A slow month like January is the perfect time to knock a few titles off your reading list — or, uh, start creating one. Pack a page turner and find a seat at one of these cozy, book-friendly bars. We’ve even got suggestions for reading (and drinking) material.
Wilde Bar & Restaurant
3130 N. BROADWAY
773-244-0404
The library at this newish Lakeview spot is impressive: a fireplace, spiffy chairs and hardcover books that would make your high school English teacher proud (“Canterbury Tales,” anyone?). Our only complaint: The Victorian setting sometimes competes with the 21st Century — head here during busy hours and you’ll be browsing your book while Kanye blasts in the background.
Read: Keep it current with new fiction; try Irish author John Banville’s “The Sea.”
Drink: Get more authentic with a pint of Guinness ($5.50).
Old Town Ale House
219 W. NORTH AVE.
312-944-7020
A fave of players from Second City, located just across North Avenue, this Old Town fixture’s sparse library nook — behind the “Family Guy” pinball machine — houses five shelves of titles by authors such as John Grisham and Tom Clancy. The benches and chairs surrounding it make for a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere.
Read: “I Am America (And So Can You!)” by Second City alum Stephen Colbert
Drink: Anything cheap and on tap — think PBR ($3.25)
Pint
1547 N. MILWAUKEE AVE. 773-772-0990
Pint is really a sports bar masquerading as an Irish bar, and its library, complete with a fireplace and cushy couches, is as good a place to watch a game as it is to read. The books, stacked way up high, are random (“Earth Science”? Really?). It’s not quiet, but you can find couch space even on weekends — as long as you don’t mind being stuck below the projection screen.
Read: Work the sporty vibe with a copy of “Say It’s So: The Chicago White Sox’s Magical Season” by Phil Rogers.
Drink: Have a shot of Jameson ($7) to help you fit in with the sports fans.
Bella Lounge
1212 N. STATE PKWY.
312-787-9405
Bella’s VIP lounge, a.k.a. Your Rich Uncle’s library, boasts a roaring fireplace, leather couches and bottles of champagne on the shelves. They don’t even pretend to have books here: You’ll find only stacked copies of Image Chicago magazine on the shelves. Tip: Head here during the week when the “VIP” room pretty much is open to anyone.
Read: Leave the Faulkner at home. Try some chick lit, such as “Be Sweet” by Diann Hunt, instead.
Drink: Go for style, not substance, with a Bella Tini (Ketel One and passion fruit juice, $12).
Skylark
2149 S. HALSTED ST.
312-948-5275
A little sketchy on the outside, this Pilsen hang is warm and friendly on the inside. The “library” is just a bench, two chairs, a table and a thin magazine rack at the front of the bar where you’ll find copies of zine The2ndHand, community paper Fight Back! and other local rags.
Read: Keep it cool and unpretentious with a copy of locally published Stop Smiling magazine.
Drink: Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale from Three Floyds ($4) is just like the bar: a little harsh-looking at first glance, but surprisingly sweet once you get acquainted.
Map Room
1949 N. HOYNE AVE. 773-252-7636
The hip Map Room doesn’t have a separate library area, but the shelves on the wall opposite the bar brim with old copies of National Geographic magazine, travel guidebooks and a few odd books such as Mitch Albom’s “Fab Five.” Take care to do your reading here in the afternoon or early evening before the crowds spill in.
Read: Get inspired with “The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World” by Roz Hopkins, Janet Austin and Laetitia Clapton.
Drink: Go for something wordly, such as Lindemans Framboise ($5), a sweet treat from Belgium.
