Sometimes, you know when you’ve found a magical place. The windows are draped in fairy lights or the script over the door is painted bright purple. The exterior lures you in like a moth to the flame.

And sometimes, the least assuming places can be so freakishly magical that you find yourself rubbing your eyeballs because you’ve clearly gone through a portal and arrived on a new, enchanted plane of existence and you have no idea how you got there.

And so it is with Atlanta Vintage Books. Tucked away behind a strip mall facade, this store is a book (and cat!) lovers dream, filled with unexpected treasures that will ensorcel you (and empty your wallet real fast.)

We’re not exaggerating when we say this is the most surprising, delightful, and utterly beguiling bookstore we’ve ever been to (and we spend a lot of time in bookstores!) Seriously, this place isn’t just a gem – it’s a DIAMOND.

You might have seen a hint of this bookshop if you saw this TikTok video –

@carterhaughschool

The choice is clear 😂 #atlantavintagebooks #booktok #writertok #books #carterhaughschool

♬ Books – Mount Eerie

We were first introduced to this perfect place by our lovely friend Meenoo (of Minou Bazaar) and her awesome husband, Tom, and we basically fell in love instantly. From the outside, you’d just never guess what incredible treasures await within – it’s like Atlanta’s best-kept bookstore secret!

It’s a labyrinth of rooms filled with shelves and shelves of books, both vintage and more modern. You might find an original edition of Yeats stacked against a limited special edition of Frankenstein, a signed Where the Wild Things Are next to a gorgeously illustrated collection of Shakespeare plays retold for children. There are so many incredible books it’s almost overwhelming – some as old as the 1800s, some as new as 2021!

They also have this sign in the folklore section, which, you know, is obviously perfect.

Plus… CATS!! There are black cats all over the place (and one gray and white one, but we sadly didn’t get a picture of her!) They are very helpful – we may have followed one to the folklore section…

That last one is the tiniest little girl either of us have ever seen – she’s 15 years old, and her name is Frida (because when they found her as a kitten she was covered in paint!)

Of course, we couldn’t leave without a few treasures to call our own. Look at these!! Seriously, the books are astonishingly well-curated, and there’s a lot of turnover and restocking. So there’s always something new and magical to take home.

Seriously, this is the most magical bookstore either of us have ever been in – and that’s really saying something. We highly recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the Atlanta area!