Books & Books: South Florida's Premier Independent Bookstore

1. Books & Books is South Florida’s premier independent bookstore with locations in Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour Shops

2. “I cannot sleep unless I am surrounded by books.” -- Borges

3. BOOKS & BOOKS265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables , FL 33134 Founded in 1982, the store is currently located in an exquisite 1927 building listed in the Coral Gables Register of Historic Places.

6. The 9,000 sq. ft. Mediterranean-style building has original tile floors, a fireplace, beamed ceilings, floor-to-ceiling dark wood bookshelves, an open-air courtyard and a full-service café.

7. The Café at Books & Books in Coral Gables

8. BOOKS & BOOKS COURTYARD The Coral Gables store wraps around a beautiful, Mediterranean-style, open-air courtyard, a signature architectural element of the bookshop.

9. The courtyard is the perfect setting for live performances, author receptions, poetry readings, film screenings, private parties and more…

11. Café events feature menus, inspired by cookbook authors and their books. Anthony Bourdain spoke following a dinner, inspired by his Les Halles Cookbook. Naked ChefJamie Oliver, conducted a live cooking demonstration and rock n’ roll performance. Jennifer Rubell hosted a Mother’s Day brunch inspired by her new, Real Life Entertaining.

12. Dr. Steven Schnur launched his new book, The Reality Diet.

14. BOOKS & BOOKS GALLERY Books & Books participates in the monthly Coral Gables Gallery Night with exhibitions of photography, drawings and paintings by Miami-based artists. A new exhibit opens every first Friday night of the month, and the City of Coral Gables provides shuttle service to Books & Books' front entrance, every 45 minutes.

15. EVENTS at BOOKS & BOOKS Books & Books is event-driven! Our monthly calendar of events includes author presentations and book signings every night of the week, Monday through Sunday, at our Coral Gables location, as well as reading & discussion groups, lectures, workshops, offsite events and book parties.

16. French cultural critic and author Bernard Henri-Lévy captivates hundreds at the Coral Gables bookshop.

17. Books & Books hosts local and visiting authors, including debut novelists, established writers of great renown, children’s authors, poets, scholars and celebrity authors.

18. Camille Paglia Nicole Krauss John Dufresne Aron Ralston

19. President Jimmy Carter

20. Isabel Allende

21. Paul Rusesabagina Guillermo Arriaga

22. Joan Didion

23. Michael Ondaatje

24. Jane Fonda Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton Star Jones Reynolds

25. Edwidge Danticat and Julia Alvarez Umberto Eco TC Boyle

26. Salman Rushdie

27. Eric Bogosian Les Standiford

28. Russell Banks Gary Shteyngart

29. Susan Sontag

30. Books & Books’ Mitchell Kaplan and Robert Gottlieb… and Rachael Ray! and TC Boyle…

31. Some will be larger than others…

32. Like President Clinton’s autographing for over 2,000…

33. The line was eight blocks long and people staked out their places as early as 4am the night before.

37. Dear Books & Books, I really wanted to take a few moments out of my day to put fingers to keyboard and send some kudos that you can share with your staff. From the organization of the line to keeping the lavatories stocked and clean to periodically sending staffers out (in the heat!) with informative updates, everything was seamless. We were all so impressed. We certainly appreciated the Cafe staff coming out with the baskets of muffins, cakes, sandwich lunches & sodas for sale. In fact, when we saw them giving out the mini bottled waters, we were incredulous at the generosity. Truly going the extra mile. Let me tell you how great your staff was. So friendly, courteous, and keeping their sense of humor. It was nice of the Gables [City of Coral] to allow us to have our folding lawn chairs out there in the line. Had that not been the case, we're quite sure that more folks would have had heat stroke. Thanks again for providing average civilians with the opportunity to meet an American president. Sincerely, Sheila Cooper

38. BOOKS & BOOKS933 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach Opened in 1989, this store is located in the historic Sterling Building in the Art Deco District of Lincoln Road Mall, between Jefferson and Michigan Avenues.

39. The store specializes in art, design, fashion and architecture. Additionally, a large magazine collection contains international publications as well as locally published periodicals.

42. THE CAFÉ AT BOOKS & BOOKSMiami Beach The Café at Books & Books, Miami Beach recently expanded into a full-service restaurant with an After-Five menu of grilled seafood specialties by Executive Chef Bernie Matz.

44. BOOKS & BOOKS/BAL HARBOUR SHOPS9700 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour, 2nd Level, Near Saks Fifth Avenue This lushly-landscaped, open-air mall houses such famed merchants as Gucci, Cartier and Bulgari, Luis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and now…Books & Books.

45. Bal Harbour Shops ranked the number one most productive shopping center in the U.S., based on average sales per square foot according to Women’s Wear Daily.

48. Being a Kidat BOOKS & BOOKS Young readers, parents and educators alike love the Children’s Room. Our shelves are bursting with new titles and classics as well as toys, games, stuffed animals, journals and gifts. Coral Gables Children’s Room

49. Gloria Estefan Lane Smith Mo Willems We play host to some of today’s hottest children’s authors…

50. Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce spoke to over 1300 school children and teachers.