Iowa leads the nation in the production of pork, corn and soybeans. But there's much more to this state than fields and farms. The Hawkeye State also leads the nation in adult literacy, with a 99.2% rate. In fact, Iowans read more books per capita than do the residents of any other state, a habit no doubt further perpetuated by the popular "All Iowa Reads" statewide reading program, now in its fifth year.

"Education is valued here. The schools stress reading and writing. It really is a reading state," said Lisa Baudoin, president of the Midwest Booksellers Association's board of directors and a bookseller at the Book Vault in Oskaloosa.

With all this learning going on in the handful of small cities, hundreds of towns and thousands of farms dotting the state, it's no surprise that Iowa has a diffuse but vibrant bookselling scene, especially in the eastern, more densely populated half of the state. Seventy-five bookstores and 85 mass merchandise stores serve its almost three million residents' voracious reading habits, making the state fifth in the nation in the number of stores per capita selling books, though it ranks 30th in population.

As is to be expected, the 500,000 Iowans living in the state's largest metro area, Des Moines, have easy access to stores selling books. Two general independents, as well as a half-dozen CBA stores, the same number of chain stores and 16 mass merchandisers are clustered in the metro area.

A number of the state's smaller communities also support local bookstores. For instance, Forest City, often called the "smallest big town in Iowa," with 4,368 residents, has had a full-service independent bookstore, the Enchanted Forest, since 1999. A slightly smaller town, Hampton, gained Kaleidoscope Books this past year. Even tiny McGregor (pop. 871), has Paper Moon, which sells books, along with gift items and products for the home.

"Iowa's made up of a lot of small communities. A lot of these stores are in markets that aren't going to be overwhelmed by chain bookstores," explained Susan Walker, MBA executive director. "But these communities need and want bookstores."

The state's sixth largest city, Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa and its world-renowned Iowa Writers' Workshop and International Writing Program, buzzes with literary activity. Iowa City is especially well-served with bookstores: three highly renowned independent bookstores within a quarter mile of one another, a half-dozen used bookstores and a Waldenbooks—plus a Barnes & Noble in neighboring Coralville—accommodate the city's 62,887 residents and 29,000 students.

"Iowa City is a cultural oasis in an agricultural state," said Christopher Merriol, director of the International Writing Program. "There's a rich literary culture here. The bookstores augment that culture. And Prairie Lights is a magnet for a lot of literary energy."

Indeed, Prairie Lights is considered by many to be the epicenter of literary activity, not just in Iowa City, but the entire state. The 11,000-sq.-ft. bookstore, founded by Jim Harris in 1978, stocks 100,000 literary fiction, nonfiction and poetry titles on three and a half floors, with a coffeehouse on the remaining half-floor. Three times a week, Prairie Lights hosts literary events, which are taped for statewide broadcast by Iowa Public Radio.

Joanne Mattingly, co-owner of the 42-year-old Mattingly Music and Books in Newton, 80 miles west of Iowa City, said that her bookstore benefits from Iowa Public Radio's Live from Prairie Lights program, adding that the store's physical location, between Iowa City and Des Moines, also boosts sales.

"The University of Iowa brings lots of nice people into the store," she said. "And we get a lot of signings that way, too, because a lot of authors going from Prairie Lights to Omaha or other places stop here along the way."