The Raven Bookstore

Bought a book here at the side walk sale. I had been looking for it for awhile. I found it right away. I love this book store. I would spend all of my money here.

I love The Raven and supporting local businesses. They also have the prerequisite bookstore cat. What a sweetheart!
I appreciate the vast selection of genres especially local authors. I usually find something I wasn’t looking for when I stop by. They also have a lot of cool cards for all holidays and celebrations. There is an area devoted to kids/​young adults as well. There are book groups and events held here too.
I do like the cards on the shelves which list employee comments about a book. It’s nice to get a fresh perspective. Also, all the employees are really helpful if needed.
I wish The Raven was closer to me. But it’s nice to know it’s there when I come into Lawrence for a visit.

Need some down time and a getaway?
Prescription: grab a room at the historic Eldridge Hotel. breakfast espresso/​coffee and baked goods at quaint La Prima Tazza followed by a massage at one of the two or three places in the 700 block of Mass Street. Lunch at Merchants Pub & Plate, an hour or so at the Spencer Art Museum, late afternoon beers on the patio of the Free State Brewery followed by dinner there or one of several nice venues. Sushi, Mexican, pizza, Italian, (or reserve far in advance at the mind blowing Café Beautiful), etc. You know how to use Unilocal.Most of this is found in one block downtown.
Now, just need a really cool place to hang out and relax in the afternoon, maybe find a book to read. Enter The Raven Bookstore, a breed quickly becoming extinct. This place is so cool it almost puts the rest of the town to shame. A locally owned shop specializing in mystery books but large enough it has a bit of everything. Charming? Off the scale. Staffed by knowledgeable people you’d like? Check. Cool vintage posters, comfortable chairs, creaky wooden floors. Got ‘em. Meet and greet with visiting authors? Oh, sure. And wait, a resident cat that might rub up against your leg. Just stop it.
They survived the now defunct big box bookstore across the street. So loved that when the original owners went out of business some of their customers bought it. It’s a place to get lost for an hour or two and escape reality, and it’s right here in Larryville. Not Boston, not Brooklyn, not in the Hamptons, but they’d love it. I think you would, too.

The Raven was here before Borders arrived back in 1996 and outlasted the giant, continuing to thrive in 2013. Not only has The Raven survived the coming and going of Borders, but it has managed to stay active, relevant and inviting even as the age of Amazon and e-​Reading threatens to overwhelm what little is left of print culture. The Raven is old-​school — a small bookstore, with limited, carefully-​curated selection of books. No newsstand, no coffee bar, no table after table stacked with best-​selling pop culture titles, and no display of plastic e-​readers taking up valuable floor space.
Nope, we have an inviting display of mysteries (the store’s specialty) as well as a lot of local interest books, a very healthy and carefully-​selected non-​fiction inventory, and friendly local service. Oh yeah, and a store cat. All in a space the size of a large living room.
I am not a frequent reader of mysteries, so I cannot definitively comment on The Raven’s selection in that genre, although my understanding is they are one of the best mystery bookstores in the region, stocking both domestic and British titles. My tastes run towards literary fiction, science fiction, and anything non-​fiction, and The Raven delivers in all those categories. This isn’t Barnes and Noble — there’s usually only a copy or two of any particular title, and you can’t automatically assume anything in print is in stock (they are glad to order!). What they do have is nicely chosen — «curated» is overused, but it fits, here. Books are stocked that smart interesting people (like you!) want to read. I always find good books in the new non-​fiction table, and in spite of its small size, The Raven rewards to casual browser without overwhelming them.
Prices are what’s on the book jacket, although there’s a frequent buyer’s card. I don’t mind paying «extra» compared to Amazon for supporting a local business and enjoying the old-​school feel of seeing a book and having it right then and there.
The only downside of the Raven is their limited hours. I got a bit spoiled by Borders’ old 9 to 11 every day schedule, although I give the Raven credit for being open til 8 every night but Sunday (wish more downtown stores would do this).
Stores like The Raven are an endangered species. I am glad to be able to enjoy Lawrence’s «little bookstore» as long as it lasts.

You’ve got to love a place that hangs old Masterpiece Mystery posters on the wall. Where else can you browse for books with Jeremy Brett and David Suchet gazing down at you? Maybe Inspector Morse knows where your next book purchase is. (Maybe not. Let’s be real. He’s probably too busy filling out crossword puzzles. Better ask Lewis.)
My parents moved to Lawrence this summer and the three of us stopped in to check out the store and beat the heat. We had a great conversation with Julie, who shared some insights about Lawrence and Kansas, and I walked out with a book. The next time I’m in town, I will definitely be back, if only to check in on my favorite fictional detectives.

I spent a lot of time at this store today and really liked it. Although it’s not very large, it has a good selection — and the children’s section was *terrific* (lots of beautifully-​illustrated books, for example). Also, the two women working there were very pleasant and helpful.

Dare I enter through this glass door?
Dare I hope there be «many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore?»
Why, I do, so that I may visit Borders book stores nevermore.
Raven is just about everything you’d want and expect in an independent book shop.
There are the four or so tables in the front rooms that feature the new releases and staff picks (with little cards giving a helpful and often enticing description). There is the little annex off the main room with teen and kid books (again, with staff picks and description cards). There are the quaint note and greeting cards, bookmarks, writing journals, calendars. There is the «local author» and subject matter sections (no matter what town or city I visit, I love when local book shops have this).
I believe the Raven specializes in horror/​science fiction (hence the name) and luckily for people like me, it doesn’t exclude other genres. I even spied Nick Cave’s latest novel on the display table. When Christmas shopping, I remembered that I wanted to buy «A Tree Grows in Brooklyn» for a family member and they had that, too. So, their selection runs the gamut of classics to science fiction to transgressive.
Leave I quenched for fascinating literature
through that glass door
vowing to return, for evermore.

Has anyone seen You’ve Got Mail? If you have, this is that kind of bookstore. If you haven’t, this is a really charming place that stresses customer service and cuteness.
It’s just really old fashionedly cute. Big, readable signs, really well laid out, nice, classic details, and good selection of national and local interests. They also sell calendars, cards, postcards and of course, bookmarks.
Their fiction section was well balanced, with classic literature, lots of Beat authors, and newer fiction writers (like Jhumpa Lahiri). Also, they have book and poetry readings almost weekly.