Common Good Books

Amazing bookstore — great selection, layout and location. Makes you hungry to read more! Thanks, GK!

This bookstore on the active corner of Snelling and Grand has an inviting exterior which has that magnetic effect to catch your eye and draw you in. The interior atmosphere seems to be geared for the very serious (but rapidly fading) bibliophile. The shop is bright with whites and greys and large windows. Although a bit unpretentious it is a pleasant experience to browse. Talk about politically incorrect in the children’s section there is a large attention getting cover of «Tank Girl» with the girl looking tough and a cig hanging out of her mouth.
The selection overall is fairly standard with a smattering of used books which I didn’t realize they dealt with. I thought there may be a bigger selection of rarer titles and themes from obscure dead writers and poets but that was my over expectation. Still a fine and quiet place to browse and the neighborhood also provides for some interesting shops.

Lovely small bookstore with a diverse selection.

A really nice boutique bookstore with occasional limericks written on the wall behind the registers by Garrison Keillor himself. I just wish they were open a little later.

We were in town for the National Senior Olympics. My husband competes and his schedule pretty much runs the show but I did make sure we had time to visit Common Good Books because I’m a fan of the proprietor, Garrison Keillor. However, after visiting, if I were a resident of St. Paul this would be «my» bookstore regardless of who owned it. What a wonderfully quirky place that is just unorganized enough to allow you to find surprises you didn’t know you wanted! The staff is nice too, which is a huge plus!

I am partial to the previous location on Selby. This store is just ok-​nothing cozy about it. Doesn’t inspire me to buy anything on a whim.
I guess «common» seems to fit this place perfectly.

Yes, I’m a #LakeWobegon fan. That, above all, is what sent me to explore Common Good Books while on a visit to St. Paul — Garrison Keillor owns a bookstore! Yay! It’s small, but packed with an amazing range of titles, as well as various memorabilia of Mr. Keillor’s, including a desk on which he wrote some of his notable books. There’s humor in the bookstore, in the way the books are displayed (when I was there, a table was labeled «I know the cover was blue,» and all the books on display had blue covers… fun! It was a little quiet, but there weren’t many people there. If the «All-​Star Shoe Band» had been around, it would have rocked! Local, independent, books! Do go, do buy!

Absolutely wonderful bookstore, huge selection in a small space. Great staff that’s very helpful and always willing to chat about books. It’s a great feeling to know they care. It’s the reason I’ve stopped going to the big box store aka barnes and noble. Tired of people trying to sell me memberships to a subpar selection of books or hearing «oh we don’t have any f Scott Fitzgerald but we can order it» indie bookstores rock! Thanks common good books

Cute little book store over by the college campuses. I would have been more impressed if the people working there would have said hello in the midst of their conversation. But I really loved the hipster books and any place that gives recommendations, including reasons why they recommend the book) is worth the visit.

I bought two online deals for Common Good Books recently so I had to check this place out. One deal for me and one for Lindsey D. — we made an adventure out of it as always.
I was surprised by the limited selection of materials and shocked by how quiet it was, like a library. I felt embarrassed trying to talk to my friend while perusing since it seemed like we were shouting. Also, it felt dark which I don’t find helpful while trying to read.
With such a small selection it was easy to go through the whole store in a short amount of time. In these cases I like to think that each book was selected for a reason by the bookstore staff however it can be a draw back if you’re looking for something specific. After 45 minutes of browsing I panicked (because I couldn’t find some well known books on the shelves) and settled on «Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus», only time can tell if that was a wise purchase.

I have in truth been here only once, but based on that experience I would return. I was hunting for a book and my usual big corporate locations were sold out. I called here and they said they had four (!) copies, and would hold one for me. Sure enough, they had it all set and waiting for me upon my arrival. The store is small when compared to the Big and Notable stores, but a brief stroll indicated a comparable selection, and the service certainly was a cut above those other stores. I was impressed, thanks Common Good Books.

I was around the corner for breakfast and had a lot of time to kill before I needed to head back to minneapolis for a play at the Guthrie. Consulting Unilocal told us that this place was just a block away, and we knew of it, well, cause of Garrison Keillor.
The store reminded me a lot of his «Good Poems» book — an good selection with a lot of hidden gems amongst the expected contents. I spent a lovely 45 minutes wandering through this store, walking out with 4 or 5 finds that I would have otherwise been unaware of: a book that turned the periodic table into a series of illustrations where each element was a character and their various features corresponded with facts about the element; a handful of tags on keychains for identifying {trees, garden insects, scat !, etc}; a book on the law of superheroes and more. I checked out 3 times because I kept finding more things that I wanted to own or gift ;)
This store is exactly what I love about independent bookstores — helping me find books that I am interested in reading and not just books that the publishers want me to read!

New location did not solve old problems.
I was excited to hear that Common Good Books was reopening at a new location.
I really enjoyed Common Good Books in its old location on Selby underneath Nina’s Café. They always did a great job of displaying books from local authors and lesser known titles that deserved to be read.
However, it was cramped and a little dark. There were so many books in that small space that it was easy to get lost for hours. Getting side– tracked every time a book caught your eye. Not a bad thing, but it could be difficult to find a specific book.
So the idea of Common Good Books in a larger, brighter, space was very appealing to me.
Unfortunately, they kind of blew it.
I spent about 30 minutes browsing the new location recently, and what made the old Common Good Books great still exists. They have a great selection of books, including what may be the largest poetry selection in the cities. They still do a great job a displaying lesser known titles, encouraging readers to try something new. I could have spent a couple hours just walking around if I had the time.
Other than that, I was a disappointed in their use of new space. They’re not using it to its potential at all. I hope it’s because they have recently opened and are still working out the kinks, but the layout is confusing and the lighting makes no sense at all.
I don’t know if Garrison Keillor designed the layout himself or not, but I hope he didn’t pay anyone to do it.
When you walk into the store, you are met by the side of a long A-​frame display. The display has books on both sides for the customer to peruse. A great display, but its location makes no sense. It’s so long it separates the cash counter from the rest of the store, limiting the interaction customers will have with the employees. It also breaks up any flow the store could have. It makes the store awkward because you are constantly walking around this A-​frame to get from one side of the store to the other. Maybe it’s a sales tactic to force you to look at books they want you to buy, but I just found it annoying.
Then there was the lighting. They claim it’s a «new brighter location», and that is true for the sections near the windows. The new location has a lot more natural light. The rest of the store is not so lucky. They chose to use small hanging spotlights to illuminate the rest of the store, and I hope they are still tinkering with how to use them. I found the display areas to be very well lit, but the rest of the store to be hit or miss at best. You walk from spotlight to spotlight, so the amount of light is constantly changing, and there were a few areas that were darker than the old location. At one point I had to step into a light to read the back of a book!
Bookstores should be well lit and conducive to browsing; currently Common Good Books is missing the mark.
Don’t get me wrong, neither of these concerns will stop me from going to Common Good Books. I will still be found milling around the shelves from time to time. It’s just disappointing that the store is not taking advantage of the new space to improve the problems they had at the old space.

This is more like it. The new website is up and really nice. They are going to have a lot of events and speakers at this location. I don’t like that they don’t have a mystery section for a new store. It’s all under fiction. I think the old store had one. It’s been a long time since I was there. The run the gamut of avantgard books and magazines. Their mainstay is art and poetry. They have a pop culture and cookbook area too. It’s an attractive store, and it’s just right for students of a liberal arts university area. Parking is gonna be hard with the ongoing Snelling Ave. construction. No parking on that street for awhile. I might make it there on a rare occasion.

This is a lovely little book shop with unique, intuitive arranging that not only helps you find the book you’re looking for, but also helps you stumble upon something that, well, maybe you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Presentation can be key in a book shop. I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover and all, but sometimes something just *grips* you and you have to pick it up. Common Good Books has its merchandise arranged in such a way that you’re not facing an endless garden of spines; there are featured titles and enticing tables with unique subject/​topic groupings.
Okay, so Common Good Books doesn’t have the *biggest* selection – but it’s also not a sterile, boxy, bookstore. And, as another reviewer mentioned, they tend to stock the most *interesting* books – the ones that you might not ever discover if lost in the sea of spines in a huge bookstore. The ones that the big bookstores might not even *have*.
This is the perfect place to visit on a hot summer’s day, by the way. Well, or a cold winter’s day… It’s a cool little downstairs place in the summer – a bookish retreat from the heat – and a warm, cozy nest of books in the winter. J’adore.

A perfect independent bookshop. An endless supply of fascinating titles, clearly arranged and enticingly written up with shelf-​talkers. Comes complete with reading nooks, for those so inclined — and who isn’t, if you’ve got a few minutes?
It’s a 30-​minute walk from my hotel, but I’m going back tomorrow. And the next day.

Once I am gainfully employed I will return for a serious glance through Common Good Books. Right now I am relegated to the role of library rat. The selection in this place is deceiving, and the space is very well used.

What’s not to like? The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is due to the lack of seating areas. That said, if it was more comfy they’d have people camping out all day. Despite the small space you’d better give yourself at least an hour — and that still won’t be enough time to appreciate the selection the staff has put together.
It would be difficult to have a bad experience here. It really hits all the right notes of a small independent:
— Piles and stacks that look random, but are actually placed with logic only true book nerds (or record nerds) could understand.
— Expected, eclectic & eccentric inventory
— Quirky groupings («Quality Trash», «God /​Adventure /​Travel»)
— great location (Blair Arcade basement) and great coffee (Nina’s)
The only negative comments I’ve ever heard about this shop are from people who dislike GK — and haven’t even been to the space. I’m not originally from the TC, so the local animosity towards Keillor puzzles me. It seems absurd to slag on the guy that opened this place.

I LOVE this book store!
Yes, it’s small, but there are so many nooks and cranny’s in the place that I feel like a little kid snooping around in grandma’s attic (er, basement).
In my quest to only shop local, I was ecstatic when this book store opened — thanks Garrison!
If they don’t have the book you want, they will order it for you and it will arrive in just a couple of days.

W.O.W.
Very impressed. Common Good Books has one hell of a buyer. It’s amazing the quality of books housed in this relatively small footprint. I could have spent hundreds here without even blinking. The staff kicks ass as well.
When you are in Nina’s, take the stairs down and you’ll be transported on to literary heaven. If all bookstores were merchandised this well, there’d be no need for the big box retailer.