Semicolon Books in Chicago is so much more than just a bookstore. Here's why it's one of 2025's Nicest Places in America.
A Beloved Chicago Bookstore Becomes the Heart of a Community—And a Symbol of Hope and Belonging
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Leslie Shogren wanted to go to Semicolon Books in Chicago to celebrate her birthday, so she packed up her husband and four sons and came in from the suburbs. When she checked out that day in July 2020, she asked the woman at the register if she was Danielle Moore, the bookstore’s owner.
“Yeah, are you Leslie?” Moore replied, flashing her signature bright smile. She slipped Shogren a birthday card signed by each staff member, thanking her for celebrating her birthday at the store. “Mom, that’s a real birthday card,” said one of her sons, looking surprised.
Shogren was surprised too. Sure, she had messaged the bookstore on Instagram, asking its hours and casually mentioning she’d be visiting for her birthday. But still. “Danielle didn’t need to do that,” she says. “When people do a hospitality touch like that above and beyond, it just sticks with you.” She and her family are store regulars today.
Since 2019, Moore has been adding her personal touch to everything she does at Semicolon. Inside, shelves stretch floor to ceiling, with front-facing books displayed like art. The walls are packed with prints, paintings and quotes. Comfy couches invite visitors to read, and handmade pillows featuring literary icons like Audre Lorde and Octavia E. Butler add to the homey vibe.
“We wanted it to feel cozy, warm and full of love,” she says.
Courtenay Joseph started going to Semicolon in June 2020. After George Floyd was killed, she wanted to support Black-owned businesses. Now a mom, she often brings her toddler to the store. “What I see are people talking to one another,” Joseph says about her fellow Semicolon bibliophiles. “There is a sense of connection.”
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Creating a place for belonging
It’s important to Moore that customers consider the store a “third space”—not home or work, but someplace that “still feels like a place for belonging.” That’s something Moore didn’t have growing up, when she lived with her mother in a domestic violence shelter in Florida. A Danielle Steel novel was the only book there. “I know what it’s like not to have books,” she says.
Moore welcomes classes into the store, and students pick out what they want for free. So far, through its #ClearTheShelves program, Semicolon has given 13,000 books to Chicago Public Schools students. Moore and her staff have curated books for 52 schools and donated books and funds to 27 Chicagoland organizations.
“We like to take everything we make and give it back,” she says.
Devonta Boston, founder of the nonprofit TGi Movement, which brings youth development programming ranging from the arts to entrepreneurship to young people on Chicago’s South Side, appreciates what Semicolon does for local kids. “Danielle found books our kids had never seen in school. Books on streetwear and Black fashion designers like Virgil Abloh and Pharrell,” she says.
Making a street feel like a neighborhood
Semicolon sits in West Town, a trendy area full of small shops, restaurants and museums, with a diverse mix of Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and mixed-race folks. Moore lives close enough to the store that she walks to work.
Andrea Beschel of Deltronics, a nearby audio electronics repair shop, says Moore makes the whole street feel like a neighborhood: “She was the first business owner who came in and interacted with us and invited us to stuff, so that was really cool.”
“She brings a good spirit to the block,” adds Cesar Buendia, owner of neighboring Ruben’s Unisex barbershop. “She came in and offered us books, but we were remodeling. She said she’ll come back when we’re done.” His clients will peruse the books as they wait.
Leslie Shogren attended Semicolon’s Independent Bookstore Day event last April, a big block party. “There was music,” she says. “My husband and I sat on one of the couches they put in the street on a rug and just hung out and chatted with everyone.”
“It’s a very welcoming place,” says Ora Sawyer, who is one of many regulars. “You sit there and you can talk about books, you can talk about arts, you can talk about anything.”
The store’s name is also a sign of Moore’s irrepressible spirit. In January 2019, she was diagnosed with ocular melanoma. She was a museum curator at the time, constantly flying for work. Chemo would keep her grounded. That’s how she landed on “Semicolon.”
“A semicolon is where an author could stop the sentence but chooses not to. So it was kind of a space for me to figure out a way to still make life enjoyable,” she explains.
Dealing with unexpected challenges
Moore had what she hopes will be her last chemo treatment in June. And that’s not the only challenge. Her car was stolen on Labor Day weekend last year. The store’s checkbook was taken, and her account was hacked. Those were funds for payroll, book giveaways, school visits and events. Four months later, Moore had to shut down the store.
She shared the news on Instagram. When she looked at the comments, she felt “undone” by hundreds of responses: “This is the first bookstore my baby had ever been to at 4. He loves to read now as a 7-year-old! Thank you for lighting the flame.” … “Your work and impact on your community will stand for generations.” … “I owe so much of my inspiration, dream and aspirations to y’all.”
A Kickstarter campaign launched to reopen the store. Moore’s team checked the numbers constantly. “It was an exciting moment for them to see we were going to make it,” she says. Thrilled customers sent DMs saying, “You hit it!” and “We can’t wait to go to the cafe.”
Embracing love and community
Semicolon had its grand reopening this past Juneteenth. Customers brought books to swap with one another. Coffee brewed as a DJ spun music. A photographer snapped portraits of people holding their favorite books. Leah Johnson, who owns Loudmouth Books in Indianapolis, says she is heartened by Semicolon’s staying power.
“It breaks my heart that people don’t always see that bookstores, particularly Black bookstores, can offer what no algorithm can offer. And that’s the human connection, that’s the community building, that’s the space-making that happens when you support your local bookstore,” she says.
Fittingly, the bestselling book at Semicolon is All About Love by bell hooks. “That is absolutely our ethos,” Moore says. “We live by it. We believe in moving in love and community above all.”
Why trust us
For more than 100 years, Reader’s Digest has been known for its heartwarming true stories and focus on community. In 2017, we launched the Nicest Places in America, an annual contest that honors kind, inspiring people making a difference in their hometowns. Readers send in nominations, and Reader’s Digest’s editorial team vets the entries and whittles them down with the help of a panel of judges. This year, the judges included Today’s Al Roker, Tuesdays with Morrie author Mitch Albom, author and podcast host Mónica Guzmán, former Reader’s Digest CEO Bonnie Kintzer, StoryCorps CEO Sandra Clark, and Greg Hudnall, a former associate school superintendent in Provo, Utah, which earned the title of Nicest Place in America in 2024. We are committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Originally Published in Reader's Digest
