Hastings Books Music & Video

Sailor Moon is making a comeback! Well, at least that’s what it seemed like at Hastings. Nestled where west meets west is this location along Coors, Hastings has a hefty selection of music, books and makes for a nerdy retail fantasy. Do not mind the out of tune speakers playing Natalie Imbruglia’s «Torn»… I know you’ve heard it a million times already.
With most of this stuff I have to tell myself «I’m too old for this shit,» or «I do not need to spend $ 28 on a Hello Kitty plush doll».
Alas, there are other things relevant to my life at the moment: My thirst for books rages on as I still buy print (Mindy Kaling… I see u gurl!), my boyfriend needs his Batman comics (#44 was out this time), and hell, it does feel good to dwell on the fictional characters that once filled the spaces of my SoCal childhood. Consider Hastings to be random access memories — incarnate.

Stopped in to find a specific magazine. Doors and door handles were filthy, sticky, I hardly wanted to touch them. Once inside the store, you’re hit with a smoke-​like, dirty, stinky smell. No luck finding the magazine I was looking for on sparsely populated magazine rack, and no assist from staff who were busy socializing.

Hastings… the lines kill me. There is always a long wait. Movies, video games, books, nerdy toys, comics. It’s sort of s one stop shop which is nice. I just wish they had more people handling the checkout lines. However, it’s close and it’s local, so I’ll continue to frequent it.

Let me preface by mentioning that I go there strictly for the coffee. I used to frequent Hastings back in my teens, but since I really have no need for CDs or to rent movies anymore, I don’t go much. That being said. they do have some unique gifts for people and good selection of books, but I tend to go to Barnes and Noble or Amazon if I want a paper copy of a book.
The Hardback Café is great! They are one of the only places I can find cold brew coffee. Think smooth, low acidity, and less harsh than regular coffee. They will put flavor and/​or cream and sugar in to it if you want. The baristas are always nice, too. I like the fact that they have a drive through. When I tell people I get my coffee at Hastings, I often get the stank eye or a look of mere shock. Not a lot of people know about it. But hey… that means more coffee for me! But seriously. stop by if you want a cup o’ joe and you are in the area.

I’m torn 4 stars or 5. I love this place for it’s selection of items and the randomness that exists in that selection. I mean where else can you pick up a vinyl copy of Justin Timberlake’s ²⁰⁄₂₀ album, a Chewbaca plush toy, the latest season of Games of Thrones, and a kettleball. Am I right?
Sure the service is a little sketch sometimes but I just love that a DVD rental house still exists on this planet. Maybe I’m showing my age but I still love the tangibles. Renting a movie from a ‘store’ and actually purchasing an actual CD. I always have and I always will. So thank you Hastings for hangin’ tough!

Lots of new and used books, huge music and game choices. The thing that kind of miffed me was that the used books are almost the same price as the new books! You’re not really saving much unless you’re able to take advantage of the three used books for $ 21 deal. Most of the used books are about $ 8, but some are much more than that, so you can bring the prices down to $ 7 apiece using the deal. However, in my world, $ 7 is still a lot to pay for a used book considering you can get them for as little as 25 cents at a garage sale!

I have to wonder just how long this review is going to remain relevant, due to the demise of Blockbuster and their brethren. Rental outlets are quickly getting assassinated by streaming video services, and you’d imagine Hastings would be in those cross-​hairs. Movies are by no means all they do, books and electronics and music are here, too. But I’ll take a local bookstore in front of a behemoth like this any day, and I’ll be honest, I’m streaming virtually everything else. It’s likely, however, that ABQ is simply one of those populaces that’s stumbling behind the trends of the rest of the country. (Possible. Um, more like Absolute.)
I come to this place for the Hardback Café, I really like it. The furnishings are pretty uninspired and that goes for the décor, as well, but the service is always top notch, the caffeine is reliable and the iced teas, while way too sugary, are pretty tasty. Music basically sucks, so bring headphones. The snack selection ain’t bad, really tasty scones, make sure they heat ‘em up. Oh, and then there are all of those magazines around to distract you from… Yahoo News? The Huffington Post? Yet another medium going digital.

Walked store looking for some bumper stickers, they had a few but were not interesting. The employees were nice, but they lacked interest in helping out. I love their book selections and the vibe was nice inside.

generally Im not a fan of big chain stores. However this hastings is pretty cool. the staff is generally very friendly, the movie selection is good. Music section is hit or miss. The book section however is really great. Try the magazine/​coffee area nice calm vibe plus free wireless.
usually only one or two cashiers at a time so minus one star.