Last Weekend: The Annual Book Thrifting Extravaganza

A Time was Had!

My dear friend and podcast co-host, Alyssa (NerdyNurseReads), comes to Northern Virginia to visit me every year for a weekend, and I take her on an epic book thrifting extravaganza. I look forward to her visit because it’s the only time we see each other face-to-face, and it’s just nice to catch up with my friend in person.

There are some used bookstores we visit every time she comes down, but I always try to find new ones to visit. I am fortunate to live in a place that has tons of used and indie bookstores.

We started the weekend with a delicious dinner at Masala Story in DC. They serve the most delicious Indian food, and the chef and owners are so nice and welcoming. It’s become a local favorite. I surprised Alyssa with my mom and oldest daughter joining us for dinner. It’s the first time they’ve all met in person. We had such a good time.

The thrift book shopping begins on Saturday! This year I thought we’d venture out to Baltimore, MD, to hit up a few book stores.

The journey began at Red Emma’s.
(3128 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore, MD | Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 9 AM-9 PM and Sunday 10 AM-4 PM)

Red Emma’s calls themselves a radical bookstore, and radical it is!

Red Emma's is the worker cooperative behind the restaurant, bookstore, and community events space dedicated to putting principles of solidarity and sustainability into practice in a democratic workplace.

We walk into the books section (they also have a cafe), and it is perfectly curated. There were so many books I wanted to get, and I could’ve spent a few hours in there. We had the most amazing human experience with Analysis, one of Red Emma’s owners. We were talking, and Alyssa told me to ask him if they carried my great-grandfather, Dr. Chancellor Williams’ books. He was pleasantly surprised to find out I was his great-granddaughter, and told us he’d recently written a piece that mentions his book, and then he began to recite it! It was a magical moment. His piece was so moving.

I got some good books and a t-shirt from Red Emma’s. We also had a lovely lunch in their cafe. If you’re in the DMV area, I implore you to visit Red Emma’s.

The next store we visited was Normal’s Books & Records.
(425 E 31st St, Baltimore, MD 21218| Hours: Monday-Friday 11 AM to 6 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM)

This was a cool used book shop. They had some outstanding records, too. I would’ve walked out of there with at least 10 records if I had the space and a record player. I was able to find two books I’ve been looking for forever, and a book by an author I’ve been wanting to try. When we were checking out, the two super cool guys running the shop informed us Normal’s was coming up on their 35th anniversary. I think it’s pretty awesome that this local community treasure has been able to sustain for 35 years. Happy Anniversary Normals!

We left Normals and then headed to Book Escape.
(925 S Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21230 | Hours: Open daily from 11 AM - 6 PM)

This small space was jam-packed with books, which were pretty well organized. I’m always amazed at how shop owners manage to fit massive amounts of books in these small spaces. I’ve been looking for Wizard of the Crow by Ngūgī Wa Thiong’O for some time now, and I was thrilled to walk into Book Escape and immediately spot this book. Obviously I bought it!

Next up was Friends of the Library, Montgomery County.
( 4886 Boiling Brook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852 | Hours: Sunday - Friday 12 PM - 6 PM and Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM)

We visited this bookstore for the first time in 2024, and we both bought so many books. So we were looking forward to revising this store. I didn’t find as many books as last year, but I still scored. It’s definitely a bookstore that should be on your radar.

Our final bookstore visit of the day was Second Story Books.
(12160 Parklawn Dr., Rockville, MD 20852-1708 | Hours: Sunday - Wednesday 10 AM - 8 PM, Thursday - Saturday 10 AM -9 PM)

Second Story Books is a true treasure trove of book goodness. It’s a warehouse full of books that almost reach the ceiling. They’ve got ladders throughout the place so you can reach the tippy top of the shelves. This store has become one of our absolute favorite bookstores to visit.

Sunday, we had the chance to check the James Baldwin exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery: This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance

It was a small but lovely exhibit. The exhibit also showcased Nina Simone, Lorraine Hansberry, and Bayard Rustin. Note to self: I’ve got to watch that Rustin movie featuring Colman Domingo.

We always go to McKay Used Books (no relation to McKays in TN/NC), but when we got there, they were closed! (8345 Sudley Road, Manassas, Virginia 20109 | Hours: Open daily from 9 AM - 8 PM).

I failed to double-check the hours for Easter. So that was a real disappointment. Alyssa had a Barnes & Noble gift card, so we went there. I don’t shop at B&N. It’s just not an exciting bookstore for me. I don’t find it very fun, and it’s kind of boring. That being said, Alyssa found some things to get with her gift card, and I found two beautiful editions of Passing and Quicksand by Nella Larsen.

To ease the disappointment from McKay being closed, I found a used bookstore called Reston’s Used Book Shop.
(1623 Washington Plaza North, Reston, VA 20190 | Hours: Open daily from 11 AM to 7 PM)

Another small shop crammed with books. They are organized in a slightly weird way, so it made looking for books a little frustrating. However, I managed to find some books I thought I’d never find in person.

We ended the day and weekend with a delicious dinner at a restaurant right next door to the book shop.

The lamb chops were absolutely delicious and weekend was wonderful!