New England Mobile Book Fair

My kids love this store and I think it just fine but I find the organization of it a little jarring. It sort of upsets my OCD tendencies. I think if you come looking for a particular book it is ok but I am not sure I could roam — I would not know where to begin. My sons love it here because the Manga section is huge with titles they have not even heard of before. It is definitely a «go to» for them and so I indulge them in their hunt for new exciting titles.

Now, I remember a time when 3 LARGE bookstores ruled the City of Newton. In an ideal world the way everything turned out was for the better. In a normal world, what happened would have been somewhat impossible.
Out of the 3 large bookstores, the ONE independent STAYED, while the other 2 big chains closed up shop. WOW. I haven’t heard of anything like this happening. Ever. This WOULDN’T have happened in every community, and some communities don’t even have a real bookstore (a real travesty!). Yet, the people of Newton decided to patronize the local New England Mobile Book Fair and let Barnes & Noble and Borders (both on Route 9), fly to the wind. The big chains both closed up shop between 2011 – 2013.
So, back to THIS actually store. It’s really a great place. It provides as 3 stores. 1: A toy store, as there is a small toy room with lots of great gifts for kids and teens. 2: A regular book store, there is a large section of this store that has brand new books at regular prices, such as a normal Barnes&Noble or such. And 3: A discount book store. Behind the cash registers are multiple rooms of books, some used or some overstocked, that are discounted with a price on them. There are TONS of books in the section in every category. Personally, I prefer shopping here first, and always seem to find more here. Plus, the entire store, including the discount area is immaculate.
Additionally, the staff throughout the large store are consistently friendly and a few times I’ve gone in, there has been an author signing as well. Great bookstore, with great books, prices, and service. 5 stars.
Located on Needham Street in Newton Highlands. Exit 19A off Route 128.

Great store to find just about any type of book! Great place to pick up those books for required school reading, and they always have unique games/​toys for kids.

Overwhelming selection. Could spend a long long time in there.

Fun spot for the book lover! Floor to ceiling books in every possible category. Easy to spend all day & hundreds of dollars here. Worth a stop any day

I truly love and enjoy coming to this book store. The selection of books is huge! And if they don’t have the book you are looking for, the staff are always able to order it for you. I’ve yet to have a bad experience at this place. I wanted an old series for my son, and they didn’t have them in stock. So they ordered the entire series, and within a few days it had arrived. The staff are always nice, and are always willing to help you find a book or make suggestions what to read. They have a decent size parking lot, so there is no off street parking. The store is huge, with many different areas, with many different books.
I have gone in looking for books on different periods of time, but not knowing a title or an author, the staff had made some suggestions on books, and I’ve loved reading every one of them! You can’t beat their prices either!
I would highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a great deal on some good reads.

They have everything, plus a helpful staff!

This place used to be special… no more. Empty shelves, shuffling staff, no order or theme or logic to bookshelves. Truly a disaster and quite depressing. I can’t imagine how or why anyone would want to shop here.

Five stars because there is nothing else like it in the area for sheer selection of books, including the big book chain store.
Having been open for decades and having the space to keep the books around, you can find favorites that haven’t been republished in decades.
Each area is pretty extensive, including art and music.
A number of sections have books that are permanently marked down, including great selections of adult and children’s fiction.
All books are 20% off, with some at deeper discount.
The feel is a bit of a warehouse. High shelves with narrow paths between the books. Your first few times you might feel that you’ll be lost in a maze and have to call for help, but that is part of the fun, as there are new discoveries at every turn.
Help can be hard to find, and when you do, how much help you get varies.
Booklovers must go here, but do where comfortable walking shoes.

How can someone not love this place? The bargain book section is fabulous, and the everyday book section (which is the rest of the store) is 20% off all the time. Eat your heart out, Amazon!
Their children’s book section is absolutely awesome. If you’re a teacher, this place is ideal.

I know that many people love this place and they do have a large inventory. They’ve also been around a long time and have created a good name for themselves– many of my friend recommended them. But the one time I went to check it out, I felt that the customer service was lacking. I looked for 3 different books that I had in mind and only found one. I approached one of the staff members to ask if he could look up a book in their database. Unfortunately he couldn’t do that (because their system was down, or because they can’t look anything up?). I told him the name of the author and book and he said that it was a popular book and should be on their shelves. I told him that I couldn’t find it, but he made no offer to come help me. I don’t know if they were moving inventory around or were distracted for some other reason, but this was in the middle of the day during the week. I was surprised that the staff were not more friendly or willing to help me out.

Tons of bargains to be found if you turn left when you walk in the door — I had to stop myself at four, but they were selling paperback novels by some great favorite authors (Ishmael Reed and Ali Smith were the ones I settled on) for a buck each. A truly wonderful place to get lost.

This place is fantastic. It has the feel of an older library and a very knowledgeable staff. I’ve spent hours wandering through the stacks looking at books I probably would never have thought of in a chain bookstore. If you’re looking to get lost in reading, I definitely recommend this place.

In an age where few bookstores stay in business somehow a the New England Mobile Bookstore has stuck around. I say this b/​c the store itself is essentially a trailer w/​o wheels but their inventory is second to none. Long before the internet you could go here and find virtually any book you want, quite impressive, and I don’t think they have ever not had what I was looking for.
If you’re looking to crave your book itch w/​o having to wait days for it to arrive in the mail go here. It’s ok the Amazon Gods will forgive you.

The store is a bookapalooza. So many books, so little time. These days it’s hard to find a decent book store with good selection and discount prices. But, this place fits the bill to a T. The selections is fantastic. This place is very «no-​frills» though. The shelves are all unfinished wood. It has a bit of a warehouse feel to it. If you need a Starbucks to complete your book buying experience, this place is not for you. If you just want the best selection in the area and great pricing, give NEMBF a try.

You could spend a lifetime in this place and never read the title of every book here. During a recent visit up to see the fiancé’s family, we stole away for a day to explore the New England Mobile Book Fair. We literally spent 4 hours here and barely scratched the surface of books that there was there to see.
While I made note of several books I wanted pick up, I did actually pick up a music book for my sister. She had been searching for a while for a music book that had popular Broadway musical pieces for her theater class. There was definitely a wide array of these books, not to mention everything else.
This place alone is a good enough reason for me to want to go back to MA.

This place was a fundamental part of my growing up in Newton, and now that I’ve moved back, I still love it just as much. For one, it’s probably the only brick-​and-​mortar bookstore (and independent, no less) I’ve been to where absolutely everything is discounted. Bestsellers are even 30% off and the bargain section, where most books are $ 5 or less, is HUGE.
I will admit the new organization threw me off a bit. Sure, sorting books by publisher was more than a little confusing, but it’ll take a few more visits before I really get the hang of the new system. I suppose when you’ve got that many books, there really is no one efficient way to display them.
Also, the staff is super helpful and always willing to drop everything and help you out, even if it’s three minutes to closing.

Whenever I am in the mood for a new book, I head over to the New England Mobile Book Fair. While it can be a bit overwhelming to the eyes when you first walk in, you get used to where to find different types of books. I am the type to need an hour or more at a bookstore. I like to browse the aisles, pick up a book, glance through the first few pages, and if it interests me, I buy it!
Everyone is always super helpful. If you have a specific book in mind, you can look it up by Publisher (which is hard because not many people know the publisher) but you can simply ask someone working to help you, and they will bring you right over to the book. I definitely recommend this place to anyone who likes to browse through a bookstore without a timetable.

Scarey to say, but I have been coming here — well since before there was a Unilocal — before there was www…
Love this place — love it — but, it has gone downhill recently, since the Strymish’s sold it. There used to be a terminal where I could look up a book’s publisher, and find it myself — now there is only one, and It’s in paperbacks. The place is a mess — honestly, there were more shopping carts full of unshelved books than there were customers in the place. I know the system in there, and I had trouble finding what I wanted!
And, if you ever, EVER think of writing a cookbook. Go here, and wander through the miles of cookbooks — then go into the remainders section, and see another 20 miles of cookbooks.

Best prices on new best sellers around, I believe they mark 20% off the cover price which is amazing.
If you can’t find the book you’re looking for here, you’re full blown legally blind… they have everything!
Navigating the stacks is a pain in the butt since it’s books are sorted mainly by publisher within their categories, but there is always someone to help you find it in a matter of seconds and make you feel like an idiot for not having found it yourself (everyone is courteous and never belittling just to be clear).
Go get a book here! Plenty of parking too.