Restoried Bookshop

an Asian American bookstore in Chicago

I read a lot of books from and about Korea, the Korean diaspora, and Asian diasporic writers more broadly. This makes me feel closer to the Korean American family I married into, and I think that having those books on our shelves sends messages to my child about what’s important. So I was excited when the Restoried Bookshop, focused specifically on Asian American literature, opened here in Chicago.

The store is in Albany Park, just south of a level crossing. The “L” blocks car traffic when it rolls through, and the street becomes temporarily quiet and empty, with all the cars backed up on the other side of the train.

The owner picks his kid up from school on the way to the shop, so on the day I went to check out the store, I arrived right at opening time and then waited ten minutes or so before he was there to turn on the lights and unlock the door.

I bought The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years, a sci-fi novel from Soviet-era Kyrgyzstan. I was attracted to it because of the slightly low-budget feel of the printing and the fact that there was a handwritten price sticker to the back, suggesting that the book was an import and the price printed on the cover was immaterial.

The store’s owner said he decided to stock the book based on suggestions from Central Asian friends who live in the neighborhood. People from that region get left out of the discussion about Asians in America, he said. And yet there’s a growing Central Asian population in the neighborhood, and it’s important to him to represent them.

If you like supporting local businesses and serendipitously finding things to add to the out-of-control pile on your nightstand, visit Restoried Bookshop, 4613 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL, USA.