1/4 Price Books

this gem of a bookstore has a large & interesting stock, with very knowledgeable owner who has been helpful with my arcane queries
prices are good & even better if using cash

A true gem. This is the kind of bookstore that I love. More books than room and an owner who lives for literary beauty. So inexpensive and with first editions to boot. :sigh: a little slice of heaven.

Being guilty of extremely false advertising (¼ price my arse) and being a total prick is not tantamount to a quaint curmudgeonly eccentric. Selling leftover Barnes and Nobles basement sales tomes for outrageous prices fools only … Well… Fools. Budding belletrists beware. If you are looking for bargains go elsewhere unless of course you have a masochistic side that finds misanthropes endearing and quaint. Crux being, don’t bother. If you want a well stocked rare bookstore replete with affable accommodating people try Beckers. If you care to indulge bipolar quasi-​paranoia then by all means go to ¼ price. You may find an occasional gem but it’s a helluva trade off IMHO.

This store is so awesome! They have classic books, autographed books, old books, all kinds of books in this little store! Even books that are very hard to find also. I love it! I was overwhelmed with everything in there. The owner is funny, helpful and nice. I will definitely be back.

I don’t know why it has taken me so long to review this spot? Always a great store to browse around in. A place I have been coming to for years.
So here was my dilemma. Get the first edition A Fable by Faulkner at Kaboom, or the first edition Rabbit at Rest by Updike at ¼ Price Books. I ended up with A Fable, cause I don’t have the rest of the Rabbit books at the moment. Though between these two stores it is not going to take long to track them down. Now that Brazos Bookstore has gotten rid of their first edition section, there are precious few places in town to find these great gems.
The owner is very enthusiastic, one of the nicest guys around and will help you track down anything he has. Like all good book stores, there are meandering rows of books in all styles. Including a ton of great kids books. I like the selection at Kaboom just a bit better, but why quibble over two of the best independent book stores in Houston?

Fantastic place to wander and/​or get gifts. Lots of Texan related books and well curated selection of all other books. New stuff all the time, rare editions but not too expensive. Just a great store, don’t let the name fool you, nothing like ½ Price Books.

I went in here some months ago to inquire about an old pulp novel. The person behind the counter superciliously informed me that the store did not «carry –that– sort of book», and proceeded to rattle off a list of supposedly famed collections that had been given to the store. I was reminded of the Wizard of Oz claiming to have performed for «the crowned heads of Europe».
As I was leaving, I looked in the window and saw current best sellers and other general-​interest books. Sigh.
Jeff Daiell

Cluttered, disorganized, and filled to the brim with books.
I love it.
The guy that owns this place is very quirky and interesting to converse with.
The prices with fair, but not exactly quarter priced.
I was a little unimpressed with the general fiction section, hence the minus one star. However, the science fiction section had a much better selection, and I walked away with my wallet a little lighter and two rare sf books, an autographed one and a first edition.
All in all, a worthy addition to the expansive used bookstore community in Houston and definitely worth a visit.

This is, by far, the most disorganized, cluttered book store I’ve ever seen. Books were everywhere– stacked into teetering towers, shoved into over-​stuffed shelves, strewn over tables, used to prop up tables. The books were old. The store space was tiny and cramped. The owner was grumpy.
I love it.
This is the bookstore about which bibliophiles dream. We don’t want sterile aisles full of mass-​production, shiny-​covered copies of the latest Stephanie Meyer novel (I don’t hate you, Twihard fans. I just… no, no, I’m mistaken, it’s definitely hate). We don’t need a giant Starbucks in the middle of the bookstore. I’m not naming names, but we really don’t love you, Narnes and Boble. We find solace in places like ¼ price books stores and we accept it, terrible name and all.
Because this place understands that the most important thing about book stores should be the collection of books. This is a place for lookers and finders. Navigating through the cramped spaces of book towers and over-​stuffed shelves is part of the adventure. Rare copies of Dante’s Inferno, the works of Virgil, the Decameron, Gone With the Wind, and everything in-​between can be found among the hundreds of dusty, used books here. Every book is a truly unique find.
And this place has character. So does the owner, who comes off so terribly grumpy at first impression (I’m sure he tells those damn kids to get off his lawn all the time). In fact, he was quite impatient and mean to me the first time I met him. But he is a truly knowledgeable bibliophile and he warms up when he finds out you have a genuine interest in books. And he writes your receipts by hand. On a scrap of paper. With a crayola marker. Seriously.
My only minor complaint is that because of space limitations, there’s nowhere to really sit and browse through your finds. And also a shelf nearly tipped over and I almost died, but, you know, minor issues.

I’d seen this place a number of times from the street but never had a chance to get inside until yesterday. I was early for an event at Star Pizza so figured this would be the perfect time to check it out. I walked in and was kinda taken aback by the clutter. Then I thought, well it’s neat, kinda unique. I wondered around for about 10 minutes until someone came up to me and offered me a «discount» by holding and index card out… I wasn’t sure if I was to just look at it or take it. Kinda awkward… but clearly the answer was «take» as he continued to hold the card out and stare at me so I eventually did. Despite the weird approach, he seemed friendly enough offering to take the books out form behind the glass that I was looking at.
Despite the name of ¼ price books, things seemed more expensive than half price books. A few books that looked somewhat interesting were priced significantly higher than I could find on Amazon though the ones at this store were in better condition. I guess this place is suited for book collectors, not people who want to buy and read books. Perhaps their prices for good condition old books is good, but for someone like me who wants to read them and doesn’t care if a few pages are dogeared or if the dust cover is missing… it’s not for me. So after about another 10 minutes of wondering and nothing really peeking my interest (once considering the prices) I made my way for the door. To make the entire visit more awkward, the guy asked for the index card back as I was walking out. I think I’ll just stick to Amazon… so much for trying to support local businesses.

This is a Houston institution. If you like books or are looking for a gift for someone who likes books, you should come here. This place is chock-​full of used books. What sets this place apart is their selection of early editions and out-​of-​print tomes.
When I walked up to the store, a couple of tables outside features discounted paperbacks — one table with an international interior design bent, the other with bestsellers/​movie tie-​ins. Don’t be fooled. I stepped inside where to the right, a woman was having a conversation with a man behind the table. They ignored me and carried on. I wandered up and down the stacks exploring fiction, history, science, animals, travel, cookbooks, horror, and more. Paper notes sticking out the top of the books note what edition the book is and how much it costs. If you know someone who’s a Stephen King fan, there were quite a few 1^st, 2^nd, and out-​of-​print books when I was there.
Later, the man I presume was the owner came up and offered a coupon for a discount for a purchase that day. When I mentioned I was just looking this time and needed to see which King book my partner didn’t have, he took it back. Oh, well. With my desire to unclutter anyway, guess I’ll move into the e-​book world.

I always get a great deal here. Was just in there yesterday, and Larry honored the store credit from a few weeks ago. I’m very pleased with this store.
SP

So let’s set things a little straight on what exactly this bookstore is all about. This is NOT where you go to buy new mass printings, this is where scholarly, first editions and out of print books come to be loved, appreciated and understood. If you don’t understand this book trade, then you won’t find yourself enjoying this bookstore for what it is. Put on the perspective that this is more like buying from an antique store, not your local Barnes & Noble.
We finally made a trip in here after driving past so many times on our way to Star Pizza, Freebirds or Amy’s. Luckily we were actually here when they were open, horay! It is a little dangerous for us, lovers of leather bound printings of classic books. There are too many things here that I want, but sadly can’t afford right now. *sigh* Why do I have to be an adult and pay my bills?
We left with two books. I picked an anthropology text on the Mayans, written by respected authorities on the subject (I’m so tired of getting books only to find that they just got their research from the other books I own), as a prep for our summer trip to the Yucatan. One of my favorite past times is arguing with tour guides when they are perpetuating misconceptions or old information that is no longer accepted scholarly. The hubby got himself a book on the scientific aspects of music, very nerdy and up his alley. The Mayan book is a first addition and out of print, the owner made me a protector for the dust jacket to preserve the condition. My husbands book is also out of print, believe me music books of this type are hard to find! Amazon has much later editions from $ 110. Worked out to be exactly ¼ the price of Amazon and a better edition.
I primarily enjoyed the treatment you get when you go to stores like this. the owner knows his stuff. I get so irritated with other stores when you ask them a question and they just aren’t educated at all on what they are trying to sell. They take personal checks and give hand written receipts. I love a place with character.

Some people seem to have a lot of luck finding beautiful vintage books here, so this may be a good stop for people with that specific interest.
For the rest of us, this is a fairly boring little bookstore with mainly overpriced books.
I’ve been to delightful, eclectic, dusty little bookstores with eccentric owners, and I was hoping this one would be that kind of store, but it’s really just a bit grimy and disorganized and nothing special.

I’m wondering if Houston just is deprived of good bookstores. It seems like everyone likes ¼ Price Books, but I can’t understand why. Yes, the owner was nice. But, the books were not ¼ priced. Instead, they were all overpriced. Quite a bit overpriced, and uniformly so. The selection was not very impressive, either. No one should be paying $ 3.98 for any random old Penguin Classic. There needs to be a more nuanced pricing system, I think. But, maybe I’m too much of an outsider to judge.

Popped into this bookstore last week to kill some time and ended up in there for 2 hours…
The man that ran the place was very knowledgeable and friendly… He kindly took down a list a books that I was looking to add to my home library…
He also had to coolest selection of old books that I have ever seen! If I ever win the lottery, this place might just be one of my first stops :)

I went here with my SO, who adores this place. He’s big into esoteric math and philosophy books, and apparently he’s had really good luck with finding those here. I have different taste (history, sociology, political science, memoirs, etc.), so I was a little skeptical.
Basically, this place is every used bookstore you’ve been to, with some interesting twists for people that either a) are into decorating with books or b) appreciate really esoteric books in the genres my SO does. I couldn’t find anything I was particularly interested in, and the store seemed to be organized as a maze. It took me forever to find the sections I wanted, and when I did they were filled with pretty generic stuff.
History had the usual presidential biography glut, and the typical 3 – 4 copies of The New Russians (a great book that apparently EVERYONE read, if the number of them in the wild is any indication.) Sociology was sparse and filled with dated books from the 70s and 80s. I don’t think I ever found Poli Sci. (All of this is pretty forgivable for a used bookstore because they tend to carry lots of fiction and generic interest stuff, but that’s basically why I find used book shopping to be *so* annoying. It’s also why I fell in love with Kaboom Books!)
Anyway, the positives of ¼ are that they have a section of coffeetable books for the aspiring eclectic decorator and good philosophy/​religion/​math sections. Some of the former would make pretty awesome selections for keeping guests occupied while you cook or whatever, but that’s not really my thing as of yet (450 square foot apartment FTW!) If you’re into the latter, you might find some interesting reads here.
Essentially, ¼ Price is much like all used bookstores: a little stale, difficult to navigate, and filled with the same books you see most places.

This is one of my favorite used bookstores in Houston. He may or may not have the books you are looking for, but after analyzing your request the genius bookseller can recommend other books you may be interested in. It is true that he is talky, but also quite intelligent and easily takes body language hints that you wish to browse alone.
He has a wonderful kids selection of very old and cool books as well as some well chosen newer juvenile books. I still never take my young children in here as it is quite crowded with rare and expensive books – and I can’t shop properly whilst nagging and supervising=)
I’m not sure I have ever bought a ¼ price book here… but I always leave richer for the experience.

I killed an hour here this weekend, and I was amazed at the variety of 1^st editions available — and the prices of same! The owner was very helpful, and really knows his stuff. I, on the other hand, know nothing about 1^st editions… so maybe he DOESN’T know his stuff, and just bamboozled me into buying a $ 1K copy of Dr Seuss’s «original» Spooky Pants manuscript!
Maybe I should have suspected something when I noticed the good Dr’s name was spelled «Sewce»…
But seriously… I only bought a paperback, costing $ 2.99, and a couple of kids books for my yard apes. Check this place out, but don’t expect a poodle lover ambiance, with coffee, soft music, and easy chairs — this is a hard core used book store.

Ahh, Cory, Cory, Cory. When will you learn to check Unilocal before going on a hunt for a specific items? If only I had read Liz’s review, I could’ve saved myself a trip from ¼ Price Books. Don’t get me wrong, the place is great, but it didn’t have what I needed and had I read her review, I would’ve known that.
Considering how similar the name is to Half Price Books, I expected the selection to be similar. Not even close. This is a cozy (read: tiny) little shop that is quirky and fun. The cramped quarters are filled with all sorts of fun books and are organized in a way that pretty much requires you to wander around aimlessly. Which is not a bad thing. You’ll find all sorts of interesting topics in these aisles that could provide hours of entertainment. Really though, most of the novels I looked at weren’t that much cheaper than Half Price, though supporting the local businesses is always a plus.
The true gems of this place lie in the older, rare books. Unlike how commercialized the rare books collection is at all the Half Price Books, this place really does it right. I saw some old school Bibles with the embellished leather covers that were just gorgeous. There were beautifully bound copies of classic novels on another table. And all of these were in pristine condition. If you like to collect antique books, this is a great place to start looking. The owner seemed very friendly and nice and if I weren’t on a mission to find school books at the last minute, I would’ve loved to stay and chat for a bit. I think that just means that I’ll have to make another trip back and really give this store a more thorough once over.