Featured Finds

There it was: located directly across from the exit to the Dupont Circle metro stop, with its blue awning and neon red sign. I walked inside and browsed the store; it was pretty full—as it is on most weekends. The cubic shelves are spread around the store, filled with literature, with new and popular releases stacked on top. They had a shelf that holds an ever-changing curated selection by their staff—something you can only find in an independent bookstore. During my most recent visit, the shelf held recommendations for “spooky reads,” featuring  Frankenstein and Camila.

Another section of the store houses a wall of books on history and politics. It’s a section I admittedly avoid,but it usually garners a crowd. Obviously the political culture is central to D.C., but it is easy to forget that there is so much more to the city than the Capitol building. Kramers is a bookstore rooted in its location’s culture and aware of its audience. But instead of catering to just the politics fans, it finds a balance of having a heavy Politics section without letting it take over—something the fiction and poetry lover in me appreciates. 

Throughout college, it became a tradition for me that whenever times were rough, I was feeling overwhelmed, and just needed a “me day,” I would hop on the metro and go to Kramers. I would buy whatever book I wanted and park myself in the restaurant with a coffee and an avocado toast because that felt like a delicacy I deserved, regardless of my dwindling bank account. I’d sit there for as long as I liked until finally my homework called me all the way from campus and I had to get on the metro home. 

What makes Kramers this special? It’s something I've yet to put my finger on. I know I can’t be the only person to feel this way, as the business has been around for almost 50 years. Maybe it’s that they were the first bookstore/cafe combo in DC or it’s recognition from the countless events they've hosted. Or maybe it’s just the classic neon sign.