Favorite bookstores

I shop at half-price exclusively. My bibliophilia far overshadows my net income. Stores I browse at - Adv in Crime and Space, Fringeware, I'm really curious about the upcoming B&N taking taking the place of Univ Coop general books. There's a small used bookstore on south Manchaca (?) I go to for good deals on used crime and sf. The last few years have been good for bookstores in Austin. Seems like five or six years ago there were only a tiny handful. Haven't been to Borders. Bookpeople scares me. Still haven't found my dream bookstore yet.

For me, my dream bookstore has to be BookPeople. It helps to know about their humble origins in the shopping center next to Whole Foods. They're mega and kinky at the same time, and metaphysical. Man, I took a course in *acrosage* there. How, how many bookstores offer a course in *acrosage*?

I have to say the best small bookstore/magazine stand is the Congress Avenue Booksellers. They have a good Texana section.

BORDERS ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Borders is good. I really like their speakers series. And they have a coffee house built in. It's sad to see the gradual phase out of BookStop by their acquisitor Barnes and Noble. BookStop is our best local discount bookstore. No warm and cuddly milieu like Book People or Borders but you could always count on this store for the one or two books you needed at 20% off. Sometimes I have to sacrifice atmosphere for price when it comes to these high dollar, quick-to-go-out-of-date computer books. Despite it's opulence, Barnes and Noble just doesn't have an intangible something like you get with the other stores in town, BookStop included. My favorite out of the way bookstore is the fringeware store on Guadalupe, for those out of the way zines and 'schwaa'/xfiles topics. And the folks that run it have a cool website ( http://www.fringeware.com ).

I guess I already ripped on Half Price Books in the Austin conference area; let me just re-iterate that they pay squat when you want to sell. We have a better deal here in big D (amazingly enough)--and it's conveniently located 2 blocks from me! They're called Paperbacks Plus and what they do is give you credit instead of cash. They give a really fair price, and you log up all this credit that you can then use to buy books at their stores all over town--the credit knocks your price to 1/4 the cover pri e. I really like that system...I have to say again, tho, for those of us true slackers living in squalor, you can't beat the Public Liberry. Sorry, I'm working on a weird old computer that forces me to write this all on one line so I can't edit. I meant to tell you that PaperBacks Plus has an amazing website under www.luckydogbooks.com sorry I can't html you there!

You can html us there if you list it as: http://www.luckybooks.com

Well aren't you Mr Fancy Pants! I PROMISE to learn html'ing. Honest.

My favorite bookstore is Aticus in New Haven, CT. I haven't been there recently but I have very fond memories. Situated in the heart of Yale it's a cozy cafe/bookstore. One can sip coffee and munch yummie treats while savouring the aroma and feel of their eclectic collection. They are also know for their lectures and "meet the author" events. I wonder how many books get sold at half price because of the coffee stains and fudgy fingerprints......? I am now relocated in South Jersey with the earest borders being built an hour away. I sustain my addiction at a local mom and pop store, they'll order anything that's in print. I have never heard of "peoples" please elaborate.

That should have read "the nearest borders ....."

Book People is a really cool huge bookshop in Austin that has much of the ambience you mentioned (except the coziness...did I mention it's BIG?). Terry can fill you in more about its roots (or go to Austin conference); I can only say I've enjoyed every visit, they have a huge selection, helpful staff, comfy chairs, and they're attached to Whole Foods so you can get all your shopping done in one stop! Say--I also have the problem of the computer doing its own wraparound and dropping out letters when it do s. Any suggestions on how to make it STOP?

The two ultra, ultra hip places to see and be seen in Austin are Whole Foods/BookPeople and Central Market/BookStop/Central Park. So draw a line between them and get a place exactly half way in between them and you'll be at the hipness center of Austin. I kind of like to eat out and hang around Central Market more than Whole Foods, which is a little too cool.

I'm from VERY rural Nevada. We only have one bpook store within 250 miles. not a very good one at that. When we go to town,Las vegas, reno , Salt Lake city, we hit any and every book store we can. but the all time best one is borders.

Borders was my favorite bookstore until I discovered Amazon.com. Now there simply is no contest.

I'll look it up. so much on the web that i get lost quickly. thanks for the tip i'll find it.

No need. Just click here: Amazon! World's largest bookstore! Be forewarned...it is very addictive. :)

Gotta put my vote in for Half Price. They may not pay squat when you sell but... I never sell my books (personal problem!) and they don't have ANY in Colorado!!! Tattered Cover is by far my favorite. In Denver, Five stories, Great speakers, coffee (with caffeine!), and a bargain wall (of overstocks -- no used) to beat the band!

Too bad BookPeople is going mainstream. They're moving out of their extraordinary location with their 400,000 plus titles and into a smaller mall location across the street where they'll have fewer titles. I guess it's a money move and can't blame them for wanting to survive, but jeez, the place they have now is so awesome.

I'll agree with Terry's post about the loss of diversity. So many bookstores have gone out of business in my area (greater Chicagoland) that it isn't fun to walk in a mall anymore. We lost a Chicago area chain, Kroch's & Brentano's, several years ago. I know, a chain is a chain--but their stores all had personality, they weren't all cookie-cutter copies of the downtown store (which was a religious experience back when I was a kid). And a recent visit to OakBrook mall with a friend found us scanning the directory in vain for even ONE measly bookstore to browse. Of course, there is a huge Barnes & Noble nearby now (not walkable, tho, since it's adjacent to a highway). Sort of a "lost bookstores of my youth" commentary. Well, there are a few good stores left in the area, and lots of second-hand stores, too. On the corner near my office there's Brent Books, a tiny but always intersting store with well-informed staff who seem to actually read themselves. So if you're in Chicago, that's the one to check out.

My small town on the Chesapeake has just one bookstore, one of those little used bookstores that has so many books everywhere it makes you feel cramped. Lots of meandering aisles, no windows, funny book smell...you get back into a little alcove and get a little panicky wondering "what if there suddenly were a fire? But it's charming nonetheless. Of course, there's Barnes & Noble, Bibelot and Walden's up at the mall, but it's not the same at all.

We shant forget SF's City Lights. All the history and ambiance certainly make it one of my favorite. A little used book hole in the wall off of Broadway in Englewood (where I live) reminded me of Book People (of yore). Everyone's welcome to come visit!

I hope to see Tattered Cover before I die, Stacey! I used to work in book stores: two different independents (now, sadly, defunct) in Minneapolis and a bad, crappy chain (Waldenbooks, ptooie!) when I moved back to my home town. I am very uncomfortable with giving custom to chains because Barnes & Noble drove my beloved Odegard Books out of business, and I don't trust the superstores to stay super once they've stamped out all of the competition...blah, blah, blah...it's the same old independent-lovers lame t. Sometimes I sneak into the big, shiney B& N that sprang up a few years ago here, just to feel that feeling of unlimited possibility that a big bunch of books can inspire, but I try not to buy. The twin cities still have Hungry Mind Bookstore in St. Paul--a real bookstore and still (I hope to God!) firmly on their feet.

Thomas always stops at City Lights when he's out that way, also. Maybe I'll make it that far west someday...

Glad to see there's so many independents left. Now to plan a trip just to hit good bookstores...

Martha... let me know when the hankering to see TC is too much! You're welcome to come visit with me! Everytime I go into Tattered Cover, I end up sitting on the floor (in the middle of everything) completely engrossed in a book. I "wake up" about and hour later... groggy and very happy! Then it's time for a cup of java (rarely gotten in the bookstore as I prefer several coffee houses around town -- Stella's) to make me coherent again!

Sounds like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

*smile* yes, it is.

too bad we couldn't pull that one off back to back...

My fav bookstore is Books-A-Million. It's so casual, no one looks at me weird for planting myself down on the floor and browsing through whatever I can get my hands on. We have a Barnes And Noble but it's so presumptuous. Need to find a hole-in-the-wall bookstore.

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One more vote for Half Price, specifically the one on Guadalupe. Used book stores are only as good as the stuff that gets traded in, and I like that store's selection. On the other hand, the one up north on Research is rather lame. The one near my house in south Austin is surprisingly good. Don't try to sell books at that one, though. I once brought in about a dozen books and was offered only $4. I took them to the Guadalupe store that same day and got $18 for the same books. There's a place near UT calle Desert Books, run by some of the people from the old Europa -- I recommend it.

Where near UT is Desert Books, George. I haven't seen it. I miss the old Europa Books, that was one great bookstore.

It's in a bank building across Guadalupe from Dobie Mall, down the street from St. Austin's church on the same block. It's in the basement under the bank.

http://www.CrimeandSpace.com/ you should at least go by and subscribe to their mailing list... http://www.crimeandspace.com/subscribe.html

Adventures In Crime and Space ROCKS! I'm a big SF/Mystery buff, and ACS has not only the best new titles, but they've got a killer used book section, not to mention their assortment of rare and autographed titles. If I could get away with it, I'd spend every paycheck there. I used to work (10 years ago) at Oxford Books in Atlanta, Georgia. Oxford isout of business, now. Barnes and Noble and Borders opened huge stores within a few blocks of Oxford, and within a few years, Oxford Books was no more. Since then, I've avoided whenever possible shopping at the megachains. I like stores with character, dangit!

and stores that characters visit as well, it seems...

There's a great store in Brimingham, Alabama that I used to shop at. Smith and Hardwick. For years, it was owned by a woman everyone knew as "Miss Anna". The books were stacked in huge, towering cases that seemed to arch over the aisles, and there was no strict genre breakdown - a great store in which to browse. You could often find out of print books there for a song. Miss Anna didn't take credit cards or checks, but she would be glad to let you take the book home and come back with the cash. She died a few years back, and I think her nephew runs the store now. It's moved to a new location, and they take checks, but it still has a really cozy feel to it.

I really like the Tatered Cover book stores in Cherry Creek and Denver Colorado. Does anyone here know of any good stors in the Orlando Florida area?

I'm afraid not, but I can definitely recommend some book shops if you're ever in London! Are you in Florida, Lindi?

Why I am going to London in a few weeks! It is so funny that you should mention that! Yes, I am located in Florida....bloody hot and humid place!

Oh wow...what brings you to London? Have you been here before?

W. H. SMith comes to mind straight away. I think along with the British Museum Bookstore, the Ordnance Survey and W.H. Smith, I did a good job of shifting my worth from US$ to � Sterling.

http://bookpeople.com hands down.