Jenny

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is visit the area's bookstores. Two of my favorites are Powell's in Portland, Oregon, and a small bookstore on Ocracoke Island, NC, called Books to be Read. I will be traveling to Boston soon and am wondering if someone could advise me as to the best bookstores (new and/or used books) in the area. If anyone has other bookstore favorites in other parts of the country, I'd be interested in hearing them as well, for future travel plans. Thanks.

bm

Brookline Booksmith on Harvard Ave in Brookline is a good local bookstore. Take the Green Line's C Line. There is also a fun used book store on Newbury Street (I'm sorry I can't remember the name!), but it's on Newbury Street near it's intersection w/Mass Ave.

BOK

lots of bookstores near Harvard Square.

Ann

The used book store on Newbury St. is called Avenue Victor Hugo. It's great. Looks like a tiny place from the street, but it's very large once you get in (though not as large as Powell's I'm afraid). It's on the last block before Mass Ave on the right side (going towards Mass Ave). Just a door and a small window...look carefully.

If you can get out to the 'burbs, the best bookstore is New England Mobile Book Store in Newton. It looks like a warehouse, but everything in the store is marked down at least 20% (huge remainder dept. has even better markdowns, and they take bigger markdowns on the bestsellers as well). It's about ten miles from downtown, but if you're driving into the city it's just off Rt. 128. Unfortunately, Boston has lost many of its charming independent bookshops and Barnes & Noble and Borders are taking over.

There are many specialty bookshops around Boston as well, though I can't give you much information. There's a mystery shop on Newbury St., some children's shops, and the Museum of Fine Arts has a great selection of art books. International bookshop in Cooledge Corner, Brookline. Harvard Sq. has plenty of shops, though the Harvard Coop is now a B&N (as is the BU bookstore in Kenmore sq.). Look in the phone book for other used/rare shops all over the city.
Enjoy.

Charles

The wordsworth stores in Harvards square are good, as is the travle bookstore (the globe, I think) and the Science fiction bookstore in The Garage (Pandemonium). Harvard bookstore (not Harvard coop bookstore) is also a good, more academic book store. Shoenbergs Foreign books (sp?) is often considered the best foreign bookstore in America. In Back Bay there are a number of rare and antiquarian bookstores which are usually friendly, though quite expensive. A map of the back bay bookstores can be found at Avenue Victor Hugo (which is excellent) on Newbury street, or across the street at Trident Bookstore (hippie/literary). The Borders bookstore in Downtown Crossing is one of the larger/better ones in the chain. There are also a number of good used bookstores down there, especially Brattle on West Street. There is also a feminist bookstore in Inman square in cambridge that specialises in womens books, and several gay bookstores in the SOuth End, Back Bay, and the Leather District. There is another very good academic type used book store in Davis square in SOmerville. And many more if you refer to the yellow pages.

In other cities I would recommend the Tattered Cover in Denver (one of the only things I would recommend about Denver) and the Strand in Greenwich village (possibly the largest used book store in the country)

Jenny

Thank you all for your help! I knew I could count on this board for some interesting recommendations. I am especially looking forward to Avenue Victor Hugo and Schoenburgs.

Joanne

Avenue Victor Hugo and Schoenhof's are wonderful (and you can take the Mass Ave bus from one to the other), but the New England Mobile Book Fair is worth a pilgrimage out to Newton if you can possibly make it. It's huge (definitely neither mobile nor a fair), with classic helpful bookstore staff and a great place to spend a day lost in the stacks. Like a funky, warehouse-y Tattered Cover without the armchairs.

http://www.schoenhofs.com/

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/bestof...tore%2C%20used

judith

half-price books in dallas is huge, well-stocked and has many dallas branches. surprising because i didn't think texans read. worth a visit.

JennyL

topping

leslie

I am pretty sure that the Victor Hugo book store closed last year. I seem to remember my ex-boss going there for a going out of business sale.

You might also want to go to the Brattle Book Store, and the Boston Globe Book Store (which primarily carries Massachusetts based books and souvenirs). The Boston Globe Book Store is at the corner of Washington and School Streets - directly across from Borders. By the way, Barnes & Noble is just down the street on Washington Street across the street from Filene's.

amyb

Don't confuse the Boston Globe Bookstore with the Globe Corner Bookstore, which used to be at the same location. The Boston Globe store is more for regional books of varied interests and reprints of Globe paraphrenalia. The Globe Corner Bookstore, which exists now out on Boylston Street, is a fabulous travel bookstore with lots of hard to find (read: not at Borders) travel books.

bookhall

For regional guides to the best in used-book shopping, go to www.bookhunterpress.com . They do what I call the dirty work: Sorting the wheat from the chaff. I've got the New England guide around here somewhere. And as we're going to Hyannis for a week in mid-September, I plan to have it handy.

Incidentally, New York is Book Country is in NYC from about Sept 17-21. I'm hoping to make it (I've never been,) as it's the place for serious book junkies. www.nyisbookcountry.com/ for that one.

puddin

One bookstore that I always thought was good was Waterstone's (I think that is the name of it). It's off of Newbury street but I can't remember on which street it is. If you walked down Newbury St. you would see it, probably.

karens

I love used bookstores, and always look for some when traveling. I second Brattle Books in Boston. There's another good one down Mass. Ave. south a bit from Harvard. I don't remember the name, but they have another "branch" in Cape Cod. There was another used bookstore across the street from Ave. Victor Hugo when we were in Boston 2 yrs. ago.

My absolute favorite bookstore is the Strand. I started making a solo trip to NYC once a year to visit a museum and the Strand. I've had friends volunteer to come with me, but I can easily spend 1 1/2 hrs. in the Strand and wouldn't want to feel rushed if a friend was with me. Another great remaindered type bookstore is in Sarasota. I think it is the second largest one in the country, after Strand.

While we're at it, can anyone recommend other good used bookstores in Manhattan? I've tried a few around the Strand and wasn't really impressed with the few I went into.

cigalechanta

Victor hugo is closed will relocate later when they find affordable space.
In Harvard Square, there is Wordsworth and the Harvard bookstore for both old an new. Grolier for strictly poetry.
Schernofs(Sp?) agree for foreign books. The Harvard coop for allaround(good dictionary selection and text books)
The Brattle on West St, Boston for rare and used books and old magazines like the New yorker from the 20s and Life magazines. and in the same area is Barnes and Nobles. On Boyslston strret across from the Boston Common is a rare/used bookstore but can't remember the name.

cigalechanta

I forgot to include in HV Sq the Globe Travel bookstore.

Keith

Evelyn C. Leeper's Bookstore Lists http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/bookshop.htm


Keith