Listed In: Bookstore

• Best Bookstore in Eastern Iowa

• Prairie Lights
  15 S Dubuque St Iowa City IA 52240
  Tel: (319) 337-2681
  Hours: Mon - Sat 9:00am - 9:00pm | Sun 9:00am - 6:00pm.

Prairie Lights sprang to life in May 1978 as a small, intimate bookstore offering titles by the newer voices of Raymond Carver and Alice Munro and by established authors like Eudora Welty and George Orwell. As the staff and customers tended the books with care much like a garden, the store grew and blossomed. By 1982 Prairie Lights transplanted itself from South Linn St. to South Dubuque and has gradually spread to three and a half floors, the half being an 1100 square foot coffee house located in the same space that the local literary society met throughout the 1930's, hosting writers Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, Sherwood Anderson, Langston Hughes, e e cummings and others. Gertrude Stein and friend Alice B. Toklas were scheduled for a reading but were sleeted in at Waukesha airport-- or so the story goes. Perhaps the strength of reputation lies in the reading series of local, national and international writers who have read their works which were broadcast live on stations WSUI and WOI and which is the only regular literary series of its kind. All of this could not have been possible without a loyal customer base and a dedicated staff. We thank our customers for their continued support, and welcome our new customers.

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By: TinIC

The best choice for recent publications bar none.

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By: MWate

They have a great children's selection as well as well-rounded non-fiction and informative. They have great sales too, I spend hours looking through their sales tables and finding things I never knew were out there!

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By: mags13

The staff is very good at picking out books based on your interests.

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By: TN

Other than second-hand book stores that people may prefer for sentimental reasons, anyone who chooses a book store other than Prairie Lights doesn't know a thing about books.

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By: Shannon285

I always love going in this shop.

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By: drummer

There is no other for me!

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