The Last Bookstore - Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles's Last Bookstore is one of the most recognizable stores on Instagram. Known as the Labyrinth, there is half a circular tunnel constructed only of books. At the mouth of the tunnel, there is a wall of books with an a round window at the center, which frames both the shelves and the book vortex that stretch out behind it. This sculpture is one of several placed throughout the store, but the Labyrinth, tucked at the back of the science fiction and fantasy section on the second floor is a major draw. There was a line probably ten-people deep squeezed back there, waiting to take their picture for the 'gram.

I probably should have, too, but I didn't feel like waiting.

The Last Bookstore is a new and used book and records shop in downtown Los Angeles, located in an abandoned bank building. It is an evolving bookstore: The current location is it's third since the original store opened its doors in a loft in 2005, according to the store's website.

The current location is elegant and bohemian, with separate spaces for rare books, new and used, records, and some artist studios. There are plants in the windows, fairy lights on most available railings, book sculptures on the walls, grand columns, marble floors, a rare books nook in a bank vault, an elegantly painted turn-of-the-century coffered ceiling. A stage for readings and scattered red leather armchairs so comfortable that I happened upon a woman full-out snoring in one next to science and self-help. (Or perhaps it was those genres that put her to sleep?)

Despite its celebrity on Instagram, (or maybe because of it), Last Bookstore seemed take its book selection very seriously. There is a very separate entrance just for used book sales and, unlike other used bookstores, where selection can be scant and you can never quite find the book you want, used and new combined created extensive collections in all genres, with particular emphasis on poetry, acting, and movie history. I could have spent hours, combing through all the nooks and crannies of the store. (The large rare books room was the only one I didn't pass through—no drinks allowed, and I had tea in my hand.)

The Last Bookstore's fantasy section did not disappoint, and I picked up Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett.