Avol’s Bookstore

Love used bookstores and this is my favorite of all!
When I was a Ph.D. student, I used to order a lot of books online through
. I realized that quite a few of the ones I selected were coming from Avols.
Lucky for me, my colleague’s family lives in a tiny town 45 mins south of Madison so we took a drive. Now, he’s as much a fan as I am of first edition, British social historians as I. Needless to say, there is always a throw down, rushing, pushing, and tripping session to the section we both want. I usually win because I’m a girl and I don’t play fair. Here at Avols though, there was enough of a selection that we didn’t have to fight over the books.
It was like staring at the pearly gates with angelic choirs singing.

I stopped here with a friend when we were in town for a weekend. I found a couple titles to pick up to add to my collections of works by my fave authors. I think their fiction section is the best, I saw a lot of books I’ve read and enjoyed and quite a few I was interested in. The non-​fiction sections seemed a little… old. Not quite up to date in selection. I looked at the kids section and tried to find a few books but didn’t have luck with fairly common kids authors. That part left a little to be desired. My friend found an old Nancy Drew title in the antiquarian section (we both collect them), but it was on the pricey side.
The checkout girl was really nice. I carried a bag all over the store without noticing the signs telling me to check it up front. I was expecting a glare but didn’t get one.

It’s a giant used bookstore. It’s organized in the best possible way. What more could you ask for? …however, it is slightly more expensive than I was expecting (it’s a USED book??!) :/

This is exactly the kind of bookstore I pray I stumble upon when I’m out of town. A place where I can while away some hours, searching for my travel read… which is exactly what I did and found two great books to fill up my bus ride.
Great selection, lots of random yet awesome stuff, and a lot of unexpectedly cute décor. The staff was very nice about letting me wander forever and leave my suitcase up at the counter. The prices weren’t bad at all, compared to even Amazon used, and it’s better to support your local bookstore than not, I say.
There is really something for everyone here, but it’s really not the place for people used to Borders/B&N big box bookery.

This store gets points for a pleasing appearance and for hosting literary events. The staff is also adequate – at least they stay out of the way. But the books here look like they’ve been sitting around forever, as if maybe they were picked up at the buck-​a-​bag stage of a library sale ten years ago. You know, crop management manuals from the seventies and scuffed ten-​pound volumes of translated German poetry. I’m sure some gems are mixed in, but I don’t have time to hunt for them. I always come out empty-​handed.
Both Frugal Muse and Half Price do a better job of selecting stock, keeping it in circulation instead of cluttering the shelves with books nobody’s ever going to buy. My husband likes St. Vinnie’s when he’s ready for a new stack of sci-​fi.

Someone put a lot of time into fixing this huge place up into a pleasant place to browse, with tables, chairs, kid’s room, etc.
Unfortunately, the quality of the stock wasn’t good enough to make browsing worthwhile. Many sections contained little of interest, and for books that were uncommon, prices were at internet levels — no bargain hunting here.
I would only give the main store two stars, but it’s partially rescued by the separately managed antiquarian operation near the front desk. There, a variety of interesting books could be found — at relatively high prices.

Even though the sum of my interests lie outside current popular literature I always find something engaging at Avol’s and that means a lot as I do have very particular interests. And any time I can’t find what I’m looking for the staff, including the owner, puts every effort into tracking it down for me. And at 10% off for new books!
Of course when you sell books to them they are going to turn around and sell it back for more money. How else would they manage to stay in business?
This place is truly a reader’s haven and with it’s dedicated staff it deserves a loyal customer base. Independent bookstores are closing all around the country, don’t let this one fade away.

Quite a remarkable place, not the least for the fact that despite its vast size, I really couldn’t find all that much dust. Everything is lovingly cared for. And the store is indeed vast, both in physical size, and scope. Quite a gem.

Every time I have been to Avol’s, I feel like I am in a time-​warp. Not because it’s like so «old-​style», but because their stock never changes. I go in and it’s like «Eh, nothing for me, thanks!». Then, I’d go back a few months later, and have this weird sense of déjà vu, because NOTHING CHANGES.
Back when the owner ALSO owned the sci-​fi bookstore on State st, the stock there never changed either. I assume if I still wanted to go pick up some of those 90’s dungeon master guides, they would still be mouldering away on the shelves of Avol’s.

Avol’s is a well organized, well stocked «old-​style» bookstore with a strong focus on literature. They offer a wide-​range of books, especially fiction and criticism, but also have a lot of history, art, science, science fiction, mysteries, kids books, books in many languages (German, French, Japanese, Chinese, … to name some). There’s many small rooms in this store so find one of the maps to locate where your interests are. I’m coming back when I’m in town again!

This is one of those special bookstores staffed by real live writers and that fact, rather than membership in any particular trade or professional association, is what lends a bookstore credibility.

A fantastic bookstore located right off State St. This is not your well-​organized Borders; Avol’s is a store meant to be explored.
For instance, on my last visit, I discovered a tiny backroom that contained a treasure trove of used sci-​fi. In other words, geek heaven.