatives.

The reasoning behind the referendums, according to supporters, is that the city of Chicago and Cook County have a sizable impact on the policies enacted by the state legislature, and rural counties share different interests that are not being represented by the actions of the General Assembly.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called Indiana’s proposal “a stunt” earlier this week.

“…It’s not going to happen, he said. “But I’ll just that say Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people when they’re in need and so I don’t think it’s very attractive for anybody in Illinois…”

Many legal experts have expressed skepticism that such an effort could ever be successful. That group includes Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who penned a letter to the state’s attorney of Jersey County on the issue in 2023.

#10 Illinois faces #2 Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday, January 17 at 6 p.m. CT. Follow along here for live updates from the dual. 

Probable Match-ups
125: Caelan Riley, SO vs #28 Joey Cruz, SO
133: #2 Lucas Byrd, SR vs #3 Drake Ayala, JR
141: #17 Danny Pucino, SR vs #21 Ryder Block, FR, 2-2 or Jace Rhodes, SO, 5-2 or Cullan Schriever, SR, 3-5
149: #15 Kannon Webster, FR vs #3 Kyle Parco, SR
157: #22 Jason Kraisser, SR vs Miguel Estrada, FR
165: #15 Braeden Scoles, FR vs #2 Michael Caliendo, JR
174: #19 Danny Braunagel, JR vs #5 Patrick Kennedy, JR
184: #13 Edmond Ruth, SR vs #5 Gabe Arnold, FR or Angelo Ferrari, FR
197: #13 Zac Braunagel, SR vs #1 Stephen Buchanan, SR
285: #11 Luke Luffman, SR vs #13 Ben Kueter, FR