Best of Philly

Cupid’s Bookshop

You may have heard that romance is dead. It was likely while you were socializing with single people, eavesdropping on married couples, or watching any reality show with the word real in the title. Allow Cupid’s Bookshop owner Tina Long to change your mind — or at least offer a few book recommendations. You could also just snap a picture with the store’s life-size cardboard cutout of Fabio. Six days a week, customers drift in and pose with the flaxen-haired model who personified the genre in the ’90s, then thumb through one (or more) of the roughly 1,000 titles that line the shelves of the cozy space. Some shoppers settle into one of the plush pink armchairs and read for a while. Others peruse the cute merch (think stickers, hats, and bookmarks) Long has displayed around the store. No matter what they’re doing, everyone is eager to share book recommendations. Read more in our Best of Philly spotlight.

106 Grape Street, Front A, Philadelphia, PA 19127; cupidsbookshop.com