Books & Books
265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL 33134
After deciding that law school wasn’t for him, Mitchell Kaplan opened this first Books & Books location in 1982 in a small, 500 square foot space in Coral Gables, Florida.
Books are Mitchell’s passion, but it doesn’t end there — he likes to think of bookstores as “community centers”. His shop hosts over 60 author events a month, featuring presidents and Nobel prizes winners, athletes, artists, celebrities and poets. Books & Books also hosts monthly art exhibits and offers free, live music, giving many locals a chance to perform. By doing so he has developed partnerships with schools, places of worship, business groups, clubs and even local governments.
In 2010, Mitchell partnered with the founder of the U.S. branches of Taschen, Assouline and Motherland, along with creative director and cultural historian Petra Mason, to create Books & Books Press. It has since published award-winning titles in the fields of fiction, travel, architecture, interior design, photography and history.
Mitchell, with input from all his store managers and key booksellers, is still the frontlist buyer for all of their stores. And he prides himself on having excellent customer service, which anyone who has shopped there would attest to. It has been great to get to know Mitchell, and also interesting to learn about his love for writing poetry and collecting vintage typewriters. ☺
Books & Books has grown over the years and added other locations, but the Coral Gables shop is still considered the main hub. It is now housed in a larger space across the street from the original, in a beautiful historic building from 1927. It is definitely worth a visit!
As a bonus, I had the pleasure of giving a talk about my last project at Books & Books this weekend in Coral Gables. This week’s drawing was included at random in one of the purchased books that evening.
From Books & Books
We’re your locally-owned, independently-minded neighborhood bookstore with three locations in South Florida — Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour Shops — and affiliate stores in Grand Cayman, Westhampton Beach, and the Miami International Airport. We serve as a community center for writers and readers, hosting 60 author events a month and featuring a carefully curated selection of books, magazines, gift and cafe items.
Hours of operation: Sun-Thurs: 9am-11pm | Fri-Sat: 9am-Midnight
Week 24 Art
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