OPEN EVERY DAY
Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm
Sunday 11am-7pm


If you want to sell your books, you can bring them to the shop between 11am-4pm Wed-Sat.
We strongly advise that you call ahead every time you plan to bring books in order to check wait times.
If you have mobility concerns or a large collection (>15 shelves/boxes),
we may be able to visit your home/office. (Appointment openings are limited.)


Now On Instagram!
Exclusive previews of new collections, wonders of the book,
unique discoveries of ephemera and marginalia...
okay, and mostly cat pictures.



We welcome all visitors who love books and respect each other.

Get Audio from an Independent Bookstore Supporter

When we found out that it supports independent bookstores, our staff switched to


for digital audio downloads. There are over 70,000 titles, including books on the Indie Next List - books that might not have made any bestseller lists (yet) but deserve to be discovered - and staff picks from top independent bookstores, recommended titles for genres from current events to horror to fiction award winners to young adult, and playlists of and for featured authors. The prices and subscription benefits are excellent, and there's nothing like knowing you're getting the best of the best from a company that values independents just like you do.

 

Welcome to our house

The Haunted Bookshop, Iowa City's oldest secondhand bookshop, carries over 50,000 used, rare, out of print and antiquarian titles in over 50 different subject areas, specializing in poetry, literature, and Iowa-related books, with wide selections of history, cultural studies and religions, sciences and languages, play scripts, art books, children's books, literary nonfiction, and more.
marthas

We are located in the Northside district in the historic Wentz House (1847), its rooms lined with shelves and comfortable chairs, its walls offering toys, games, cards, and more. Our friendly and quirky staff delight in helping visitors to find old book-friends and new, and we pride ourselves on resourcefulness and individual attention to our guests.

We're fond of avid readers, browsers, families, students, teachers, literary reviewers, artists, writers, and other good company; we welcome book groups and community organizations; and we delightedly encourage storytelling, reading aloud, book recommendation, puppet shows (use ours or bring your own), and spontaneous performances by visiting piano players.

Featured Titles

How in the Morning: Poems 1962-1988 Miller, Chuck
How in the Morning: Poems 1962-1988
The Spirit That Moves Us Press, 1988. Signed and inscribed to a named individual by the author ... more

Price: $30.00
The Smell of Life Sklar, Morty
The Smell of Life
The Spirit That Moves Us Press, 2008. Signed by the author at the title page with no ... more

Price: $18.00
The Spirit That Moves Us - Volume 4, Numbers 2 & 3, 1979 Sklar, Morty (editor)
The Spirit That Moves Us - Volume 4, Numbers 2 & 3, 1979
Iowa City, IA: The Spirit That Moves Us Press, 1979. ISSN 0364 4014 Pages clean and bright; no owners' marks; ... more

Price: $4.00
The Spirit That Moves Us - Volume 5, Numbers 1 & 2: Fall/Winter, 1979/80 Sklar, Morty (editor)
The Spirit That Moves Us - Volume 5, Numbers 1 & 2: Fall/Winter, 1979/80
Iowa City, IA: The Spirit That Moves Us Press, 1980. ISSN 0364 4014 Crisp and clean; no owners' marks; except ... more

Price: $3.00
The Spirit That Moves Us - Volume 3, Number 3: Spring/Summer 1978 Sklar, Morty (editor)
The Spirit That Moves Us - Volume 3, Number 3: Spring/Summer 1978
Iowa City, IA: The Spirit That Moves Us Press, 1978. ISSN 0364 4014 Crisp and clean; no owners' marks; except ... more

Price: $5.00
View All Featured Titles
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