Booksmart

Collector/​addict. I’m starting to see that there really isn’t much difference, no matter how socially acceptable it is. This is downstairs from Cheapo and the first stop on the landing is dollar books. Then more dollar books before you actually enter. The place is huge. What struck me is how nicely organized and how clean the place is for a bookstore. You actually notice the rug. Really wide aisles, you’re never cramped. They have carefully placed chairs available. They also have randomly placed books, that beg for you to pick them up, and check them out. In the mysteries, the HC and large print are just across the aisle from each other, so you aren’t running all over. There is also a spot for new arrivals for everyday of the week. Nice guy at the counter too. Another good reason to go Uptown.

Full disclosure: I used to work at two different Booksmart locations at least 10 years ago, but back then it was a mini-​chain that was part of the Cheapo music empire and had a different owner. Now it’s a solo independent bookstore and both locations I worked at are long long closed. So these days I’m just another customer.
The book buying part has been mostly covered in other reviews. I’m going to talk about selling books. I’ve sold books to a few used bookstores and I’ve always found Booksmart to be a decent place to sell to.
Selling books anywhere can be awkward. Suddenly you switch from being the customer who is always right to the clutz who is auditioning for the cheerleading team. Or maybe now it’s the literary club you want to get into. Hopefully both you and the store clerk try to make the best of it, but it is a role reversal and it can feel uncomfortable in the best of bookstores if you don’t know the basics.
So before you get all wounded and sad here’s some stuff to help you through the process:
1) Go in with the assumption that they won’t take anything and your next stop will be donating your books to a thrift store.
2) Ten cents on the dollar is a really good offer for many books. Expect less. I’ve sold some books for a nickel. After all the store is taking a risk. Even a good book may sit on the store shelf for a year before it sells and it may get marked down in that time.
3) The book buyer is not deciding if your book is good, well written, cool or worthy. They are not deciding if you are good, well written, cool or worthy.
4) Know your bookstore. What sells well varies by neighborhood and by store. The price they offer you is not based on the market value somewhere else in the country. It’s about how easily they can sell it to the kind of customers they already have.
5) Even if you know your bookstore you don’t know what sells like the buyers do. When I was a book buyer I had to really keep track of what was selling. Now that I’m just a customer I’m often mystified by what the buyers reject.
6) Booksmart wouldn’t be my choice for selling collectable books, but if you did bring in a first edition or something let them know up front. I usually take collectables to Magers and Quinn, but even there I have to tell them that it might be collectable so that they take a closer look.
7) Books that were «best sellers» aren’t a guaranteed sell. If 3 gajillion people bought the book, you can bet a few hundred people have already brought it in and tried to sell it.
8) If the buyer suspects your books have been rejected elsewhere they won’t really look at them. So don’t leave garage sale tags on books. Look to see if the last bookstore you sold at marked the box of books somehow. (Bookstores know each other’s rejection marks.) I’m not saying to schlep crappy books from store to store. That’s tacky. But if you honestly think a store might want a book that another place rejected don’t make yourself look bad.
9) Don’t feel bad if you end up coming home with more books than you entered with!

The selection here is like someone has taken the «to-​read» list that sits in my brain and created a bookstore around that list. On one trip, I picked up contemporary fiction (Jamaica Kincaid, Leslie Marmon Silko, Philip Roth) and other random amazing finds (The Giving Tree for $ 4). It’s a bit time consuming as you have to search the recent bins, but the best selection I’ve ever seen in a used bookstore.

I am all about independent bookstores, as I work at one, and I definitely love to find those rare gems you can occasionally discover in used bookstores…
But I’m just not a huge fan of the layout of this store, nor am I super crazy about the selection.
But I will say that I always end up finding good copies of excellent fiction for cheap, and for that, three stars.

Good place to pick up used books at the usual going rate of 50% off original price. Nice selection.
However, don’t bother bringing in books you’d like to sell. They will totally rip you off. Brought in a first edition, first printing, excellent condition copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. This book is selling for anywhere from $ 50 (fair condition) to $ 200 (mint condition) on several internet sites. The guy behind the counter picked it up, looked at the copyright page, set it down, put 6 paperbacks that we had also brought in on top of it and offered us $ 6.00 for all of them.
Now I know we’re in a recession and business may not be what is was, but I believe he was aware of what the book was and was blatantly trying to rip us off. Or, he is not «Book Smart» at all and should not be working there.
Not going back. Not even going to use their bookmarks anymore.

The quintessential small, hip, used book store! Their selections are well chosen and updated frequently. Come in to browse and you’ll be tempted to buy something you weren’t even looking for.
There’s also a small, hand-​picked new section with plenty of must-​reads.
And on the rare occasion that a visit disappoints, you can always walk a block to Magers and Quinn.

A very nice bookstore, with lots of used books too. I’m a little partial to Magers and Quinn — I’m not exactly sure why, perhaps the selection better suits my taste — but there are lots of interesting books here (on two levels) and friendly service. Would love to go back sometime!