Notes from the Shelf

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About Time Bookstore in Libertyville, IL

This past weekend was Independent Bookstore Day and to celebrate I checked out a newer indie bookstore in the area: About Time in Libertyville, Illinois. About Time is a fairly recent addition to the Libertyville scene — and it’s proudly women-owned, which I love to support.

Inside the Store: Cozy Vibes, a Store Dog, and Bookish Gifts

Inside is cute with a couch and chairs for hanging out, and they also host book clubs. They also have a store dog, Finn, which I hadn’t seen him before but he was out and about this time! He’s so adorable.

There are a few different tables with featured books or genres, and they have plenty of bookish items for gifts or a treat for yourself, like stickers, tote bags, and journals. This trip the tables featured local authors as well as poets since April is poetry month. They also had tote bags and pencil pouches for Emily Henry’s newest book Great Big Beautiful Life, which were so cute. They also have a section for customers to pull a book off the shelves and fill out a card for recommendation, which I think is a nice touch for the community.

Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day 2025

For Independent Bookstore Day, they had a raffle with many different prizes from Libertyville stores.

There was also a Midwest Indie Bookstore Roadmap, which outlines independent bookstores in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dekota, South Dekota, and Wisconsin. I’ll forgive them for not having Indiana and Ohio, despite having “midwest” in the name. I’m not sure how this list is curated every year for Independent Bookstore Day; perhaps there aren’t any participating independent bookstores in Indiana and Ohio. But the map is very cute with each participating store featured.

About Time also had a local author, Hannah Morrissey, with her four-book Black Harbor suspense series. It was nice to have a local author there, and she was so fun to talk to about her series! I ended up buying the first one, Hello, Transcriber, to check it out, and she signed it for me. It’s nice to discover books through discussion with the author, and I love the ability to have a signed copy. You can check her books out through my Author Books list on Bookshop.org.

Chicagoland Indie Bookstore Challenge 2025

About Time was also part of the 2025 Chicagoland Indie Bookstore Challenge, which coincided with Independent Bookstore Day. There were 55 participating bookstores in the Chicagoland area and if you went to 10-15 bookstores and received a stamp from them, then you would get 10%-15% off at each of those stores for the next year! I unfortunately couldn’t participate since most of them were downtown, but it was cool that About Time was participating even though they’re so far north of Chicago.

Final Thoughts: Why I Love About Time Bookstore

 Overall, my Independent Bookstore Day was such a blast!
I’ve always thought Libertyville needed an independent bookstore, and About Time fits perfectly — welcoming, creative, and deeply connected to the community.

It’s quickly becoming one of my go-to spots for picking up new books and indie finds. I can’t wait to visit again!