Eighth Day Used Books

I happened to be in Wichita for an incredibly short business trip. Fortunately, I had the fortune of being able to stop by. Oh my goodness, what a place! Not your typical bookstore, skipping most ‘light’ reading and focusing mainly on literature, history, philosophy, religion, and the like. It’s definitely homey, and the staff is amazing! Even years later, I keep thinking to myself — «Hey, I wonder if there’s some chance I’ll be back in Wichita, because I’d love to get back there.»

The coolest, most unique religious book store I’ve ever been in. They sell icons, prayer books, calendars, Greek spice, I feel like playing hooky and hanging out in there…

This is a pretty fantastic bookstore, but one that will appeal to a fairly specific clientele. This becomes apparent about halfway through the store, when you realize the number of religiously themed subsections. While I can admire the breadth of content this place offers, I’m not really interested in most of the books they offer. Their philosophy and literature sections, which interest me most, are well-​above average in the diversity and quality of titles they offer. Even some of the other sections which typically would not interest me have such a thoughtful and varied selection of books, that I peruse these and usually find something desirable as well. The staff is exceptionally friendly and helpful, making you feel, as the building itself does, that you are being invited into someone’s home. I like that a lot. There’s no corporate coffee shop attached, no music or movies sold, and, in general, very few of the superfluities offered by other bookstores, but somehow this feels less like an oversight or fault and more like an aesthetic choice Definitely worth stopping in if you’re looking for some cerebral or spiritual reading.

I haven’t been here in ages, but I remember that this is one of the first bookstores that really encouraged my love of reading and let me explore a lot of new titles I never would have considered before.
More sappy memory lane travels: I love the cozy, homelike feel of this place, like you’re actually in someone’s house, and that house just happens to be full of books (seriously, what else do the people who live here do except read?). I always felt like it was a privilege to go through the stacks and shelves and find something that was written just for me-​or so it seemed.
Definitely a staple of my childhood in Wichita.