70 June 27- July 3, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times b e s T o f m i a m i ® 2 0 2 4 BEST BOOKSTORE Books & Books 6 area locations, including: 265 Aragon Avenue Coral Gables, 33134 305-442-4408 booksandbooks.com Books & Books has won this award plenty of times already — and with six locations and counting, who can blame us? But this year, they deserve it for a very good reason. Owner Mitch- ell Kaplan has led the fight against Gov. Ron De- Santis’ racist, queerphobic book-banning spree by distributing banned books, planning actions, and speaking out against Tallahassee’s regres- sive lawmaking. He’s set his independent book- store chain at the forefront of this necessary protest and educational effort to protect our constitutional right to free press and speech. Meanwhile, Kaplan also cofounded and hosts Miami Book Fair International, stocks his stores with the best curated literature and local au- thors, and is the landing spot for all writers and readers traveling through the 305. Books & Books is simply the best for balancing our fragile democracy on its stacks of banned books. BEST USED BOOKSTORE Bookleggers Library Bakehouse Art Complex 561 NW 32 Street Miami, 33127 305-576-2828 bookleggerslibrary.com The death of print has been long lamented, but Bookleggers Library resuscitated the printed page in South Florida. Starting out as a roaming used bookstore that valued trade over com- merce, Bookleggers fashions itself “a no-kill shelter for books.” It was founded on the mis- sion to build community through free and easy access to books and it delivers. It now has a brick-and-mortar location at the Bakehouse Art Complex. After a visit, you’ll walk away with a free book — and Bookleggers still encourages book trading and asks an insanely reasonable $2 for any additional book. Even more impressive are its innovative initiatives to spread books all over the city via a book trailer, a book bike, and book boxes, and their semi-permanent installa- tions scattered throughout Miami. It’s hard to explain exactly what Bootleggers is — a used bookstore, a library, an archive — but it certainly is one of Miami’s cultural treasures. BEST-KEPT SECRET (LITERARY DIVISION) Old Florida Book Shop 3426 Griffin Road Fort Lauderdale, 33312 954-319-1441 oldfloridabookshop.com This Fort Lauderdale bookstore is packed with literary treasures from floor to ceiling. Owner William Chrisant fills his store with as many first-editions as possible, and though every- thing feels chaotically strewn about the space, there is a method to the madness. Tell Chrisant what you’re looking for, and he’ll be able to point you in the right direction. Near the en- trance, there are shelves of weathered books that can be taken home on the honor system for only a dollar. Also, don’t forget to say “hi” to Pe- ter, the store’s cat who greets everyone as soon as they walk in — that’s if he’s not mid-nap. He’s also the star of the store’s Instagram ac- count, @oldfloridabookshop. BEST COMIC BOOK SHOP Tate’s Comics 4566 N. University Drive Lauderhill, 33351 954-748-0181 tatescomics.com Tate’s Comics’ origin story is just as unbeliev- able and epic as the stories it sells. In 1993, when 17-year-old Tate Ottati was only a high-school senior, he started “playing” the stock market as part of an economics class. When he then de- cided to invest in real life, he naturally invested in Marvel Comics stock. A lucky dude, he sold it at its highest point before the company went bankrupt and went off the market for several years. Ottati used his earnings as seed money to invest in a comic book store, which he opened with the support of his father. The first shop was only 1,000 square feet and specialized in things like Japanese anime, a rarity in the ’90s, allow- ing customers to rent imported VHS cassettes. Tate’s moved to its current location in 2002 and expanded over the years to an enormous 10,000 square feet. In 2009, Tate’s also won the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award for its contributions to the comic book industry. This is all to say, three decades later, Tate’s remains the best place to find comic books, collectibles, and pop-culture memorabilia in South Florida. BEST SOUVENIR SHOP Dále Zine Shop 50 NE 40th Street Miami, 33137 dalezineshop.com The typical tourist traps of South Beach may let visitors bring a touch of tacky Florida home with them via chintzy dolphin-adorned snow globes and “Miami” towels decorated with palms. But the colorful art shop Dále Zine lets out-of-town- ers (and locals) cherish the real culture and quirkiness of Miami creatives with its cooly cu- rated art books, humorous stickers, T-shirts, re- cords by local musicians, prints by South Florida artists like Gabriel Alcala and Brian Butler, and an array of zines. Dále Zine provides the perfect way to bring the real Florida back home with you. For instance, you can grab the latest issue of Islandia Journal, which details Florida history, ephemera, and lived experiences from the swamp. Recently relocated from the backroads of Little River to the middle of the Design District, the pretty, pris-
