Givens Books

The toy store: so fun. They carry every kind of ridiculous toy you can think of. There are lots of «educational» items that are actually super cool too. There are also lots of teacher/​classroom items to choose from, like giant popsicles to put up on a wall. I guess you don’t really need to limit that to a classroom, though!
The new books: great selection. Most everything is retail priced, so you may find better deals online, but they do carry a nice selection to check out.
The used books: SO AWESOME. The used book section is my favorite thing about this place. There are tons and tons and tons to choose from, from any category. I’ve been by here twice recently, and still have not had time to actually get upstairs to check out all THOSE used books, because I always get stuck and spend all my time downstairs!
Drowsy Poet: As expected, delicious coffee and yummy sandwiches at reasonable prices. Love it!

Great family book and gift store. Coffee shop lends itself to the dad’s while waiting for the others to finish shopping. Good experience, would stop again.

My favorite place to buy birthday & Christmas presents – crafts, toys, & games – for kids! Unlike the non-​existent sales staff at large bookstore chains, there is ALWAYS staff waiting and willing to help you. (Danny is the best!) It is like having a personal shopping assistant if I want one. I say, «I need a $ 15 gift for a _​_​-​year-​old boy» and someone leads me to several options, giving me feedback from national reviewers & educators. They WRAP IT FOR FREE (and I don’t have to wait 20 mins. for someone to be paged to do it), and they give a 3% credit to my children’s school! So easy. So fast.
Then I get to buy something delicious at Drowsy Poet for myself while I flip through a book or two.
AND, thank you to Given’s for having offered inexpensive, used books for over 20 years. I have wonderful childhood memories of visiting for hours with my mom to sell a big box of books and then fill it up again with purchases. Mrs. Givens would chat & recommend novels to my mom while I started on my next Nancy Drew in the corner. You can still get great recommendations from the staff who are obviously hired because they love books and reading too!

The best bookstore in Lynchburg! And you’re like «so?» Okay, how about the the best bookstore in Virginia, ignoring Riverby and Chop Suey. It’s a religious shop to be sure, but the selection is not hurt at all. In fact, the selection is always full of great hard to find classics, fiction, and theology. Plus, a really big new books section too. While it’s not an interest to me personally, half the store, which is sizable, is filled with children’s lit and toys. Though, even considering that toys take up the right half of the building, you’re likely to find more quality books here than you would an any other bookstore on the east coast, aside from Chamblins of jacksonville or Strand of nyc. Or maybe I’ve just been lucky when visiting this place?

Even though it is tempting to head off to Barnes and Noble, I would prefer to patronize an independent book store. This is a family business with a great love of creative (and yes, pricey) toys of all kinds. There is a large section devoted to educational materials for teachers, homeschoolers and those who want to supplement their children’s education. Friendly service and Drowsy Poet in the back! Great place to hang out with friends or spouse and enjoy coffee and a relaxed atmosphere without the college crowd that you find at B & N.

Nice bookstore with a good selection of used books. I liked coming here just to see what had come in. Their new books were kind of expensive, but overall a great shop.