- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Amaranth Books
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
828 Davis St(between Benson Ave & Sherman Ave)
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-2939
- Nearest Transit:
-
Davis (Purple Line)
Dempster (Purple Line)
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11 am - 5:30 pm
Sun 1 pm - 5 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
8 reviews for Amaranth Books
8 reviews in English
-
Review from Cole C.
Chicago, IL
4/16/2012
A great used bookstore. I had passed by this store many times, but it looked kind of small and I was afraid that it was more of a "rare book" store (i.e. out of my price range), but when I finally decided to check it out, I was pleasantly surprised; they've got a fantastic selection here. This is one bookstore that I can never go in without leaving with at least one book. For being a rather small store, they have an excellent, varied selection. The books are all in perfect or near perfect condition and very reasonably priced. I've picked up paperback books that were 50 years old but looked like they were new. They have older, more collectible titles, as well as newer paperbacks. There's also a great selection of books for under three dollars on the shelves by the door.
-
Review from Robert T.
Chicago, IL
3/6/2008
If you want to spend some time browsing in a quaint, charming store oozing with ambience, go to Bookman's Alley or Myopic (if you're a bit more of a hipster).
If you're looking for the store that actually has the best selection (pound for pound) of used books in the Chicago area, this is undoubtedly it. I love Bookman's and Myopic, but they always have the same books every time I go. Myopic's books are always in crap condition and Bookman's books are overpriced.
Amaranth only sells quality used books in good condition, and at a price that ensures a healthy turnover of stock.
I collect old books (mainly first edition fiction and early 20th Century illustrated books) and have been to every used book store in the Chicago area on numerous occasions. Amaranth is the only store where I always find something that I can't leave behind. The atmosphere may be a little antiseptic but the selection is worth it. -
Review from Maxx C.
Washington, DC
11/1/2009
Amaranth is pleasant; the owner not so much, but and at least he won't get in the way when you browse.
The stock is pretty good (very university town), and there are a couple of chairs scattered through the store, which make it unusually convenient to browse books before you decide to buy. -
Review from Lori M.
10/18/2008
Serious shit. Joe will find you what it is you seek, art, history, travel. The necessities of life. Amazing second hand in excellent condition at dirty prices (really Joe, I feel like I've cheated you sometimes when I leave having paid $2 for a gorgeous libro). Come hither smarties. I'm due for a visit as I'm dreaming of a luscious copy of le Decameron.
Listed in: buying my way to the grave
-
Review from M R.
Chicago, IL
12/12/2010
Cheapest bookstore I have ever seen. But also with the worst customer service.
-
Review from Elizabeth W.
Des Plaines, IL
6/8/2010
I've been to Amaranth a few times now, and each time I have been pleasantly surprised. I always see an old book and a new book I want within ten minutes of walking in the door, but to avoid blowing all my money on books and forcing myself onto a diet of instant ramen and kool-aid, that's my limit per trip--one old book, and one new book.
By "old," I mean one of many, many genuinely old books Amaranth has, in good conditions and for scandalous prices. I purchased a book of poetry published in 1920 for...drumroll...ten dollars. Not a torn page, not a dent in the cover, not a food spill to be found. I wouldn't call it mint condition, but it was in really great shape. On another visit, I found a book that was a little older, even, about the lyrebird. It just so happens that books about the lyrebird are not easy to come by, and I happen to love them. This book had photographs (black and white, but still), only one loose page, an embossed cover with no damage or flaking in the design, at a low, low price of $8.
Regarding new books, I picked up a Sherman Alexie novel for $8 and a mid-90's edition of Anais Nin's "Little Birds" for $4. Again, there are no tears or stains in these books. I have my eye on a Diane Arbus biography that was published a couple of years ago for my next visit, and maybe an old-style illuminated prayer book that looks very pre-Renaissance but is actually from the early '70's and comes in its own slide-out box.
You can't beat Amaranth for variety. They have books in several languages, a healthy little section of local history, books on travel, psychology, film, history, biography, and all manner of things, and mixed in with the old books are sometimes really unusual finds (like my book on the lyrebird). I was recently in with somebody who excitedly pulled something off a shelf, held it aloft, and exclaimed, "Ooh, Star Wars!" On another visit, I was all alone in the shop until a mother came in and found her favorite childhood book so that her little girl could enjoy it too. They might not have as many literary journals or last month's best-sellers like Myopic, but here's something that makes up that difference for me: as far as I can tell, if a book is damaged, it goes on the $1 shelf. I don't mean damaged as in, the binding is coming undone and ten pages are missing, because Amaranth doesn't sell books like that. I mean damaged as in, this is a somewhat new book that already looks a little old because of a scuffed cover or something like that. Other book stores will sell multiple copies of the same book, in varying conditions, at the same price. You won't be charged $18 for something that's in bad shape here. Instead, anything that's not in pretty good shape costs one measly dollar. Nice!
Of course, this policy means the owner has to be a little discriminating. He can't pay you top dollar for everything you bring in; the store would close if it became one big dollar shelf. Some people can't understand that and get irritated because they want to fund production of a motion picture from the sale of some old Steven King novels or something nutty like that. Don't worry about those people. If you're a customer and actually need help finding something, the owner is wonderful. For example, I asked him if he knew what Sherman Alexie books were in the store, because Alexie writes novels, short stories, drama, poetry, autobiography, and probably something else besides that I haven't discovered yet. If the man also wrote travelogues and horticultural guides, I wouldn't be surprised to find out about it. Anyhow, rather than letting me comb the whole store, the owner said, "I know for a fact we have one of his novels, right...HERE." He pulled it off the shelf for me and the way I was smiling, you could probably see every tooth in my mouth. In addition to being helpful, the owner has also been nothing but friendly to me.
I'd like to see a few more newer books, as in, from the past five years, but I'm happy going to Myopic for those, for now. I know I can always come to Amaranth and find a wonderful antique book, possibly on an esoteric subject, in great shape for a great price. Since I can go to Border's and pay only $2-$5 more for a new book than Myopic charges, the premium is really on good old books for me. I'm not trying to put Myopic down; I only want to distinguish between the various qualities and features of the different options available to book buyers.
Also, if there's a heaven and I go to it when I die, I hope it smells like Amaranth.Listed in: Wonderful with a Side of…, Get Lit!
-
Review from Sue S.
Chicago, IL
2/24/2010
I was walking in Evanston while waiting for a friend to finish their appointment. I thought I'd go to Borders, but only generally knew where it was. I was near the YMCA and turned east on Davis, a block north of the Y.
When I saw this bookstore, I decided to take a look. I spend about 2 1/2 hours there and ended up with 3 books. All the books I looked at were just about in pristine condition (they can't all be pristine, because they are "used). For sure their insides were.
There were some quite unusual Bibles, evidently not RARE, but unusual, such as beautiful Revised Standard Version in a handy size with black bonded leather and gilt edges, and a wonderful New Jerusalem Bible in a size that opens great for reading as it was wider than it was high. And so on.
And the store is clean, orderly, quiet, peaceful. I was left alone to browse, so I had time to carefully pick my books.
If you are looking for something on a used book website, you might also contact this bookstore to see if they have it first. If they do have it, you would get a book in great condition. -
Review from A H.
Waco, TX
4/22/2011
I absolutely love this bookstore! They have great, somewhat obscure books for really cheap. Some of the favorites I stumbled upon: an autographed Charlton Heston biography, a day-by-day account of the Texas Revolution, and a multi-volume biography of Jefferson Davis. Fantastic store; highly recommended!!
