All Booked Up

Any real book-​lover gets a nice tingle whenever they walk into a good bookstore to peruse the shelves. My wife and I went here for the first time on 50 116 and got that tingle as soon as we entered the store.
The store is nicely stocked and well organized. The (we assume) owner and two gentlemen were there to answer any questions we had. They seemed really informed about the books they liked to read and gave us good recommendations without being pushy or seeming like they wanted to ‘up sell’ us with books.
We appreciated all the talks and suggestions for horror, historical fiction, and especially the chat about Shakespeare.
Although we didn’t take them up on it, they did ask if there was anything they wanted us to look out for or try and pick up for the future or get the ‘next of’ in a series.
The prices were pretty reasonable. Books were in good condition and they were multiple dollars less than what a new copy would cost.
We will definitely be back. I don’t know about you, but I like supporting local book endeavors and wouldn’t want to live in a world without physical bookstores.

This is one of my favorite bookstores. From the window I thought it looked kind of small and didn’t have a large selection but that never stopped me from entering a bookstore before and I am glad to say I was proven wrong there is large selection of books to choose from and in the words of the famous ‘Doctor’ it is bigger on the inside. Also I love the little haven set up in the classics section, I wish I had the time to just spend hours there reading. The books are in excellent condition and the people that work there are all sweet and polite.

I loved the charm and feel of this bookstore. Downtown Apex in itself is a great place to go on a sunny Saturday. Being new to the area, I had to find a good bookstore to help with my reading addiction! So glad I found this bookstore. They have a huge selection to choose from and I love that everything is grouped up by sections of interest. Made my bookfinding much easier! Great prices and great atmosphere. The owner was informative and cheerful. I’ll be back again to check out more of the contemporary romance novels you carry. Thanks for stocking up on some great reads!

I love books, my adult kids love books, grandkids love books and none of us have ever had a bad experience in any bookstore EXCEPT this one. My out of town family was visiting, and of course, we wanted to visit bookstores. I found this one on Unilocal and based on the reviews we headed right on over.
The first impression as we walked in the door was great. Whoever designed the interior did a wonderful job. But that is where it all went down hill fast. We spread ourselves out to different areas of interest, but our leisurely hunt for books was interrupted when we all heard the same awful conversation. The owner (who we mistook for an irate customer at first) was basically loudly (and I mean loudly) yelling at an elderly customer who was actually purchasing a few books! I never heard the lady say anything but it was clear that she had mentioned the high prices and the owner was going on and on and on about how she barely made any money. My daughter pointed out to me that the cost of a used fairly current hard back in this store was a mere $ 2 less than Barnes and Noble and it was in rough shape! The customer was correct. The prices for used books were way too high. But… the sad fact is that ultimately it was the owner’s demeanor and actions that kept us from buying a single item. I think it had the same effect on others, as two other customers seemed to have left abruptly. She seemed to talk in a loud voice to everyone she met in the store. Definitely not a place to relax and browse! To make matters worse, as we were headed to the front area, my daughter asked if she offered teacher discounts. The response was, «yes but only NC teachers!» The owner then loudly announced that she made sure that her daughter didn’t go into teaching because it was such a low paying job. Needless to say, my teacher daughter did not buy the book she wanted. We left. Taking a phrase from a previous reviewer, but in a different context, «it will be a cold day in hell before any if us will return to this bookstore,»

Nice little bookstore in the historic area of downtown Apex. Inside, it feels like an old house set up as a bookstore, with each room having bookshelves. Most unusual for a used bookstore (or any store, really) is the screening room — a small room with a sofa and chair and a big screen TV where you can try the used DVD or video game before you buy it. There’s a coffee/​tea maker in the back if you plan on staying for any length of time.
None of the genres of books is very extensive, but nearly every category has something. On the other hand, ABU does a good job in supporting the community with its author events and quite a few activities geared toward kids.
In addition to books, ABU carries some unusual home décor collectibles, pictures and such. If you rely on the Internet, ABU even has its own blog to keep you up to date on planned activities.