Great service! Delicious Nicaraguan coffee.

I received great service during my recent call to Prairie Lights in Iowa City. The information was greatly appreciated. But I wasn’t surprised, because Jan and her crew always work very hard to help maintain their status as one of the top independent bookstores in the country. Thank you.

I loved this bookstore. It made me miss the days when you could peruse a store and find a hidden gem of literature. It seems you only find them in college towns anymore.

The metered parking out front forced us to set a one hour time limit for this stop. We could have spent much longer!! We loved browsing the store and asking for recommendations from the staff, from the littles, to young adult, and of course fiction/nonfiction, 3 levels of lovely books.

Absolutely the best bookstore Ive been in ever. From Australia to St Augustine to SoCal.... This bookstore is what every reader wants. Books, books, books. On wonderful and varied subjects. A cafe to sit and read in during a cold or rainy day, or a place to meet friends. Great place.

Liners of knowledge and reading, fnd your people here.

I have enjoyed shopping at Prairie Lights since 1980. Were lucky to have it in Iowa City.

As an independent (not big box bookstore) theres VARIETY, not just the usual best sellers. The staff actually know what theyre talking about.

Solid bookstore - has an upstairs coffee shop which is awesome.Great selection of books, good service. I like their decor too - great spot to hang out.

Still my favorite local book store.

Disappointing. Appeared in a Best Bookstores in the World list along with truly great bookstores like Powells and John K. King. Based on selection and staff, I wouldnt even put it on a Best Bookstores of University Towns in Iowa list.

Lovely place. The “black rider” is best coffee I have had in crandic. The poets and authors they bring in are a welcome draw for the region.

How fantastic it is that the doors are open and the books abound! Even if there is a wait, the wait has been, as is worth the patience.

Fantastic selection of books, great coffees and teas, and an even better staff! Highly recommend!

The best bookstore on the planet

LOVE LOVE LOVE FIND MY NEXT FAVORITE BOOK THERE EVERY TIME!!! Staff are super knowledgeable and friendly, while the store is closed you should have staff outside asking what genre you like, and a price range so they can pop in & come out with a recommendation to buy.

Well-curated bookstore thats been around for decades, for good reason. Extensive election of poetry and literary journals, among others. Knowledgable staff, decent coffee and wine in the café, and many readings/book signings where you can get to know the author

Book orders are fast to come in. Jan, a co-owner, is pleasant, a good conversationalist, and is happy to wrap your purchased book or books over the holidays. I ordered Sons and Soldiers by Bruce Henderson multiple times for friends because I loved it so much I reread it right away. One friend loved it equally as much and talked to me about Guenther, a soldier in the book. It should be made into a movie (true story).

The vibe is perfect for those long weekends catching up on projects or homework. The tea selection is boss, baked goods & spicy hot chocolate is a must. I love the bay window view to close out the world and dial into your work with a hot Bev by your side.Good service and being surrounded by books is pretty rad... One of my favorite nomadic office spots in town!

This is an amazing book store in Iowa City. If youre ever in the area go! What is an amazing book store. An amazing book store is one where you go stay for hours and come home with a book list that is over 25 items long. THAT is an amazing book store. I am not sure exactly what it was but the displays were so inviting and so well done. I didnt come back with a 25 item book list from barnes and noble.

This is hands down the best bookstore. The staff are super knowledgeable and friendly, and for the relatively small location, their inventory is pretty big and varied. Since they are closed during the pandemic they are offering free home delivery in the IC/Coralville area. We ordered some books and they (unprompted) kept in touch on the order status, and delivery was prompt. Cant recommend them enough.

Cafe review: My favorite coffee spot so far in Iowa City, +1000 for being surrounded by books and the possibility of a reading or event happening in the space next to you. I like the few sunny spots facing their front window. Drip coffee is good and the baristas are chill and friendly. Caution: WiFi is slow; so not a good spot for conference calls or work computing. It’s on the studious side—so maybe not the best for taking calls.Bookstore: Prairie Lights forever! Happy to support our local indie bookstore. Events are usually free, even with the headliners who pass through on book tours, which is much appreciated. The reading event space is intimate.Accessibility: There’s an elevator to get to the second floor cafe and event space. Some tight corners to get to the restrooms—on the second floor, I’m not sure if it’s an accessibility concern, but caution

Nice quiet place with a great variety of subjects not found in a big bookstore. Help available when you want it. Really enjoy this bookstore.

Their customer service is wonderful! I asked for a specific book at information, and was told the book was located upstairs. By the time I made it up the stairs, an employee up there had already gone and retrieved the book I was looking for. 3 employees in total helped me in the 10 minutes I was in there and all were very nice and helpful.

It is adorable! Super small but good selection helpful staff and comfy chairs. What more do you need?

It feels good to walk into this place. I like their apple cakes and coffee, and of course the atmosphere. Visit the basement for kids collection.

Prairie Lights is just simply amazing!! Im a student at the University of Iowa and I am totally in love with this bookstore. They have a wide variety and generally well priced books when it comes to materials for classes. When there is a poetry reading held there, expect to be impressed. A really nice intimate reading space. The small window-seat on the second floor is amazing, great place to study during the week in the evenings. It doesnt stop there; the cafe upstairs is great! Im not a coffee drinker (shocker),but I love me some hot chocolate. And they manage to make the best hot chocolate Ive ever had!!! (no joke). Anyways definitely a place to check out if in Iowa City.

Thought this store was well run and had good service until they lied 3 times about when my book would be at the store and I had to buy another copy to finish my assignments. Terrible service and could have just been honest with me instead of screwing me over into spending 30 more dollars.

We love going to readings at Prairie Lights! They bring in amazing authors. You can grab tea, coffee, beer or wine at their cafe to enjoy during the reading or while you study. Its a unique place. The best bookstore in Iowa City!

The Prairie Lights Book store in my opinion is perfect for down town Iowa City and I will definitely be heading back to pick up Michelle Obamas book and a few others.

Great selection of books and great coffee! Very helpful staff relaxed fun and friendly vibe.

I love, love, love the bookstore and the coffee shop. The book store is smaller than Barnes and Noble but the people who work here are book nerds (I mean that as a compliment). They have readings regularly including local authors and it is a pillar of the City being a UNESCO City of Lit.The coffee shop is hands down the best coffee shop in Iowa City area currently. The manager is passionate about coffee and all baristas seem personable. Great espresso and great teas.

Always a nice experience here what with a coffee shop with magazines from all over the world to purchase and enjoy with espresso, lattes, mochas and croissant. Great staff to help you find or order that book, journal, non fiction work as well as writers from the University of Iowa many writing workshops poetry, fiction and authors reading their latest. High brow bookstore with a great childrens selection.

Quite the bookstore. If youre looking for a book you cant find anywhere else, check this place out. If they dont have what youre looking for in stock, they will order it for you and let you know when its in. Ive been to several book readings here. The staff is always so friendly and accommodating.

Went for an author event and really enjoyed looking around the store. The store is three levels with a lovely cafe and sweet kids section in the lower level. Forgot to take photos during the event!

Hard to find a better bookstore between Chicago and Denver.

This is one of the best independent bookstore there is. It has got a good collection of books from local authors as well as international best sellers, it is very well organized. Friendly and very helpful staff. The cafe upstairs is a great area to get started on a book while enjoying a good cup of coffee or tea. Support local independent bookstores, theyre a great addition to a community

A place I always stop at when I go to Iowa City. Two floors (and a basement) of all sorts of literary goodness. Also, the staff is unfailingly friendly and helpful.

Great bookstore and they will order what they do not have. Frequently have readings and the coffee shop is great.

Here for a reading and a coffee. More independent book stores with a coffee shop please! Just like this would be a Really Good Thing (tm)!

I absolutely adore this place. They offer a kids club discount which gives you 10% off kids and parenting books for an entire year. The environment is so cozy and inviting. Its one of my favorite places in our little city 💜

This bookstore is famous throughout the United States and even around the world, and its easy to see why. An excellent selection of books in many different genres, good coffee upstairs, and attentive workers.

Excited to discover an Iowan writer is featured in the best sports writing of 2019 book. Try and figure out who it is!

One of the best independent book stores in the country boasts a comprehensive collection on a wide swath of topics and frequent live readings. Friendly staff on hand to find or order according to customer needs.

Nice little book store with lots of fiction (I wish they had more science non-fiction, though). Also a nice little cafe upstairs and they do serve at least wine as well.

There are frequent events & a great selection of books, journals, notecards, and other knick knacks (perfect for gifts). Cafe is upstairs, there is elevator access but also two stairs to get into the coffeeshop area. Also books are pretty expensive (the cafe has great prices & quality IMO) but youll be supporting a local business!

The Cafe is one of my fav study places in Iowa City, and has the friendliest staff of any coffee shop Ive ever been to! Lovely book selection as well

Great book selection plus many live readings! Helpful staff. They have a full coffee shop upstairs perfect to sit and read in.

Beautiful book store with a great fiction collection. The staff are friendly and helpful. There is an overall welcoming feel here.

Prairie Lights Books & Cafe is wonderful! The book store is an amazing, locally owned store with a great selection of books and very knowledgeable staff. The cafe upstairs is a perfect place to grab a drink (they have delicious coffee and teas, and also serve beer and wine), study or read for a bit.

This spot is such a treasure. The reading selections and suggestions are brilliant. And the cafe upstairs is charming.

Just going to the website reminds me of this amazing bookstore. Its a great place to spend a morning with a coffee and your latest purchase or catching up on your journal, an afternoon scanning the titles and the staffs favorite reads, or best of all, an evening listening to an interview with a new-to-you writer whose thoughts on the craft of writing short stories, poetry, non-fiction, or novels are probed to deeper levels than most interviewers approach.

Such a fun place to have a coffee/tea, read and spend time with a friend!!

Great selection of books as well as cards and journals. A must visit in Iowa City and love the cafe too.

A fantastic place to spend some time finding the perfect book. Very knowledgeable staff. Along with EXCELLENT coffee and great natural light. A must visit place for locals and visitors.

One of the last real bookstores most have become gift shops or toy stores that happen to sell books. But this place really lives up to the UN city of books and all the other titles they have gotten etc... They have a good selection of books both local and national books.

The most helpful staff, a cozy and welcoming environment. Love getting books for my university classes from here

Considered the best independent bookstore in the nation and I promise you they live up to that standard. Theyre a welcoming business and they support the local community. Thank you Prairie Lights.

Huge selection of books, including childrens books. Can easily spend an afternoon browsing here. Includes a coffee shop where you can even enjoy a glass of wine!

One of the best places in iowa city!! Love studying here.

In a world of instantaneous, attention-sucking multimedia, Prairie Lights remains a temple to the joys and fascinations of attentive reading. It gives me hope for the future. For the intellect, and for humanity.

This bookstore is NOT one which I would recommend. It is NOT anything special, its just average. It does NOT have the feel and atmosphere of a bookstore that knows books. Readings by authors and such, yes, but as to offering the bookstore experience ... NO !!! Haunted Bookshop is far and away much better .... The only reason this bookstore continues to exist is because of all the extras it has .... people who know and appreciate books would NOT find anything here of value. They have gone far from their roots .... too commercialized may be the word. Or, just plain bad would be another. Truly a very disappointing experience for anyone who knows what REAL books and bookstores ARE.

Best place to write while enjoying delicious coffee. It is one of my favorite places in town. It is a must visit while in Iowa City.

No visit to Iowa City is complete without a stop at Prairie Lights. It is a literary and cultural institution on par with Powells in PDX or City Lights (P.L.s namsake?) in SF.

Very quaint coffeehouse above a bookstore. A great place to study or stop for a cup of coffee or tea. I got the bergamot tea and it was very good. A great place to relax and pick up a new book.

Great selection and atmosphere!

Worst book store I’ve ever been to. Their employees are not knowledgeable about book ordering. Went in many times for this book and they never had it to only find out you have to order it. So I Asked for It to Be ordered and she said it would be here in two days. Go back in the next day and she said she can’t irder Whitney without pre-payment. This is a book I need for a class that they had no idea what so ever that they needed to order it. If no stars was an option they would get it. Then on top of it the lady helping me was on a personal phone call while helping me RUDE.

Amazing local independent bookstore, with the best coffee shop in town upstairs. They have free readings by some amazing authors many evenings. Its an Iowa City asset.

The best book store in the world. Great author talks, fantastic childrens section. Honestly, it has everything you could want in a book store

A place to enjoy readings, find a good book and have a coffee

Nice bookstore especially if you need to buy any books for class. The cafe upstairs is also a great study/hangout spot.

I went in this morning to get some coffee, ordered an iced vanilla latte. I had to repeat every part of my order because she didnt remember it. I received a hot latte, and when I told her it was supposed to be iced she said great then turned around to make another one. I was no more than ten steps away from the counter and I heard her complaining because I didnt tell her I wanted it iced, although I definitely did. Ive never had a problem with service here before, but today I was definitely disappointed by the staff of the cafe, as the employee that served me was disrespectful, and unprofessional.

Prairie Lights is one of the worlds great bookstores. I discovered Jim and Paul and the gang in 1980, and for two decades haunted the place. If youre traveling Route 80 you need to take a couple hours off. The bookbags emblazoned with the stores name, by the way, are also the best in the world---buy three, as I will do the next time im in town.

The books and tea are okay but they are trying way too hard on the beatnik atmosphere.

Loved the location...loved the collection...great staff!

I dont know how anyone could do anything but rave about this place. Iowa City wouldnt be what it is without it. Highlights for me have always been the friendly, familiar staff, the iced green tea, and the author reading events.

The best book store on the world! Ive always found the perfect gift here, no matter who Im shopping for. Expeet advice. Quiet. Great cafe!

Helpful, knowledgeable staff, great selection and nice second-story cafe. ADA compliant.

A veritable treasure in the heart of Iowa City. Knowledgeable staff, quiet, well-stocked, author readings, cafe on the top floor, and that welcoming/cozy feeling all bibliophiles crave on a bookstore.

Beautiful bookstore, small, lovingly curated. At the home of the Iowa writers workshop, it hosts readings by some of the greatest writers and poets living. And for coziness it has an espresso bar upstairs (with a La marzocco machine and baristas who make the best espresso in town) to read your new book in.

I really love this place! So cozy and their cafe is great! Great book selection! Gave up amazon book selection to support this badass place with my biz!

The book selection is amazing, I could easily spend hours inside there

The greatest small bookstore supports the many resident writers and academics at UI. Staff is educated and eager to share tidbits about good books.

Wonderful staff and excellent book selection - the childrens section is robust, so bring your little one! Also, the cafe upstairs has great light and an excellent vibe.

Good coffee served in European-sized portions and accompanied by tons of litterature and and humming-clicking writers

Great selection of books and other items. Staff is very knowledgeable and provide excellent customer service!

Great place to support local community efforts. If you need a book, come here and skip Barnes and Noble.

Nice books here, a real variety, I bought some and enjoying them

Great selection and atmosphere.

Very helpful staff and a great selection of books and gifts.

Great place to shop for reading material and helpful staff. Recommend.

A national treasure. Has a well deserved reputation as one of the best bookstores in America. I know, Ive been to all of them.

What a great bookstore with a wonderful history in the City of Literature.

Best coffee in Iowa City. I love their choice of beans (stumptown)

Best bookstore in Iowa, in my opinion. Love having a coffee and browsing.

One of the lovely, genuine venues that keeps the literary world alive, and keeps Iowas literary scene so relevant!

Praire Lights is the best bookstore Ive been to in my entire life. Please go there. Its awesome.

Its not cheap but not expensive its a good book store but thats my opinion decide for yourself

The coffee is delicious and its a nice place to sit and relax

Very comfortable bookstore with a wide selection of books and an adjacent coffee shop. Fantastic place.