Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maryland > Baltimore
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-31-2015, 09:34 PM
 
14 posts, read 92,034 times
Reputation: 30

Advertisements

As a huge book lover, these are the kind of things I find important in a city, and although I found threads for bookstores in other cities on City Data, I couldn't find one for Baltimore, sorry if I just missed it.

Protean Records
925 South Charles Street

Hands down, my favorite bookstore in Baltimore. Most paperbacks are $6, and they have such a great selection of the kind of literature I like to read (mostly novels published in the 1940s-1960s, authors like Vladimir Nabokov, J.D. Salinger, Julio Cortazar, Ken Kesey, and so forth…) Not only have I discovered so many great new reads, but I often see some of my favorites there as well. Steve, who is often the one behind the desk and working there is friendly and helpful if you need him.

Also a great place for records, and better prices than other record stores in Baltimore I've been in.

Normal's Bookstore
425 East 31st Street
Used books

I feel like this place is a cross between Protean Records and The Book Escape, and it does have a decent selection of both books and records, however, I don't frequent it enough to really weigh in with much of an opinion.

The Book Escape
805 Light Street
Used and new books

Many people love this place and it does have a certain charm, I just don't find as many books I want to read as I do at Protean Records (only a few blocks/short walk away), they seem to favor more contemporary literature than what I like to read, but it just depends on your tastes and I think it's still worth checking out. They do have a small selection of new books, as well, and will order books for you. My pet peeve though, is that the owner (or at least I've been told it's the owner that's most often there) never gives any kind of greeting when I come in, and really just generally does not speak to me at all, no "thanks" or "have a good day" or anything upon leaving, even after purchase. I figure I'd rather give my business to a shop where I feel welcomed at, so I don't go there much anymore.

The Ivy
6080 Falls Road
New books

Book Thing of Baltimore
3001 Vineyard Lane
Used books

The books are free. You can literally take all the books you want for free. The only rule is the books are stamped and you're asked not to resale them, but that's it.

Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
30 West North Avenue

Atomic Books
3620 Falls Road
New books
Alternative and underground books, comics and fanzines.

Barnes and Noble
601 E. Pratt St, Power Plant
New books

Architecturally, this Barnes and Noble is head and shoulders above any other big box bookstore I've been to.

The Children's Bookstore
737 Deepdene Road
New books

A charming little shop, well curated and definitely the best place around for children's books. I find more there to buy for the kids in my life than Barnes and Noble.

Red Canoe Bookstore Cafe
4337 Harford Road

Charlotte Elliott and The Bookstore Next Door
837 West 36th Street
Antique and collectible books

Last edited by love the city you're in; 01-31-2015 at 10:04 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-31-2015, 09:57 PM
 
1,161 posts, read 2,435,665 times
Reputation: 2613
The Children's Bookstore on Deepdene is a real treasure. It's been around forever and it's probably the most famous bookstore in Baltimore in the sense of having a reputation outside the city and is established on the book signing circuit for children's authors.

I do remember popping in one day back in the late 1990s to buy a birthday gift and there was a sign advertising the book signing of a children's author the next day. Another customer at the counter was chatting to the store owner about this particular author and asking what kind of books she wrote, and the owner said her books were about child wizards. I didn't pay much attention and forgot the name till a year or so later.

By then JK Rowling was so famous that she didn't need to come to Baltimore anymore!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-31-2015, 10:09 PM
 
14 posts, read 92,034 times
Reputation: 30
Tallybalt, wow, I didn't know The Children's Bookstore had such a reputation! I can see why though, although small, I've always found it has such a wonderfully curated selection. Thanks for sharing more, I wonder if JK Rowling's signing there drew much attention at the time, although I'm sure if it were to happen again, there'd be a line out the door!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-31-2015, 10:51 PM
 
850 posts, read 1,122,242 times
Reputation: 387
We discovered The Book Thing of Baltimore after we had left Baltimore!!! We got a lot of good books from there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 06:30 AM
 
5,289 posts, read 7,371,560 times
Reputation: 1158
Of course you'd forget about Baltimore's premiere African American institution.

Everyone's Place/Afrikan World Books

1356 W. North Ave.
Baltimore, MD. 21212
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 07:04 AM
 
14 posts, read 92,034 times
Reputation: 30
Sorry about that, Infinite_heights77. I'm afraid I hadn't heard of it before, and when I was researching bookstores, it never surfaced in the results…I'd be happy to include it in my main post, along with any other bookstores other members would like to add, I surely don't know every single one in the city. However, I can't seem to figure out a way to edit my original post? Is that not possible after people have replied to the thread or am I just missing something?

Furthermore, I'll have to check out Everyone's Place sometime, thanks for letting me know about it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 07:08 AM
 
5,289 posts, read 7,371,560 times
Reputation: 1158
You're welcome! Thanks for posting those other bookstores as well. I don't live to far from Normal's and visit quite often.


Quote:
Originally Posted by love the city you're in View Post
Sorry about that, Infinite_heights77. I'm afraid I hadn't heard of it before, and when I was researching bookstores, it never surfaced in the results…I'd be happy to include it in my main post, along with any other bookstores other members would like to add, I surely don't know every single one in the city. However, I can't seem to figure out a way to edit my original post? Is that not possible after people have replied to the thread or am I just missing something?

Furthermore, I'll have to check out Everyone's Place sometime, thanks for letting me know about it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 07:20 AM
 
14 posts, read 92,034 times
Reputation: 30
Oh, my pleasure! I love discovering new bookstores and I'm happy to share. To be honest, I think the main reason no one has every mentioned Everyone's Place to me in person, is because I'm white, and it always seems to be assumed by both black and white people that I'd have no interest in African American subjects and history. I love history, why would I want to ignore an integral part of it? I mean, African American history is American history, it makes no sense to omit it, and that would be a disservice to better understanding of history at large. But I realize the actions of others must not reflect this…I mean, when I go to the African American department at Enoch Pratt, it's just assumed I'm there for a school assignment, and not just there to learn, which makes me wonder if the majority of all other white people only go in that department because they have to. And I understand that if I go to Everyone's Place, I might get some weird looks, but as long as they'll let me buy some books, that probably won't stop me. Reading reviews online it sounds like they have an amazing and unique selection that is probably sadly missing from most other bookstores.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 11:23 AM
 
1,114 posts, read 1,478,144 times
Reputation: 735
I got into the downloading books thing. It's easy and convenient. But I think I'm going back to buying books. The download thing is so impersonal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-01-2015, 05:35 PM
 
389 posts, read 423,853 times
Reputation: 309
Quote:
Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77 View Post
Of course you'd forget about Baltimore's premiere African American institution.

Everyone's Place/Afrikan World Books

1356 W. North Ave.
Baltimore, MD. 21212
I love that store! Along with books, they have a nice selection of jewelry, hair products and more!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maryland > Baltimore
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top