Powell’s Bookstore

Wonderfully musty mostly used book store. Unfortunately, you only have a little time left to get your 50% off books. The owners have been trying to sell the building for the past four years and apparently finally found a buyer so this location is clearing inventory.

Feeling Bamboozled… I bought a used child’s picture book for $ 7.95, got home and saw the regular price on the back was $ 6.99. Sure it is an old book and is probably listed at a much higher price now. I would counter that since it is such an old book it should be sold at an even lower price. Book was not in a new condition. I blame myself for being in a rush and not making an informed purchase.

If you’re looking to buy books, this place can be overwhelming. They have a wide variety that is broken down by genre, but seems haphazard past that. Their art book selection is vast if you’re looking for renaissance artists and their philosophy sections is where I can usually be found.
If you’re looking to sell books, don’t bother. No matter the topic, they don’t take anything (even though they say they do). I brought in over 50 different books, all in stellar condition ranging from art books to science fiction bestsellers to historical biographies, and they didn’t want one of them. Their loss.

Powell’s is awesome. This place has the broadest selection of non-​fiction in Chicago (Powell’s Hyde Park location notwithstanding). Amazing history and legal history sections. I haven’t really perused the fiction section (s) yet, so I can’t really comment on that.
Powell’s prices are great, too — far better than Amazon in many instances. Most of their books are individually priced by hand (prices are sometimes penciled in the inside of the cover or on an inserted cardboard bookmark). I’ve found several great multi-​volume histories for next to nothing.
Definitely worth the trip!

This used bookstore is great.
I went to pick up some books for grad school in nursing. They didn’t have those but I went with an open mind and picked up a bunch of books in neuropsych for cheap.
Had a ton of book in the kids section.

Powell’s deserves an upgrade to five stars. Although I don’t have the same sentimental attachment there as to some of my other favorites, Powell’s has become my #1 option when looking for a specific title, or when in the mood for casual browsing. (Serious browsing is still best reserved for the dusty, cluttered shops such as Ravenswood Used Books and Bookman’s Corner).
If I’m book hunting and I have time for only one store, I go to Powell’s. If I’m planning to visit multiple stores, I go to Powell’s first. I find my desired title there about a third of the time, which is a pretty good rate. And there is always something that I want to buy on the bargain/​remainders tables, especially in fiction. History is a strong suit here, especially books published in the last ten years but maybe not the last one or two years. And while you’re combing the shelves, you are bound to spy something else that’s right up your alley.
It’s quiet, clean, spacious, organized, cool in summers, and open 11 to 7 every day; plus they have a restroom where I can rinse my hands after touching so many old books.

It’s not as good as the Powell’s bookstore in Portland. As a matter of fact, this bookstore is kind sad. There was no life force and no chi flowing in the shop! The place needs to be Feng Shuied!
The place was like a ghost town. No one was there except me and my friend Sage. We wasted a $ 20 cab ride to go to this, so yeah we were dismayed that it wasn’t as vibrant and exciting as the one in Portland.
The layout is worst than the magazine rack aisle at Walmart. Yeah I said it!
It did not help much that the girl behind the counter was playing depressing music by the Smiths.

Have you been to the original Powells?
Yes? That’s awesome, well, this is That Powell’s red-​headed stepchild.
Back room has some magic in the stacks on the tables: Bond is next to the XMen next to Fitzgerald and I just scored a bargain volume by Edith Wharton ($ 6 from $ 16)!
They also had Debra DiBlasi, in the poetry section, who might be one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her novellas and short stories are a heartbreak, but worth the how-​can-​they-​sell-​it-​that-​cheap $ 4 price tag here.
Staff is great. They play interesting, offbeat music you have never heard before and will not bother you until you ask them a question, such as «Do you have _​_​_​_​_​by _​_​_​_​_​_​_​?» In which case, they can order it.
Patrons keep to themselves too.
Maybe it’s because I was the only girl, wearing a vintage, technicolor pink coat… in a sea of black denim and corduroy… I am a strange bird here.
This is a great stop late-​night too if you are like me and are allergic to sports bars and would rather read anyway.
Get over there pronto… because there is a big ol’ «For Sale» sign up front that makes me skittish– turns out the owners are looking to move with no respect for the Powell’s name, employees, or the golden, hidden treasure trove of books here.

Only 34 reviews. What? It pains me to think that people are so «busy» with life’s mundane tasks that they can’t take the time to sit down and get lost in a book. Audio books? Not for me, my attention span wanes while driving. Five minutes in, I realize I’ve already missed the meat of the prologue. The Kindle? Sorry, but I want to turn and smell the pages, feel the author’s blood, sweat and tears… page by page, chapter by chapter. Can you imagine what it takes to write a book? Voltaire did it from jail but I can’t even do it from the comforts of a well-​equipped condo. And then to get it published? This is why writers are my heroes.
It seems almost too simple, but based on the following I guess I’m what an independent book store considers a target demographic contestant: I’m a small business supporter who loves to read real books.
The other day, I had a certain book on the brain and decided to stop in Powell’s for a look. Turns out they specialize in used and rare books — fantastic, because I have a taste for the obscure. Though I was disappointed that they didn’t stock this particular uncommon (but not unwanted) work, the accommodating associate did inform me that you can search their inventory first online (
), and then beyond their store as well. Super helpful, because I now know I’ll have to order my obscure object of desire online as it’s an expensive jaunt to Cranston, RI, Vinemont, AL, Little Elm, TX, Somerville, MA or the UK. For one book, anyway.
In addition to more scholarly finds, they’ve got fiction covered, too. The store is extremely well-​organized for a store specializing in used books, and Powell’s is also the exclusive U.S. distributor for a series of reprinted tomes by the Oxford University Press. Cool, right?
250,000+ books. A rare book area which will have you craving a cigarette when it’s all said and done, even though you don’t smoke. Your brain on Powell’s? Intellectual sex. Do it.