The Largest Used Book Store in the State: Detroit, Michigan

When was the last time you heard a member of the younger generation say “Books? Those are so outdated” or a similar remark? With so many people reading off the internet, it's no wonder books are thought to be a thing of the past. But that is SO not true.

There are many people of all ages – old, young, and toddlers – who enjoy books. Part of that proof lies in the fact that this particular Michigan book store was voted “The #2 Book Store in the World”. It's the John K. King Used & Rare Book Store in Detroit, and it's also the largest in the entire state.

In 1971, King opened his first store in Dearborn and, after collecting more and more books, had to move to a larger location.....which became the old Michigan Theatre. King's success was increasing, and after his rent was raised, he had enough of that...he went out and bought his own building. In 1983 he came across the old Advance Glove Factory building at 901 W. Lafayette Street and soon it was his.

Soon, all four floors were jammed with old, used, and rare books and even more were crammed into the basement. There were so many, he had to buy the former Otis Elevator building behind the book store in order to stash more books.

John K. King's Used and Rare Book Store has well over one million books with over nine hundred categories. Some people have built whole home libraries just from shopping here. Looking for a hard-to-find book? It could very well be here.