Bloomsbury Books

This bookstore is cute but it is definitely there for tourists and/​or highly casual readers. The funniest thing is probably the «philosophy» section which contains maybe 5 actual philosophy texts. The rest of it is new age crap. The same thing can be said about the «psychology» section which is again superficial self help nonsense.
There is a reason Powells has a separate area for this stuff. Philosophy and psychology are academic subjects filled to the brim with classics and a richness not found in Eckhart Tolle or Dr. F*cking Phil.
And yes I have a my undergrad in Philosophy with honors and a Masters degree in Psychology, so I am perfectly qualified to make these judgments.
I have a feeling these same issues exist in the other aisles as well, but alas my expertise ends here.
They need a new buyer. That’s really all I have to say. Whoever it is seems to choose books based on their own ideology and agenda and it is very much not in the spirit of learning. It makes me feel icky inside.
Another reviewer commented that the selection reflects the community. I actually do agree with this, but is it a good thing in the context of a bookstore? I would agree this is a priority for things like décor, artwork, and building materials, but a bookstore? Is having a bookstore to only further support and validate the belief systems of its community, a good thing? Or should it carry a variety of voices, to occasionally question those beliefs? Perhaps this is too philosophical for Unilocal,but I figure there are others out there like me that would want to hear about this.
On the plus side, I ordered an Americano here once at the coffee shop upstairs and it was very good. Go here for the café, not the book selection. Unless you need to buy a new age friend a present. Then this place is perfect.

Like this sweet little book store to browse around and find the good reads. They have a Nice selection of books, magazines and other stuff, great staff and a coffee shop. One minus Not a great selection of sale books, but that’s minor.

Wonderfully curated collection of books, gifts, and postcards. The biggest problem was choosing what to buy. I loved the magazine collection and found some older Tin House and McSweeney collectios on another rack, so keep looking. Great gifts as well and I got a few literature presents for my nieces and nephews.
They have a coffee shop upstairs that looked cut, but no public bathrooms limited my stay.

A small store with an excellent selection of books and magazines. The staff is very knowledge and happy to order a book if it isn’t stocked. As the big chain stores fade away into electronics, these independent book stores keep a valuable tradition alive.
Upstairs are the clearance books and a nice life coffee shop.

A great bookstore to browse around! I love stopping in here when I’m in town. The staff is really great and helpful and they had a fun promotion for a while called a blind date with a book where the books are cutely wrapped with a description of genre, time period, and a few key words. What better way to find your new favorite book? It’s this kind of love for books that comes accross in this gem of a store.

Great place! Good selection of books and a little coffee shop upstairs. Don’t miss out!

A gem for the area. I love the fact that there are still ppl like myself that like to turn pages. Great store, helpful ppl and love their coffee and light snack area up stairs.

So wonderful to have an independent bookseller in Ashland. I found lots of wonderful books in the store.

Great locally owned bookstore. Even though my thrifty nature leads me to the Book Exchange, Bloomsbury is an excellent source for new books. I think they particularly shine with staff recommendations and displays throughout the store. Throw in a coffee house upstairs and it is a fine way to spend a rainy day in Ashland.

This is definitely the nicest bookstore in Ashland for those of us who devour great books. It’s got a tight selection across a variety of genres. My kids love the children’s section in the back, and as a big contemporary fiction fan, I’m usually found buried in Fiction!
My favorite aspect of this shop is the employee recommendations; employees actually compose brief reviews that are posted near books that maybe need some shout-​outs and love. This is how I discovered a book that I had previously never heard of, yet this employee review was so strong that I just had to buy the book– it ended up being one of the most unforgettable novels I have ever read and I’m thankful for Bloomsbury for calling attention to it («We Need to Talk About Kevin» for those interested).
The coffee shop upstairs is a mixed bag. I LOVE sitting outside in the summer in the garden; it’s beautiful and enchanting… the perfect spot to read your morning newspaper and enjoy some coffee. My only real quibble is that the past 2 times I have gone, the female barista has been kinda rude and inattentive/​disinterested, and I also did not care for the breakfast burrito, but that’s probably because it was heavy on the dill and that’s not my favorite herb. Other than that, the coffee is good here, and it’s totally unpretentious in the café area and very relaxing.

This is a cute little book store. There is a wide selection of non fiction, fiction and children books. There are even magazines and newspapers to purchase. Upstairs I LOVE the coffee shop. I am a big customer at this coffee shop in the winter time. I love their Café Mocha’s. Their sandwiches are yummy and big as well! Great service and friendly staff.

I haven’t lived in Ashland for a year now and although Powell’s sits on my doorstep, I miss the comforts of Bloomsbury Bookstore. Helpful and friendly staff are also knowledgeable about unique reads.
Additional reading room upstairs at the coffee shop and garden patio. Pick up a good read or stationery for quality time on a summer afternoon.

This was a cute indie bookstore in downtown Ashland. Lots of interesting book selections, chairs for enjoying them, a coffeeshop upstairs where locals mingle and chat… What more could you ask for?

I have developed a long history w/​Bloomsbury Books. A couple of years ago when I was starting to read «Cloud Atlas» by David Mitchell and it broke off at page 43 in the middle of a sentence I called Bloomsbury to see if they had a copy and if it broke off on page 43. They did and it did, so I knew my copy wasn’t defective. A couple of days ago we came in so I could pick up a copy of «The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet». While we were there Nina noticed that their website has the capacity for customers to download books to iPads. That set her off on a quest to buy the iPad she’d been intending to buy. The bookstore staff gave her excellent directions to the computer store in Medford and we headed over there. She looks forward to downloading books from them rather supporting Amazon. I look forward to visiting them when we return next year.

One of my favorite stores in all of Ashland. I’ve been coming here for twenty years and hope to be coming for at least twenty more.
Not only do they have your standard offerings and best sellers but a wide range of books suited to the «feel» of the community.
There are great selections on gardening, philosophy, religion, cooking and of course Shakespeare.
In addition the magazine rack is full of titles not found elsewhere (including the big name «stores»).

Amazing selection of periodicals, from political and literary to art and odd. Spacious layout conducive to grazing amongst the book shelves.
I finally found a copy of Angleberger’s ‘The Strange Case of Origami Yoda’, something I’d been unable to find at my neighborhood independents in Berkeley/​Oakland. (I’ve got the last copy in Ashland!!)

Awesome book/​magazine selection.
I could live here.
Café upstairs!
Apparently the carrot cake is divine (my grandpa noshed until the plate was clean). Friendly staff, too!

Oh no – Orlando died earlier this year. Poor kitty — I always loved coming in to see him every year.
This is still a really nice bookstore that’s fun to look around in. I hope they get another shopkitty someday.

Books (of course) and a good selection of magazines and cards. Nice layout. A fun place to spend a couple of hours when in Ashland.

We were visiting Ashland for tattoos and my daughter was looking to replace her journal. The tattoo artist (Universal Rites) recommended Bloomsbury — so that’s where we went.
Had I realized there was a coffee shop, I would have saved my $$ at the ‘chain coffee shop’ and bought one at Bloomsbury’s. At any rate, my daughter didn’t find the kind of journal she was looking for, but she also looked for books by a specific (eclectic) author. The gentleman at the cashier desk was very friendly in helping her, suggesting like/​similar authors she may also find interesting.
I liked the small store atmosphere — and appreciated the wide selection of genre of books!