Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room

Why it matters: Giovanni’s Room opened in 1973 and is the oldest continuously running queer and feminist bookstore in the country – and since 2014 it has been owned by Philly AIDS Thrift, a nonprofit that funnels the takings straight back into HIV/AIDS prevention, care and housing across Greater Philadelphia. The 2026 grant round alone handed $404,557 to 33 local organisations, bringing the lifetime total past $5.6 million; the nonprofit bought the building in 2018, so the shop is not going anywhere. Come for the LGBTQ fiction and nonfiction – the best selection in the city – and stay for the secondhand records, clothing and oddities crammed in alongside. It sits in the heart of the Gayborhood at 12th and Pine; the monthly Philly Queer Book Club meets here at 6pm on the first Thursday.