Unabridged Books

I love randomly stopping by Unabridged Books whenever I’m in the mood for a new book. They have a nice selection of discounted books that range from newer releases to older releases. Every time I stop by here I always seem to find at least one really cool book that is less than $ 10. I brought my friend here and they loved the bookstore as well. I rarely purchase a book at full price from Unabridged Books but I love checking out all of the new releases.

Love this neighborhood bookstores-​the staff are always really helpful finding what I’m looking for or even when I’m just browsing, I never leave without a treasure I’m dying to read! The staff recommendations are great and the ‘if you like this genre then you’ll probably like these books’ makes running down the rabbit hole of finding a new book (or ten) fun!

I’d still rather buy a book from here at full price than go to amazon or half price books, etc. So many books to look at and lots of surprises you just won’t come across if you were shopping online. Glad these guys are still around. Physical media stores are disappearing too quickly.

I love this bookstore! There is always nice music playing and I really enjoy the staff reviews posted next to the books. If they don’t have what I’m looking for they always offer to order it for me. I get lost in this bookstore for hours.

In the city there are insurmountable used bookstores in order to peruse your fancy. Here they are full price although the remainder section is nothing to laugh at. I try to ask for help here many times and either the woman hates men or I am coming on too strong. I try asking for poetry help where she prints out a cyclopean amount of paper in terms of one quarterly or I ask for help with a newer book and all she can say is: it’s a memoir. Thanks I’ll go to Bookworks.

2 rude booksellers in 2 visits…
I came in looking for a book and the female bookseller very rudely took me back there and acted extremely passive aggressive when I asked a simple question whether they had a title in particular.
When I came up front to make a purchase she apologized profusely and said something like not being able to control her tongue. Sorry, damage done. If you can’t even be friendly to a nice customer in a BOOK STORE you need to rethink if «CUSTOMER SERVICE» is where you belong… Good luck.
Previous visit another bookseller was very rude. No hello, no how are you. No thank you. No response when asked how he was doing…
I used to live in Chicago and am back again for a few months doing business. I’ll be going to the other indie booksellers while I am here

I love this bookstore and can’t seem to leave it without getting an armful of books. It’s a great place for browsing – plus their staff recommendation are usually really good. Bonus: they’re dog friendly and even have treats!

Was able to find a couple of books I had been wanting to read, but it was totally an impulse buy. Normally I shop online and buy used books whenever I can. My daughter introduced me to this store, and since I love bookstores, would probably go back.

Very nice bookstore to wander and explore. Very clean and inviting. I love the staff recommendations and helpful comments on the books. Next time I will have to check out the huge basement travel section. The only drawbacks are narrow aisles, and that it can be somewhat difficult to find a specific book or author without a staff member.

Where are all of the small independent bookstores disappearing to? And ditto, where are all of the mom & pop businesses going? I’m so glad to have Unabridged Books here in the neighborhood. Whenever I want to I can just call them and they can tell me whether or not they have something in stock and I can stroll over to pick it up that day.
I was surprised though when I came in one morning and was looking for a small pocket dictionary. I asked a young gentleman if they carry them, and was surprised that he said no. He showed me the dictionary section which was smallish, and yup there were none. Is this the result of having dictionary-​online? Also, disappointing to see that Amazon can easily offer discounts and deals on all kinds of books but when I walk in here I know I’m paying full price. I guess that’s the price though of having the convenience of a local independent bookseller in the neighborhood.

I only got pure LOVE for this bookstore! Just walking into this store de-​stresses me from the chaos caused by living in an overstimulating environment. This bookstore reminds me of home and reminds me of why supporting local businesses is SOOOOOOO important.

This is a great spot for any book lover. I stopped in to get my niece a hardback edition of Wizard of Oz for her birthday. The associate promptly helped me locate exactly what I was looking for and gift wrapped it for me. It’s the little details that make customers come back and perpetuate your business.

Unabridged Books is a treasure chest. I do most of my book shopping with them.
Their dedication to the local community shines through and is evident in the superior customer service that its excellent staff provides to every patron. They keep a regular catalog of most classics and have the best children’s section in the neghborhood. In addition to its well stocked shelves of new and old is a great bargain book section for shoppers on a tight budget.
I send all of my friends there, and hope you will stop by to check it out, too.

In terms of selection, the books are okay, not great. The best independent bookstore in Chicago is, hands down, Seminary Books. I also like Book Cellar. However, Unabridged is closer to me and, for awhile, that was enough to get me to go there. Still, the selection is limited and outside of fiction, tends to be very static. For example, the (somewhat small) memoir section hasn’t changed much in the past year or so. They do have a fairly extensive travel section. I read a lot on a lot of different subjects and when I go in (once every month or so) I tend to spend $ 100 – 200.
The bigger problem, though, is the staff. They range from negligent to rude. For example, back before Foursquare changed to Swarm, Unabridged offered a 20% off check in discount. Once, when I was buying several books, I showed the cashier the check-​in special but she barely glanced at it and laughed as if I had just shown her a pet photo or something. I’m pretty sure that she didn’t even look at it. The cost was more than it should have been and so I checked my receipt and, sure enough, she never gave me my discount. I pointed it out. The manager next to her reminded of the special, and then I had to wait several minutes as they refunded the credit card and then rang it up again. I wouldn’t mind if this was an innocent mistake. However, there was no line, it wasn’t busy and she basically assumed that what I was showing her was irrelevant.
More recently, I went in there while bopping around town. I had to use the bathroom and so I asked to use it, since I was going to be looking for awhile. I was told to leave the store and go to the Walgreens a block or so away. Many bookstores have restrooms and it certainly seemed unnecessarily difficult to expect me to leave and come back. It was clear that she didn’t take me seriously as a customer and assumed I’d only come in to use the restroom. I explained that I had been planning to spend at least $ 100 which meant looking for awhile and I couldn’t do that if there was no bathroom. She laughed at me. I got my husband and left, while she made a point to turn, stare at me and smirk the whole time I was walking towards the door. (I then went to Book Cellar, btw, where I bought two art books and three novels.)
I can’t understand why, given the state of brick and mortar bookstores, anyone working at an independent bookstore could take such a rude attitude towards their customers. It just seems so short-​sighted. As a writer, I try to support independent bookstores whenever possible, but I can’t see shopping at one that treats their customers with open contempt. After this, I’m only going to shop at Book Cellar and Seminary Books.

i bought a book from here once. it was a good time. i don’t remember the music: maybe it was irritating. diverse selection of Staff Picks. area has nice food. i would buy books from here if i lived near here. i think the staff were friendly. it’s been a year since i went here. but i don’t think a bookstore would change too much.
there’s a 15% off or something from Foursquare here! so that was nice. the place doesn’t smell bad. some bookstores smell bad. this one… it doesn’t. maybe that foursquare deal is gone.
in short, here’s my review: buy a book from here if you like books and this place is close to you. If you don’t like books, there’s a hat store next door. hats, well i don’t wear them. maybe you do!

This bookstore is super cute!
I always find great recommendations with the tags on the shelves. Each tag has a description written by the employees. I only wish I had time to read more!!!

New and used books that you can search for availability online or order through them!
Very cute, quaint, and tons of selection! Helpful workers with great personalities.
I love supporting local, as well!

Great independent bookshop! Seriously, I love a well curated, well laid out book shop and this is it. They have gift-​y items, interesting series, wacky selections, and standards.
The store is spacious but cozy (yes I know that’s a contradiction but that’s how it feels). The staff was friendly and helpful but not intrusive. Definitely a great place to checkout for personalized service and interesting selections.

I came in here while in town for a wedding looking for a new journal. Their staff were very friendly. They had a good selection of Moleskine notebooks but not much else in the journal department.
My parents and I then just perused the rest of the shop. We especially lived the «gift books» section filled with silly, random books. We got a kick out of checking some of those out and bought one.

This place is so close to me and I love it so much, oo, oo.
If there is one thing that makes me never want to leave the Boystown area, its this store. I’ve always been able to find what I need when I’m here and there hasn’t been a single section of the store that I’ve walked into that I haven’t desired to buy a book with my whole heart.
The other day, I went in looking for a book as a gift for a neighbor. I walked with nothing for my neighbor and three books for me, one being a large anthology of Latin American poetry. I mean, I probably should have felt bad – but I was really busy thinking about what a great price I got for all those books and how much reading I was about to do. I was pumped.
I’ve made many return trips, but have been smart enough not to impulse buy (and I did successfully buy gifts here without walking out with anything for myself, too). I’ve found that this store is great for both browsing and picking out something in particular, although I usually need to employ the help of an employee for those excursions.
See you Saturday, Unabridged!