On Chicago’s ever-shifting cultural map, there’s one very special store that just got recognized for its kindness on a national level: Semicolon Books in West Town. Recently named one of America’s five “Nicest Places” by Reader’s Digest, this independent bookstore has long been more than just a retail space.
Founder DL Moore launched Semicolon in 2019 with a vision that extended beyond bookshelves, a space "for readers who enjoy stories by and about minority authors," according to its website. A former museum curator who found herself unable to fly for work after a cancer diagnosis, Moore chose the name “Semicolon” intentionally.
“A semicolon is where an author could stop the sentence but chooses not to," she told Reader's Digest. "So it was kind of a space for me to figure out a way to still make life enjoyable."
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What makes Semicolon especially enjoyable is how rooted it is in particular neighborhood care. Moore frames the store as a kind of “third space,” not home and not work, but a place to belong. Its programming and ethos expressly lift voices of marginalized authors and center stories by and about minority communities. In practice, that means curated book selections, thoughtful community events and a real openness to conversation.
One of its signature efforts is the #ClearTheShelves initiative, through which Chicago Public Schools classes are invited to visit and select books for free. To date, Semicolon has gifted over 13,000 books to CPS students.
Now, as Reader’s Digest places Semicolon among its “nicest places in America”—a list defined by places where kindness thrives and differences are embraced—the spotlight reinforces what longtime patrons and fans already know. In a city of grand institutions and sprawling neighborhoods, Semicolon feels like a small, steady flame of intentional inclusion.
Through its doors, you’ll find couches, art installations, quiet corners and a radical softness in the way staff greet you. You’ll find stories you haven’t seen, voices you didn’t know and invitations to linger. Semicolon Books doesn’t just sell reading material; it invites us all to be part of a community. And that sounds pretty nice to us.