I'll be honest. As a writer, I'm not a huge fan of spending my time on lists. But when you've traveled the country, you mentally accrue material like this whether you're trying to or not. And hey, if you have to write a list, what's a better theme than "The Independent Bookstores Every Booklover Should Visit in the U.S.?"

We visited a ton of great bookstores on the road. Ophelia's in Seattle. Crow Bookshop in Burlington, VT. Faulkner House Books in New Orleans. The list goes on. But in the spirit of fairness - and to include the many other great shops we didn't see this year - I only included a few of our favorites from the road: Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, MT; Big Chicken Barn Books & Antiques in Ellsworth, ME; and Malaprop's in Asheville, NC.

Check out the full list of "The Independent Bookstores Every Booklover Should Visit in the U.S." in Travel + Leisure:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/books/best-independent-bookstores-america