Browseabout Books

Closed & locked their doors 3 minutes early. Husband was inside shopping & they wouldn’t let the rest of the family in. Son had to use bathroom. We asked if he could at least use the bathroom. Clerk said, «No. We want to go home.» Ridiculous. Will NOT go back.

Our new favorite book store. Live in AC and going back again next week just to go the this store:)

An amazing selection of some of the years bestselling books. Knowledge and wonder are visible as far as the eye can see. This place is a wonderful location to pickup a new book. This place is the best book store along the eastern coast. I definitely recommend it for any and all book lovers.

Very grateful to have such a fabulous bookstore to visit when we come to Rehoboth Beach. They have great story-​time events which I take my daughter to. Check the schedule online. browseabout is one of the best parts of the RB experience.

If I could give zero stars I would. Dropped off books for an inn store credit… One of the books, only one of value was a thorn birds first edition, never called me, and find out I have an in store credit for 10.00 for about 50 books. A reputable company would have called me…10 dollars. Sure that book will be sold on eBay shortly.

The previous reviews were so stellar I think I had over-​expectations. That’s not the most Webster-​friendly word to use but needless to say, the overwhelming toys I walked into immediately led to my disappointment. I want books!
The previous pictures showed shelves and shelves of books. Misleading because although there were quite a few shelves, there were much more kids toys and the entire other half of the store looked like a mix between Pier 1 trinkets and Hallmark.
Favorites:
I truly enjoyed the hilarious anonymous poem in front of the door explaining why English is such a hard language to learn. Good points!
The staff is amazing. So friendly and informative.
Particulars:
The History section was interesting but for an independent store, I wasn’t interested in retail price items.
The «religion» section was horrible because of the lack of variation… no Judeo-​Messianic books and no Christian options, no books about the Holy Spirit and an overemphasis on Catholicism and Pope statues-​figurines.
The non-​fiction sections were scarce, even the true crime was limited to maybe 20 books.
It just felt like an overabundance of kid stuff which is great to market to parents but I’m not a parent and the store just came across as irrelevant to me. And I’m really big on true advertisement. If I can see a huge sign from across the street that reads «books» then that’s what I expect to see when I waltz in… not TOYS. Maybe consider calling it Toys and Reads?

You guys, you will never believe who we saw at Browseabout! PETE THE CAT! For real! And he was rockin’ in his white shoes!
While looking for things to do with our little kids (3 and 1 at the time) we found that Browseabout has story time several times a week. It was fabulous. Perfect time early in the morning (you know the kids are awake) before things really get going on the beach. Story time was packed (because, Pete!). They read the book, did a craft, had Pete come out and and give hugs and high fives. Perfect for my 3 year old.
Bonus was that mom and dad could get coffee right up front. I took the 1 year old and looked through the books for part of story time and after story time my 3 year old spent her saved up beach money on a book and a stuffed mermaid.

While cramped and crowded on a busy day, nothing compares to this store’s selection of books or the connected Café. Unfortunately, they have few spots where you can actually sit down and READ a book.

Love this store! Unfortunately, it rained most of the day we were visiting Rehoboth Beach, but stepping into this book store put some sunshine into our step! Plenty of books to browse through. With the Internet, iBooks, Kindles etc, book stores, like this one, are becoming more and more obsolete. There is nothing like thumbing through a book in hopes of finding a new book or two to hold a spot in your home library. Along with books, they have a good variety of cards, gift items, Ravensburger puzzles (which IMO are the best!) and travel games, etc. The friendly staff help make your visit enjoyable.

Absolutely love this store. Visited 3 times in one week… so hard to stay away! Awesome selection, so happy with the books I bought. The staff was also very friendly as well. I will most definitely return when I am back in the area!

Great story times with thoughtfully planned activities to go along with the story being read. The store is fun of interesting merchandise and toys in addition to the books.

This book store reminds you why local book shops are important and lovely. Flipping through actual pages of paper, finding the right beach-​read, plenty of great selections, staff picks are fun. Stores like this remind us to shake the screen addiction, and only shop amazon and Barnes when needed.

Great all-​around bookstore/​souvenir shop/​toy store. TONS of cards. Staff was helpful. They have a kid’s story hour. Great sale selection too.

The book selection is good enough but hardly spectacular, but Browseabout Books has other merchandise that set it above the average bookstore. Most particularly, they have a large and thoughtful selection of children’s toys and activity items. There is even a small area for children to play, and the children’s books are not the ones you find in every other bookstore.
I’d drop in when you are walking around the commerical area of Rehoboth Beach.

A local institution. Quite sizable and varied; they have plenty of books-​I find a surprisingly good health section-​but a lot of kids stuff and toys and the obligatory coffee shop. Aptly named, it’s a nice air-​conditioned place to browse. They have a dog bowl outdoors. There aren’t that many book retailers doing well these days, but the beach is a good place to buy books, and they’re very nice people with a good stock. More expensive than Amazon? Yes. but if you’re going to shop retail for books, this is the place to do it.

Great book store! Well stocked with nearly every genre, unique tourist items and toys. The service is helpful, kind and quick to check you put when you’ve made your choice but no rush while contemplating your decision. As a published author (Battle Ready) I can honestly say that In an age of dying book stores this place is a main stay… and well worth the 2 block walk from the boardwalk for a book and souvenir.

I’ll take a local independent bookstore over a chain or Amazon any day of the week, and «local independent» plus the free balloons for the kids took this shop from 3 stars to 4 for me.
What I *don’t* like is all of the clutter and claustrophobic packing in. You have to make your way through a maze of knick knacks, cards, and toys before you get to the actual books. True story: my 7 year old nephew turned around to me after we got in the door and said «Are you SURE this is a bookstore? I don’t see any books…» I assured him that it was, and we managed to make it past all the nonsense and find the actual books.
And… once the nephews got over the fact that we weren’t going to go to the same store as last time because it was an hour away, they did eventually find some books. The 7 year old was the hardest to satisfy, but he did go and ask one of the cashiers for help and then found something. He’s a very serious little guy, completely uninterested in fiction. And he found the selection of nonfiction insufficient («none of these have very many pages…»). I think he may have found the book he eventually purchased in with some of the stuff for older kids.
We were there for about 30 minutes, and no one came back to ask if they could help us (maybe they couldn’t see that we were there past all the clutter?) but the boys seemed satisfied with whatever help they got when they went up front to ask. And then, when we went to check out, the cashier asked if the boys could have balloons, and if so, how many — they were coming up on closing time by that time, so when I mentioned that there were 4 more kids back at the house, they gave us all the balloons they had, which thrilled everyone to death. The adults spent the next few hours reaching them from the ceiling until the helium started to go. ;)
Yes, I am the nerd aunt who takes her nephews book shopping at every opportunity.

Fantastic independent bookstore. The childrens section is huge and is almost a toy store as well. Tons of crafts, puzzles, interesting toys. They have a small café window with drinks. Its a nice air conditioned place to browse and escape the humidity.

Roy M. sez it best «SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES — before they go the way of the dinosaurs.
Rehoboth used to have several bookstores and my favorite Atlantic Books! However, the Atlantic Bookstore Chain (horrible to call it a Chain, I mean it wasn’t Borders!) has gone to the tarpits. Don’t let this happen to Browseabout! It’s probably the best bookstore in all of DE! (I really cannot make bold statements like this, but Rehoboth is really one of the most diverse and metropolitan areas other than Wlimington)
Plus it’s on your way to the beach!

This place is awesome. It is always open, very convenient to the boardwalk, very friendly, large selection of books, comfortable chairs for sitting and reading, plenty of toys for kids to play with while killing time as you check out fiction.
Food options are very limited — just muffins and coffee/​tea/​juice.
And if you want a Wash Post you should get there early or reserve one!