Bookends & Beginnings

Bookends & Beginnings is an independent bookstore located in Evanston, Illinois, United States of America. It’s a dream come true for Nina Barrett, an author herself. She set it up in June 2014 with the help of her husband Jeff Garrett, an internationally recognised expert on rare and specialised library collections and global children’s literature.

The store has a unique collection of children’s books in 48 foreign languages, including Kurdish. Maori and Basque. They also have a broad array of new and used books, including classics, fiction, nonfiction and stationery items.
Because of its unexpected location in a small alley in the heart of downtown, loyal customers call it ‘the speakeasy for books where you have to know the secret of its location, but then you can go in and get drunk on the books.