Explore The Charm Of One Of The World’s Largest Bookstores

Did you know that one of the largest and most famous used bookstores in the world is in Michigan?  In a city known for its grit, one bookstore stands tall, offering a unique blend of history and a million stories just waiting to be told.

While scrolling through recently, I saw a video featuring the John K. King Used and Rare Bookstore.  I had to know more.  What I found blew my mind.  In 2015, CNN named this place one of the "World's Coolest Bookstores."  The CNN article cites the fact that King's Bookstore has more than a million books in 900 categories as the reason why.  That by itself is quite an honor.

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In 2017, a publication called Bustle published a story detailing the 12 biggest bookshops in the world.  Sitting at 4th on the list was Detroit, Michigan's John K. King Used and Rare Books.  This Michigan bookstore is the 4th largest in the world (3rd largest in the U.S.) according to their article.  Bustle points out one of the most surprising things about this bookstore: it doesn't have a computer system.  The floor managers apparently have a vast knowledge of the over one million books in this gigantic former glove factory.

Take a tour through this amazing bookstore in the TikTok videos below.

John K. King, who had opened his first bookstore in Dearborn in 1971, ended up purchasing this four-story abandoned factory in 1983, according to johnkingbooksdetroit.com.  The rest was history.  Speaking of history, the history behind the building that now contains this bookstore, as well as the history of John K. King himself, is extraordinary.