# Best Used Bookstores **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548 "2003-01-30T04:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Giselle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Giselle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giselle)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/21 "2003-01-30T21:15:05Z")
There’s a very nice little shop on Hawaii’s Big Island, just across from the big monument to King Kamehameha. I can’t quite remember its name, but it started with a K and had a great selection of books. The woman who was working there was so nice, too. ---
**Author:** ![Nymysys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f6c823/32.png) [@Nymysys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nymysys)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/22 "2003-01-30T21:30:29Z")
Another great Chicago bookstore is Myopic in Wicker Park. [www.myopicbookstore.com](http://www.myopicbookstore.com) Any time I have an out-of-town guest, I take them there. It’s what all bookstores should be like. Grab some juice or tea, prop up your feet, light a smoke (or don’t), pet the cat and read undisturbed all day. The only rule is to reshelve your books. All books unshelved at the end of the day get marked up $1. I love that place. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![InTransit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@InTransit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InTransit)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/23 "2003-01-30T21:53:21Z")
A third (fourth?) vote for Powells. Unlike an above poster, I like the fact that they mix the new with the used books. I frequent the on-line store because I’m afraid that if I go into, I’ll never leave. The on-line catalogue and random recommendation generator is already detrimental enough to my wallet. In Berkeley, **Moe’s** is a staple, as is **Black Oak Books**. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/24 "2003-01-30T22:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InTransit \* > \*\*A third (fourth?) vote for Powells. Unlike an above poster, I like the fact that they mix the new with the used books. I am absolutely pro-Powells–just second to Half-Price Books. The main difference is when you spot a cool book on the shelf at Half-Price, you become dizzy with glee, gloating to yourself about how you’re getting this great book for… _Half-Price_! (New or used, I might add!) Whereas, at Powell’s, I’d grab the book and then have my giddiness quickly dampened by the price sticker, then sulkingly put it back. $20 should be my arm-loads of books; not _a_ book! (Which is why it costs us so damn much to move and takes us so damn long to pack… stupid used book stores! I mean, lovely, precious used book stores! Nobody have a lead on a worthy one in the Hampton Roads? Okay, I’m now willing to drive as far as **Raleigh, NC** or **Richmond, VA** for a good used book store–somebody at the SDMB’s gotta help me out!) ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/25 "2003-01-30T22:17:16Z")
The one time I don’t preview… Bottom line of that mess: can anyone hook me up with a good used bookstore anywhere between Elizabeth Ctiy and either Raleigh, NC, or Richmond, VA? (Preferably closer to Norfolk…) I’m seriously jonesin’, dudes… ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/26 "2003-01-30T23:41:19Z")
Here in Toledo, the two best are **Frogtown** on N. Reynold’s road next to the Smucker’s and **Freedly’s** Behind the Clark Station on Monroes street. Both are within blocks of gaming stores. At the former was where I scored 3 Harry Potters in hardback and 3 Allan Dean Foster in paperback for $18! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/27 "2003-01-31T07:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\ ***Kayo Books** in San Francisco is the only bookstore I know of devoted (almost) entirely to the flashiest used paperbacks of the 40s and 50s. Look at their categories: > > It’s an incredible place to wander around, browse, and then leave with bags full of stuff. \*\* I second this one. I visited there for the first time when I stayed in SF for my birthday last November. I picked up a Doc Savage there, and lots of $1 paperbacks from the second floor. A great place! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/28 "2003-01-31T07:07:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InTransit \* > \*\*A third (fourth?) vote for Powells. Unlike an above poster, I like the fact that they mix the new with the used books. I frequent the on-line store because I’m afraid that if I go into, I’ll never leave. The on-line catalogue and random recommendation generator is already detrimental enough to my wallet. > > In Berkeley, **Moe’s** is a staple, as is **Black Oak Books**. \*\* I visited Powell’s the one time I was in Portland in 1989. My objection - I get spam from them for some reason. Change of Hobbit in Berkeley is okay for used sf books - but way too expensive. I love going there though - I see lots of books I own for excessive prices and feel rich. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/29 "2003-01-31T07:13:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesseboy \* > \*\*the Strand in New York City is legendary, located on broadway. Their sociology/psychology/economics section is astounding. \*\* I spent many hours (and most of my money) when I was in high school hanging around used book stores in the East Village. The Strand never did it for me. Stephen Book Service was a biggy near Cooper Union, but it closed around 1968. (There is a Barry Malzberg novel set there.) But my favorite place was a hole in the wall bookstore down the street from McSorley’s (where Dylan Thomas hung out, and the last place in NY that didn’t admit women.) It was run by a nice little old man and little old lady, and had a continuously restocked supply of '50s sf magazines for 25 cents each. Every time I went there I bought as many as I could carry home on the subway. Alas, it is now a coffee shop, and I’m sure the owners are long dead. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/30 "2003-01-31T07:16:48Z")
Thanks for all the responses. It is frightening how many of these places I’ve been to. The last time I spent any time in Austin, quite a while ago, there was a nice large store there. Anyone remember it? I’m going back in a few months. Half Price Books must be a chain. There is one near me also. Thanks for the Chicago tips. My daughter goes to college there, and I’ll forward them to her. (Not that she needs any more reading!) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/31 "2003-01-31T08:07:55Z")
When I lived in East Lansing, Michigan(1986-89) I was a regular customer at **Curious Books** on Michigan Avenue, in Lansing. That place was a wonder, mostly hardbacks but a good selection of paperback sci-fi. Used collectible magazines too, I picked up a 1911 copy of the National Geographic magazine once. That store was one thing I would have liked to take with me when I moved back to Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/32 "2003-01-31T11:18:28Z")
Half-Price is awesome- there are two around Indianapolis & two around Cincinnati, but for some reason none around Louisville Ky. Great array of classic lit, religion & neoPagan/occult stuff- they get LOTS of Llewellyn close-outs (usually still in print stuff when they change cover designs)- and I mean Llewellyn GOOD stuff- not just their crap. ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/33 "2003-02-01T05:11:57Z")
Another vote for Powell’sÑit’s probably the best bookstore in the English-speaking world. Half-Price Books has cheap books, but it has a very small selection. Hell, the _philosophy_-section at Powell’s is nearly as big as your average Half-Price Books store. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/34 "2003-02-01T05:37:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hampster \* > **For sf/f/horror, The Knotanew Bookstore on Charlotte, has a really high turnover in good stuff, > the Lady who works evenings and weekends is great conversation, and they have cats. 🙂** Knotanew was my third home when I was at school. Second was the chinese grocery a little ways from the bus-stop (and walking distance from Knotanew! Books and Pocky!) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/35 "2003-02-01T09:15:18Z")
My daughter is assistant manager at [http://www.thebookshoppe.com/](http://www.thebookshoppe.com/) in Fort Worth, and so I’m a bit biased, but it was my favorite used book store even BEFORE she started working there. They have a pair of cats and TONS (about 100,000 volumes) of books. They’re a bit pickier than Half Price Books, if they don’t need a book for the stock, they won’t take it, and they won’t buy really damaged books. This means that they don’t have 50 copies of John Grisham’s next to last novel. I’d have to say, though, that Half Price is a pretty good bookstore, too, with a different mix of books. I do like the fact that they buy up overstocks as well as used books. I have some authors, though, that I simply MUST buy in new books. But that’s another discussion for another thread. {Edited to note that 100,000 indicates number of volumes, not number of tons, of books. Lynn} ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/36 "2003-02-01T09:27:46Z")
**[Bookman’s](http://www.bookmans.com)** in Tucson. The one on Grant Rd. I used to walk out of there with a paper grocery bag full of books for about $15. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/37 "2003-02-01T14:16:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rmbnxs \* > \*\* > Half-Price Books has cheap books, but it has a very small selection. Hell, the _philosophy_-section at Powell’s is nearly as big as your average Half-Price Books store. \*\* That’s true of most of the smaller Half-Prices, but you clearly aren’t familiar with the Mother Of All Stores in north Dallas (on Northwest Highway near Central Expressway). I’d put that one up against Powell’s anyday–it would certainly win for price and would give it a helluva run for selection. Not that I want to see used bookstores get into a fight. I loves them all equally! ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/38 "2003-02-02T03:00:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pantellerite \* > **That’s true of most of the smaller Half-Prices, but you clearly aren’t familiar with the Mother Of All Stores in north Dallas (on Northwest Highway near Central Expressway). I’d put that one up against Powell’s anyday–it would certainly win for price and would give it a helluva run for selection.** No, I’ve been to the Half-Price books in Dallas. It’s big, butÑcome onÑit’s not even close to the size of Powell’s. ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548/39 "2003-02-02T10:17:34Z")
P.S. The only bookstore I’ve ever visited that can compare to Powell’s is Foyle’s in London. However, I still give the nod to Powell’s, since Foyle’s shelves books byÑbelieve it or notÑ_publisher_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-used-bookstores/151548.md?page=1)