Our Story

Forever Books is a general, full-service bookstore located in historic downtown St. Joseph, Michigan.  Chosen as the "Most Romantic City" by the Detroit Free Press, St. Joseph overlooks the lighthouse and the western shores of Lake Michigan.

Opened on April Fool's Day in 1999 as a children's bookstore, Forever Books is now 60% adult books and 40% children's books, housed in 1700-square feet.  Forever Books has garnered distinction for its customer service and knowledgeable staff, winning the Reader's Choice Award as the "Best Place to Buy Books in Southwest Michigan" for the last eleven years.  The store has been featured on an Oprah Winfrey show book club program, and the store has been nominated twice for the Lucille Micheels Pannell Award for Excellence in Children's Bookselling.

Forever Books has also been featured in Lake Magazine and in Midwest Living, which highlighted the store with a full-page photo in its coverage of "Fifteen Essential Winter Experiences Along Lake Michigan".

Owner Robin Allen, recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Cornerstone Alliance, leads her staff in the store's motto:  "We sell books the old-fashioned way...we read them!".  Forever Books is "the destination" in southwest Michigan for people who know and love books.