Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but you should definitely judge a town by its bookstore. Portland has Powell’s, Corvallis and Salem have The Book Bin, and Independence, OR, has Second Chance Books. For a town with fewer than 10,000 people, Second Chance Books provides a great place to pick up your next favorite read.

The owners are friendly and knowledgeable about books, and they are willing to help local authors schedule a book signing. The book collection is larger than you might expect from a small-town bookstore. If you love the thrill of the hunt or just want to discover something new in the used book world, the shelves or chock full of an eclectic mix of books organized by subject and author’s last name.

The joy of a used bookstore lies in its ability to reveal books you may have missed or may not have purchased because of the expense. The value of the bookstore lies in its ability to improve your mind through knowledge and improving imagination. Even a simple walk through of Second Chance Books can inspire you to greater creativity as you read and connect titles of books. If you need a place to get your book fix, Independence, OR, offers a bookstore that will fill the bill, which makes the town a great place to live.