House of Our Own

This is an amazing bookstore using the every corner of a whole old building in UPenn to contain books. The house is very quiet and peaceful. I love the sound of the wood floor when I step on it and I love the sound of rain when it hits on the window. This place is full of the indulging smell of books, of memories, and of stories. It’s especially great that few people come at the same time and they don’t play music here, so I can truly immerse myself into the reading and let my imagination flow in my own world. My heart feels peaceful and healed here. This place will definitely be the reason for me to visit Philly for a second time.

If you had to be locked up in a house for eternity, this would be the place to choose.

The sign and the Unilocalers’ description as a bookstore of «new and old books» is misleading. It is rather the house of a book hoarder. Every available surface is piled high with books you cannot possibly reach. There is a tiny little corridor to walk from one room to another, if you are not overweight, and if nobody is coming the other way. Cramped, dusty, old. I guess it may be interesting if you like used books, and don’t mind roaming randomly like a rat in a maze. Not my thing.

I love getting lost in the shelves upon shelved of books. They have one of the best fiction sections I have seen in Philly. The owner is the sweetest and I love how close it is to where I live. Be prepared to spend an hour milling about looking through stuff.

One of those magical places for booklovers where you enter a narrow hallway, turn… and see rows and rows of stacked books. The books are stacked to the ceiling, in piles on the floor, overrunning chairs, even on the staircase leading up to the second floor! I didn’t stay for terribly long, but it looked like there was a pretty big selection of non-​fiction titles (and quiet an unlimited selection of fiction titles, too!) I love how they usually have one edition of a book, and restock when it sells, rather than having a bunch of copies of the same book; everything is very well organized as well. I’m docking 1 star for the price, but for a family-​owned business it’s totally worth supporting!

I was visiting my brother in Philly and we walked by House of Our Own. He knows I’m an addicted reader, and suggested we stop in. What an eclectic and charming store! It has a terrific selection, with books stacked up all over the place, using every nook available.
I really enjoyed my time wandering around and found a few gems hidden away. The owners are super nice as well, it was before the holidays and we spent a little time chatting. They obviously are book lovers, as well as just being very nice people. Definitely worth a stop!

Support your local merchants! And, enjoy the best bookstore experience in Philly at the same time. Found myself visiting family and needed a break — you know what I mean. So, headed here. The ambiance here is sooooo much superior to any of the big box stores. And the sales clerks are very helpful. They actually know what’s in stock. All in all, a great experience.

Wonderful selection, with the exception of the children’s section. I love how it is literally overflowing with books-​they even have one section in a closet. The only downside is that in my opinion their prices are high for used books, which made me not buy as many as I would have liked. Still, lovely place and will definitely return.
For students: they sell some course-​required reading new on the bottom floor, but if you do extra searching you can find some of the same titles used for cheaper-​they just don’t have them together, probably to get more money from you!

A must-​visit for used bookstore fans.

My favorite bookstore in Philadelphia! It’s been owned by a husband-​wife team for decades and is piled floor to ceiling with an impressive collection of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A really lovely place to get lost in.

This place has an amazing book selection. As soon as you walk in there are just shelves and shelves of books. They have a very impressive used books area on the second floor. All the books are clearly marked by genre, so you will find something great there.

As a compulsive used book shopper, I have intimate knowledge of the stocks of dozens of bookstores. House of Our Own has hands-​down the best selection I have ever seen of – at least – the follow areas: Anthropology, Sociology, Theology, Israel/​Palestine, South Africa – history, politics, culture, and those are only the sections I did some extensive searching. It has a strong and diverse philosophy section, an enviable stack of Norton critical editions… The bottom floor is «New» books, meaning, they aren’t used, but most of them are out of print. Literally, every time I looked at a random stack there were desirable books I never seen before. The owners will be on the lookout for the «white whales» you’ve been looking for. I imagine their fantastic stock is because of their proximity to UPenn. Academics and bibliophiles, bring about a hundred dollars, a small notebook (to note books you didn’t buy this time), and a few hours and you’ll have the time of your life.

I’m a procrastinator.
Actually, I need a better word than that to describe what I am. If I have a deadline to do it, chances are I wait until the very last moment to get it done. When I do it things usually end up well. Get good grades on paper, get in work just in time, and also find the perfect gift. Some would say I have a problem, but I’d say I’m clutch! (it works in sports).
For the past few years I’ve bought my family books for Christmas. The goal is to get them to read at least one for the year. If they do that then I feel like I’ve been successful (success rate. about .500). So on the Friday before Christmas what was I doing? Being clutch! I was walking from my house in West Philly towards Center City in hopes of checking both Barnes and Nobles and getting everything done. I took a turn down an street basically to avoid a red light and looked to my left and saw this wonderful place to my left, and I went in.
Note, I knew nothing about this place but as I walked in I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. The concept is simple: it’s a house that has been turned into a book store. There are books EVERYWHERE, and it’s amazing. The books are both used, and new and being sold for a great price. Unlike other places I’ve been in the city these books tend to be in VG to Great condition, and they have variety that challenges the few remaining big box book stores left.
I say all that to say this: If you don’t have a deadline, if you do, if you like books, if you don’t, if you just need to go somewhere to momentarily get out of the cold… GO HERE. After I made my purchase I made them know that I’ll be there a lot of times because the film criticism section had much more depth than I’ve seen in any other book store I’ve walked in. So yeah, check it out but there’s no rush. If you don’t go there today it won’t be considered procrastinating, you’ll be right on time.

Great spot to find modern editions of classics and literature. They don’t have rare or antique books. Not too much genre, but that’s no big deal. Their collection is nice and their space is delightful and inviting.

Having been in Philly a year now and having returned to this place more than once, I feel the need to reiterate my earlier statement about how wonderful it is! The ambience is perfect – it really feels like wandering into the home of a bibliophile – and I’m always blown away by how great their collection is. The people who run it are also really nice. It’s by far my favorite used bookstore in Philly [and I frequent used bookstores *a lot*]

A house, filled with old books and lots of well lit corners. I have spent hours, aimlessly wandering the house, looking over every shelf. The smell is intoxicating. Old, beautiful books. There is nothing quite like that smell.
Don’t go into this store expecting a chain experience. The selection is diverse and one has to be willing to get on ones hands and knees to dig for whatever it is you are looking for. Even if you don’t have a goal in mind. If you need to be pointed in the right direction, the staff has always been beyond helpful. If you need an obscure text book, they can tell you where to find it and what else might be helpful.
I fear that so many people will give up on print. Then again I can sit, contentedly, on the floor and not be bothered by the sound of people feverishly typing away on their laptops, punching into their phones or iPads, or gossiping over coffee. There is a time and place for all of that but none of it belongs in this shop. How glorious.

Very cool little used book store conveniently located by Penn/​Drexel campuses. We stopped in on a whim and spent an hour just browsing the huge selection of books they had.
The selection is huge taking up literally every inch of two floors but unlike a lot of used bookstores this place was incredibly organized not just by category but by author, series etc. Being next to the Universities there’s definitely a good selection of academic/​non-​fiction books if that’s what you’re into but they’ve got a lot of fiction as well.
If you’re coming in looking for one specific book you might be disappointed but if you’re just coming to browse or with a few books on your list you can walk away with some pretty good deals (lots of books in like-​new condition were ½ off list-​price.)

This is a really neat bookstore in a really neat space, period.
Located in a University City house, books are everywhere — everywhere! Sometimes you have to really look for what you’re trying to find. But it’s worth a look through, if only to see the architectural gem-​ness of the place and check out what incredibly cool, academically-​minded books they have. Last time I was there, I picked up a copy of «Costume & Fashion», which was a high-​minded (in a positive way) survey of that from Sumerian snake goddesses to the early 2000s. Woot!
And if you’re going in for school texts — likely because your prof deems himself independent-​minded — the price will be fair, but way above amazon or
.
Plus, the people are knowledgeable and helpful, something you don’t always find sans multi-​megabook database anymore. So if you, like the above prof, are staunchly independent-​minded, hit it up. I’d also suggest Mostly Books and Chris’ Book Corner.

Oh, how I dreaded going into this bookstore. It’s a small, tight and close with many rooms packed with different books… a lot of the professors who place orders here are the fine arts professors who have English texts, etc. here… fortunately none of my engineering professors ever ordered anything from here. It’s quite the line to get books or coursepacks here. You should have something to eat before you go in and stand in line. The line winds its way around the house and comes out the side.
Still, when not packed at the beginning of semesters, it’s a nice place to browse and find some of the more independent authors and publishers that you won’t find at Barnes & Noble @ The Penn Bookstore.

This bookstore really is amazing. I was in Olde City the other day and went to another used book store and nothing compares to this place.
A House of Our Own is well organized, has a collection of both new books and used books. The interior of the store is beautiful and the collection has some amazing books. New books are on the first floor and used books are on the second floor.
To follow up on what Viv C. said, this book store is not for the «regular consumer.» For those people God created chain bookstores. For everyone else that is looking for inspiration or a copy of a classic that is actually a first edition or out of print, check this place out.
What I found really great was the quality of the used books. Unlike many used bookstores, this place tries to avoid stocking «junk books» (e.g. Danielle Steele and her ilk) as well as all those self-​help books. In addition, I didn’t see many «how-​to» books with really antiquated information (e.g. Windows 3.1 for Dummies). Their standards for what they shelve seems to be very high.
Yes, books are grouped by academic subject matter then alphabetically by author. This is something to be excited about seeing as how most used bookstores are barely alphabetized! And the book store is on the UPENN campus, so wouldn’t you expect this place would cater to its main consumer, the student?
This place has been in business since 1971. When you walk through this old brownstone building, you’ll truly be inspired and it will make you realize why the printed book probably will never be replaced by digital texts.