Everyone who enters Underground Books gets the same greeting from poet and bookstore owner D.S. Andersen.
“Welcome to your new favorite bookstore!”
His southeast Ogden shop smells like books. The first floor screams typical used bookstore: a comfy couch, shelves lined with worn paperbacks and a printout about upcoming book clubs.
Upstairs is funky. There’s an octagonal bumper pool table where people can play Dungeons & Dragons. You’ll also find antique and thrifted chairs that Andersen tested to make sure they’re comfortable for reading. Then there are photographs of his white cat, Boris.
“He's 19 and a half, and he doesn't travel as well, and he prefers just to stay home,” Andersen said.
Some parts of Andersen’s vision are still in progress. He gestured to a cluttered corner.
“We'll have our little lunch counter here for students to come in from Weber [State University], which is right around the corner, do homework, hang out,” he said.
A handful of independent bookstores have recently opened in Ogden, from this eclectic one on Harrison Boulevard to a pair of romance-first stores downtown. Besides Deseret Book, the city doesn’t have a retail chain; the closest Barnes & Noble is more than 10 miles away in Layton.
And it’s not just Ogden. Indie bookstores across the country are having a moment. Member locations of the American Booksellers Association grew nearly 50% from 2021 to 2025.
In Utah, nine new bookstores have opened since the start of 2025, while three others have closed. That’s an undercount, since it’s based on members of the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association.
Andersen said opening a bookstore was a crazy idea, but he’s fine not making a fortune. He wants to keep some books in-house for people who can’t afford to buy or store them.
“The vibe, the feel, the bookstore smell, the vast range of titles, the sense of discovery, where everything isn't super hyper categorized,” he said, describing the shop. “You kind of have to explore.”
He doesn’t stock every title, but he doesn’t see that as a problem.
“I may not have the book you want, but I know I can find the book you need,” he said. “So I've been called a book doula for that respect.”
On the other end of Ogden and the bookstore spectrum, Chapter & Charm Bookshop sells new books from a tidy shop on Washington Boulevard. It opened in late 2025 inside The Monarch, a downtown arts space, before moving to its own storefront in the spring.
Megan Braswell co-founded it with a close friend.
“We were always going to, like, Salt Lake, and so we decided just to go for it,” she said.
The new larger space and increased foot traffic have been good for business. They’re bringing on a third employee this summer. Their shop focuses on romance because that’s what the co-owners like.
Another entrepreneur had a similar idea: The Romantics Archive opened last year on 25th Street two weeks before Chapter & Charm. There’s a lot of overlap in their collections, but Braswell sometimes sends customers around the corner if she doesn’t have what they’re looking for, and vice versa.
Large black bookcases line the walls of the store. You can tell by the books’ colors where the contemporary romance ends and the dark romance begins. There’s also a section for sports and one for LGBTQ+ romance, which always sells out fast, Braswell said. They try to carry books from smaller publishers and authors that you can’t find at Walmart or Target. It’s fun when people come in and find a book they haven’t seen in any other store, she said.
And it’s not just about book sales.
“I’ve had a couple people come in and be like, ‘I don't have any really, like, bookish friends,’ and I'm like, ‘Well, come to an event,’” she said.
Chapter & Charm often hosts book bedazzling parties, when people can decorate their books. It’s also planning new release parties for national bestseller Rebecca Yarros and indie author Abigail Morgan.
It’s been a steep learning curve for Braswell to put on events, plus figure out which books to order and how many. But she would do it all over again.
“We've met amazing people,” including authors, she said.
Recently opened bookstores aren’t the only ones doing well. Ogden’s Newgate Mall is home to two used bookstores: Eborn Books and A Novel Idea Book Parlor, which sits on the former site of a dress shop. The walls are pink and green and covered in flowers, and the doorway is framed in pale pink.
The location in the mall is a plus, said Novel Idea owner Cornel Thomas, who bought the business in 2023.
“People will come in for a movie and see a bookstore, or go into LensCrafters across the way there and see the bookstore, and so that's a good advantage that way too.”
With a librarian father, a love of books comes naturally in Thomas’ family. And he said the in-person experience offers perks you can’t order on Amazon, like shopping a local author section, checking the condition of a used book with your own eyes and talking with friendly staff about what you’re reading.
In Thomas’ mind, Ogden’s new independent bookstores are friends, not competition.
“The more people are reading, the better,” he said. “So there's enough books for everyone to go around.”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
