Barnes & Noble Booksellers

Clean with a roomy basement. This place is perfect for a quick drink and a fast read. I feel like too many people just hang out here, which can make it unpleasant if you actually buy food. I often see babysitters and children flipping through the the magazines.
However, all in all it is pleasant place where I often shop. Every so often they get celebrity speakers which is always fun.
Pros: awesome selection, easy access location, open and airy
Cons: dinning area can be loud, over crowded and frustrating

I love this bookstore. I’m always here and I always bring my daughter here as well, but as I sit here eating my Breakfast at the Starbucks Café here inside the bookstore, I over hear the Starbucks manager scolding the barista about leaving something out that it’s a health violation in front of customers on the line she’s taking care of. I understand you want to keep the café up to standards but couldn’t you at least wait till there are no customers, pull the barista aside and speak to her privately and quietly instead of In front of customers with her loud voice like she did. It’s so unprofessional and unnecessary. You could totally see the embarrassed look on the barista’s face, I felt bad for her. If she’s a new employee or not have some consideration please. I wouldn’t want to work in an environment with a manager like that.

Normally I get a daily drink, the passion fruit iced tea lemon aid I went to get a refill (paid) and the lady (I use that term loosely), says «oh we can give you a refill but without the lemon aid» then proceeds to give me 4 Lemon packets and says «add these it will taste the same» like she was doing me a favor! I told her please add the lemon aid I’ll pay for it. Her reply… We can’t we don’t have a button for that. That woman, fat frog with glasses will never serve me again in the 5 years I’ve gone in there she had the worst customer service ever, thinking of never going back there, made me feel like I was begging, when I paid for it!

Purchased a bunch of gifts for my daughters birthday. I love this store! I love to go in just to hang out and look around.
Sometimes I like to have a piece of Cheesecake. I only do if I can find a seat. It really needs to be a policy that they put aside some tables just for people to eat! The store in mid-​town has separate seating only for café patrons. It won’t hurt to designate a few for eating only!
This store is huge. I remember when it was small around the corner on Lexington many moons ago. I sure hope they keep selling books! I hate to see the end of bookstores!
I’m a fan.

I haven’t been back in the upper east side neighborhood since 2006, but whatever has happened its a really nice change. I remember 86^th street Lexington being just snow, slush and run down. But i came here just yesterday to buy a notebook i found on barnes and noble online. But i needed it so badly i couldn’t wait to have it shipped so i checked if it was available in store. Low and behold it was! I came here and went upstairs boy did this place look magnificent! The minute you walk in you’re met by a security and two escalators. I went up the escalator to the bookstore. Looked for the stationary section, found it but didnt see the journal i was looking for. So i looked for a B&N worker, found him and he asked me if i had the number of the item. I gave the name of the item instead which was «Girls Just Want To Have Fun» by Ban. Do i love their notebook. It is so cute! So he found it in his database and led me back to the journal/​notebook section. But the item i needed wasnt by the journals it was by the i guess gift section on the side of shelf and not the back where all the other notebooks were. I absolutely love it. It is so cute, and the spiral of the notebook isnt too big so it won’t get caught easily in my bag on my keychain unlike my notebooks in the past. I love this notebook because it has a date on the top corner of each page so i can not only document what i need to do throughout the day. But also remind me to date my journal entires. This place is immaculate. I wish i had the time to look at more of their stuff. But I had other errands to run. It is quite big, a lot bigger and more spacious.

The majority of the employees at this store seem to be frustrated. I go to this store all the time because I live nearby. Although I love Barnes and Noble, the quality of customer service at this location is very poor compared to many other locations.
1. Coupons are general, but when read label, only works for few things after the fine print. At other locations, I had no trouble using coupons.
2. Holiday wrapping is very strict. If no one can help you, and you help yourself because it is encouraged, they ask for your receipt. If you take extra paper for previously bought merchandise they become aggressive. This really disappointed me, as I spend lots of money at Barnes and Noble yearly, and was scolded for taking a piece of wrapping paper.
3. Asked for information on a book, was told «This is not my section, the line is drawn from here to there» You can walk in that direction and you’ll find someone to help you.” This was in a very cocky attitude.
4. Never have had an issue at the café, generally very nice and accomodating.
And that’s all I wish to share. Please share if you had a similar experience. Our voices together will make the change. Maybe employees are underpaid or not given enough rest time??? Not sure.
Not sure why the employees at this location are so frustrated, but it definitely is not inviting.

Hey, you know those magazines you just looked at for 3 hours? You know, the ones that had those awesome makeup tips and recipes that you took pictures of with your phone? Yeah, that’s right! The ones you spilled coffee in and then didn’t buy. AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO PUT THEM AWAY!

I came to this Barnes&Nobles store because it had a huge collection of new books on sales (and the B&N store on Forest Hills closed for good). When I came inside I was welcome by the security guard by the main floor. I asked her where could I find the fantasy & science fiction books and she directed me tothe 2^nd floor.
On the second floor I was able the find the book selves of the Fantasy & Science fiction but couldn’t find the novel I’m looking for. Soon I asked an employee, who has a passion for Fantasy fiction, for help. He went on his computer to find the book I was searching for and then it was found. Afterwards we talked for a while about the latest authors and cool books on the market.

One of the better b & n

Can you have too many B&N’s? I mean, there IS another one only a block away on 86^th between 2^nd & 3^rd ave (and that one has a café, although I’ve never bought anything at the café).
On first glance, this branch looks pretty weak. The store is not very large, and the selection seems rather narrow. Yet I occasionally have found books (fiction and non-​fiction) here that have not been in stock at several other B&N branches that have a much higher volume of customers. The travel guides section is one of their relative strengths.
A plus is that the teen crowd that tends to camp out and chatter at B&N seems to avoid this branch — not sure if that’s because of the location or the fact that this branch is somewhat cramped.
Points off: I hate the security guard always seems to feel a special need to keep an eye on me.
And why do they have to close at 10pm instead of at 11?

while i like that this b&n is right near the 4÷5÷6 stop at 86^th street so i can always pop in there to kill time when i have something to do on the UES, it is a sad little b&n. tiny, no seating (unless you gingerly place your ass on the edge of the low baseboard heater in the front and get some vaguely disapproving glances from staff when you do so) and a strangely surly group at the check out. it is also really depressing for some reason. seems gloomy in there, gloomy and low-​ceiling, like a dungeon for paperbacks. generally, i’d say skip unless you are desperate for magazines or it’s hailing outside and you need to take shelter.

This location is horrible. It’s small and there’s stuff always all over the place and the staff is standing around talking. And each and everyday time I come in here there’s always some reason I can’t use the bathroom. Don’t they know that b & n is like starbucks the place you know you can always go to use the restroom.

I’m not sure I like this one as much, they don’t have a good collection of anything particular, just mainstream fiction and bestsellers, and an extensive but repetitive science fiction/​fantasy section. I did find what I was looking for though, i.e. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but I had to search for it… Can you believe it? Search for one of the most popular books ever. Ridiculous.

Today, Barnes & Noble drew first blood.
Literally.
Let me explain — despite all of my misgivings about crossing the threshold of this branch (considering my long-​standing feud with this company (See, e.g., #1 on my Shit List:
)), my friend was in search of some financial modeling books (???), so I dared enter its hellacious halls.
As I stood by the tea stand, checking out the caffeinated state of the white peach tea, I felt a little shift around my hip. Hrm. Okay. Kept reading the ingredients list.
THEN.
Out of NOWHERE.
I hear a sjhhhh as «The Balanced Mom: Raising Your Kids Without Losing Yourself» takes a nosedive towards my big toe. My newly pedicured big toe (See, immediately previous review). And, as thousands of dire predictions flash through my head, said book makes direct contact with my newly pedicured big toe.
My toe involuntarily rears back in reflex, and as I look down, I note (1) the newly pedicured big toenail is miraculously untouched, and…(2) there appears to be a little nick at the knuckle right underneath the nail.
And I’m thinking «Okay, not too bad… not toooooo bad…»
I then watch, horrified, as the «little nick» turns into a little red dot the size of a poppyseed… and then a sesame seed… until it reaches its pinnacle of a big angry-​looking red pencil eraser.
Like I said — first blood.
Completely steamed, I pick up the book and move to put it back on the «Mother’s Day books» table. And… hrm…where does this book go? It doesn’t match ANY of these books on the table.
Wait…
NO…
They COULDN’T have???
There, on the edge of the table, is a sliver of table visible. A SLIVER ABOUT THE SIZE OF 0.51 OF THE WIDTH OF THE BOOK. As in, yes, they literally were balancing «The Balanced Mom» on the edge of the table. What kind of GENIUS decides to do this?!
ONE freaking star (1) for injury-​inducing display decisions and (2) just for being FREAKING BARNES AND FREAKING NOBLE.

Better go to the one on 86^th between Third and Lex, just a block away. It’s bigger, has a children’s dept., (THIS ONE DOES NOT!) and has a caf.

I have always loved books. (See glasses perched on my nose.) I will always have a soft spot for Barnes & Noble because it is the bookstore of my childhood. (Pre-​Internet & Pre-​Amazon days.) The 86^th Street branch holds a special place in my nostalgic heart because it’s located in the neighborhood of my high school years.
The lighting, the logo, the décor. Classic. There is no substitute.
Bricks, mortar, books. Aisles & aisles of knowledge. What’s not to love?
Well, to be honest, a few things…
I like that the lighting is not too bright & glaring. However, it is a tad yellow, making the entire store seem a bit jaundiced.
There isn’t much seating. Or a café. My thirsty self was forced to sit on the thinly carpeted floor while I flipped through a magazine, waiting for a friend to meet up with me. Unfortunately, an overly friendly, almost homeless-​looking man came over to insist that we had spoken before. I refuted as politely & firmly as possible. Insistent, he returned to speak with me once more before finally leaving the store.
I’ll probably avoid this branch for a little while, but it’s not Barnes & Noble’s fault that I attract the delusional. If you don’t suffer from this problem, it’s a decent place to shop for books. I’d prefer a larger space, but they cover all the basics & keep the merchandise neat.
3 stars.
(Plus an invisible ½ a star for personal nostalgia.
Minus an invisible (Not BN’s fault) ½ a star for Mr. Overly Friendly.)