Let’s see. Beckham’s in New Orleans is lovely. The same folks own a smaller shop, too, but that one’s not as nice. The original is in this wonderful old building, floors frighteningly uneven, stock rambling, diverse – perfect.
Babbitt’s in Normal, Illinois is worth a stop.
There’s another Babbitt’s, I think it is, on Green St. in Champaign that has unexpected treasures sometimes.
One of my fave used bookstores in Chicago is the one under the Belmont El stop. I think it’s called Gallery Books, but you’d never know it – last time I was up there, I think the sign over the shop said LAUNDRY or DRY CLEANING or something. I found a Janet Evanovich One for the Money Advance Reading Copy there for $5.
There’s also a decent used bookstore down in the University City section of St. Louis. Name escapes me at the moment, but they have a particularly nice fiction section.
Another decent used bookstore is in the Winchester Plaza in Manchester/Ballwin, Missouri. Found an out-of-print used paperback there – they had it priced about 2 or 3 dollars, and it’s worth 50. I’d never sell it – I love the author – but if you like mysteries, particularly, you can find some good ones there in nice shape.
The Book House on Manchester Road in St. L is also worth a visit.
Alas, one thing I miss about being here in Panama is that there are no used book stores - at least none I have ever discovered.
I had some favorites when I lived in Washington D.C., especially Second Storey Books in my old neighborhood at Dupont Circle, but also some in Adams Morgan. There were others in Georgetown, but they tended to be too upscale and expenisive.
Some of the best books I ever found were when I lived in New Zealand. Odd old books would end up there, but be relatively cheap because there wasn’t much demand. My favorite was Exploration Fawcett, by the explorer P.H. Fawcett, who disappeared in South America in 1925 while searching for a Lost City in the Jungle.
One of the most remarkable ones I’ve ever seen is the original Shakespeare and Company in Paris. That place is incredible.
Actually, I’d like to hear about some Cranky Old Man bookstores in NYC or environs. Of course, I know the Strand well, but most of the smaller ones I know about are relatively upscale, and don’t have the cluttered ambiance of my favorite places in D.C.
There use to be a used paperback store (and flower shop) in my hometown. The old man who ran it wasn’t exactly cranky, but he was a bit of a crank.
For one thing, he didn’t like it when I brought in books that had my name written across the top of the pages (a habit I’d picked up from a teacher). He said the state book inspectors had come around and told him that it was now illegal to trade such books. He also wouldn’t take old Reader’s Digests because he said RD was a front for drug traffickers.
A nice old guy, but nuts.
Most of the ones in Manhattan have been chased out by high rents and Barnes & Noble, sadly. The fabled Fourth Avenue book row is long-gone, as are many of the ratty old bookshops on West 17th Street. The Barnes & Noble Book Annex on Fifth Avenue (used books only)—gone. Sam Carr’s, in an old barn in the East 80s—gone. One of the few left (and my favorite all-time bookstore) is Gotham Book Mart, in the West 40s (though they are moving soon to a new location).
Someone mentioned the Salvation Army, so I’ll chime in again here - there’s a couple of thrift stores nearby that I haunt regularly, and one of them has endcaps at each clothing rack, and they just pile paperbacks on them for 20 cents each. Hardcovers are on a shelf unit at the back of the store, and they’re 40 cents each. They do seem to end up with a huge amount of Grisham and Nora Roberts and Harlequin romances, but I have acquired some real treasures, too. I came home not too long ago with a huge stack of Steinbeck and Hesse books I hadn’t read since high school.
Here’s someone’s web page where they keep a huge list of bookstores, if you’re looking around: Evelyn Leeper’s Bookstore List.
It really helped me out when I moved, and didn’t yet know any of the bookstores here.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found any stellar ones to recommend in New Hampshire.
The big ones in NYC have also been chased out by the Strand–a monster used bookstore carrying everything, but not a cranky old man one. There’s a little one around the corner from the Strand that has racks of $2 books outside. I’ve picked up a few there.
Always remember that if it’s a Grisham or King or Anne Rice or whatever paperback for .20 and it’s in good condition, you can trade it in for a lot more than that in credit at some used bookstores. (Most used bookstores don’t accept Harlequins and the like except towards credit for more of the same.)
The lady that has run it since 1980ish has no computer system, does not really know the books or what she has in stock. If you use her bathroom, it is clogged with outdated romance novels in the duplicate by 10.
Everytime I am in there I want to suggest her selling books by the bulk through Ebay. It would clear things out, give her a little extra cash ( most made in shipping.) But, then again, everytime I make eye contact with her, I get her health history problems and what is going on with her bowels.
So, you can see why I won’t offer help.
If she goes out of business, I’ll be truly screwed.
How about this: there’s a used book store in Naples, NY where the owner has decided she no longer wants to participate in the money system. Which is a bit of a handicap when you’re trying to run a retail business. In fact it makes it difficult if you’re just trying to obtain a book from her business.
She’s trying to convert the world over to a barter system. She’d like everyone to offer her some item or service in exchange for the books they’d like to take. She refuses to name prices or take any form of currency. Me, I was just trying to buy three books and I hadn’t brought any canned goods.
We finally worked out a deal where I agree to donate money to a jar she kept in her store for a local charity. She still refused to name a specific figure so I had to make one up. She actually turned her back when I put the money in the jar because she refused to even look at money.
Overall, I think I got off pretty easy though. They must really have a hard time at the local grocery store when she comes in to shop.