Barnes & Noble

**** NOTE*** this is for the Cafe
Study place? Not so much. There are 2 outlets here (as far as I can see).
If you are not near one of the 2 outlets, forget working! However, there is free wifi. Do you want to get your 15 minute internet fix? Okay, here you go.

Okay, Okay. So were you here for the books?

There are two floors of books -- laid out in a neat style.
The people here are pretty nice and I've never been bothered while I perused the sections. They have a customer service desk and they seem friendly enough.

Why does this place get three stars not four?
Well..... The outlet problem. One star for each outlet and one for the great service! 1+1+1 = 3.

I'd give this place a 3.5 if I could -- I love Barnes and Nobles, but for my needs as of this moment (I want a place to study and grab a cup of joe with a lot of outlets) it doesn't fit in right now.

I am a Barnes & Noble addict. There is probably a group for us somewhere.

On an unfortunately regular basis, I attempt to "stop by" B&N only to find an hour passes while I'm not paying attention. This store is particulary distracting, as they have a huge selection, well-organized on two floors (the cafe is on a separate mezzanine level-- this confused me on my first trip). The cafe makes a good cup of coffee.

It's a good place to study because the WiFi is free, even if outlets are scarce. I usually have better luck finding a seat here than at the Starbucks a few storefronts down.

The sales associate was very helpful and when the book I wanted was not in stock, offered to find a copy for me at the Northgate store, and asked them to hold it. I like to come to pick up a book for last minute vacations, they have a very large cafe which is usually full of UW students studying. Prices not as good as Amazon, but the instant gratification of having the book immediately keeps me coming back.
Located within the U-Village, there is free parking everywhere.

Since some of my more recent reviews have been a little bit long, I'm offering the Cliff Notes version at the beginning of this one.

Things you may learn from this review:

1) Literature can be bought here (using the term loosely; I saw the Miley Cyrus biography here)
2) Guns and Ammo magazine isn't in the Healthy Living magazine section
3) I'm a guy

Now, the longer version:

Like you might expect, Barnes and Nobles has a wide variety of books. Typically, I order my books through Amazon because sometimes checking out with a copy of Mein Kampf and the latest issue of Guns and Ammo magazine raises awkward questions. But there are a couple of reasons to come here: if you don't like the three day wait to have books shipped to your house from SoDo (I wonder what the Kindle will do to this) and you can't find it at your local used bookstore, you can probably find it here. There's obviously a large selection of books as well as a vast section of periodicals. Books on tape, music and a nearly scandalous level of tacky calendars top off the inventory here. Also, did I mention they serve coffee here?

Plus I learned a useless fact or two here. When I walked up to the register (no line!), the patron before me had racked up a bill of over $1500. I couldn't help but ask what they were buying and was told it was from a local school. I didn't realize that some schools just bought books over the counter. Do they really just walk up with 150 copies of Catcher in the Rye? Actually, I was going to guess that the patron was either about to sail solo around the globe or was a felon getting ready to check in for a long prison sentence. My first choice was the felon, because after all, not every prison is as swank as Shawshank.

One downside. The staff is overly helpful here; to the point where it becomes intrusive and they become Helpstapo. From the cashier who put the hard sell on joining the Barnes and Noble book club to the sales clerk I had to brush off three times (!), it was a bit much. I realize that this may not be a downside for everyone. Some people like to have staff lurking over them, (over) eager to answer all questions. But I'm a guy. I could be wandering lost in the desert for weeks without water and I'd still rather continue to try and figure out how to make a compass out of a cactus than ask a passing Bedouin for directions.

Large bookstore in the University village that is seemingly always packed and busting at its seams. I typically head up the Mezzanine to their cafe area to work on my papers. Cookies are good IF you make sure they heat them up for you and couple them with a hot cup o joe. My major complaint is that there are hardly any electrical outlets to plug in laptops!! Dear Barnes and Noble manager, please install these outlets and you ll find much more happy patrons. Nice staff in cafe too by the way.

This is your typical Barnes & Noble megastore, but I mean that in a good way. Tons of selection and a good layout. The kid area up top was a total lifesaver in the early days when I struggled to find things to do with my little one that didn't cost an arm and a leg. They've got the train table, the story time area, and lots of space to spread out and read to your kid (read: kill time between naps on a rainy day).

On the more grown-up tip there are plenty of books here for all tastes, and the special event area on the 2nd floor (I think it's where about 1/2 the slowly shrinking CD/music store once was) is a nice touch even though I've never been to a reading/book signing. They've also got every magazine you could ever want.

There's a Starbucks-branded cafe on a mezzanine level which is a good place to get a quick drink/bite, but is always crazy busy and like most B&N starbucks, doesn't accept your Starbucks cards (annoying).

My only real complaint is that they need more of the computers around that help you locate the book you want (or at least a second help desk upstairs) and sometimes the lines for purchasing get long.

I feel generous today.

I love books. I love reading.
i love presents.
I hate being offered to be in their club.
Parking was nonexistent and then another building was added. I have a fold up car.

I love this Barnes & Noble. It is huge, with lots of places to sit, and a friendly, helpful staff. You can find these things at many locations. What makes this place different is the cafe.

I recently went to the cafe in the middle of a coffee crisis. The crisis was that I hadn't had any coffee.

Barista: What can I get started for you?
Me: I need a double shot americano. Immediately.
Barista: What size would you like?
Me: I don't even know!
Barista: So this is an emergency. How about a 12 ounce cup then, get the job done?
Me: Yes, please.
Barista: Flavor shot?
Me: No.
Barista: Room for-
Me: No.
Barista: I'm going to just make this myself for you, instead of putting it in the queue.
Me: I will marry you, if you would like.
Barista: Thanks! Maybe next time.

This woman saved my life.

After reading Rod's excellent review I must add my 2 cents worth of thoughts, though they may be worth considerably less. B&N is also my favorite of the soul-less chains but it has to do more with the service and services than the atmosphere. Injecting soul where none exists is difficult at best and there is obviously an interior decorating firm behind the scenes trying way too hard to make a big space cozy. I do like the writing and reference section upstairs, however, with the chairs that are easy to get into and hard to get out of and the library like silence in that section of the store. The injection of humanity back into the store really does come from the helpful, friendly staff who have just as obviously been thoroughly schooled in excellent customer service.

Recently, 5 pages away from the end of the 14th book of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series (Master and Commander) at 10:30 pm and realizing I had hours left to read that night I panicked at not having the rest of the 20 books. I called B&N, they had them in stock, got the books and left them at the cash register for me. 15 minutes later I was back home with my books. They will go to the trouble of hunting down books in their store and holding them for you for 3 days so you never have to go beyond 10 feet into the store if you'd rather not. I love this service.

While I'd have to say that more than half the time they don't have the books I'm looking for sometimes they surprise me. In the midst of writing an article I needed Lady Murasaki's Diary right then. The local library didn't have it - it's a little obscure to most folks - but B&N did. I also picked up one of their cute, little hardbound Collector's Library classics because it fit so nicely into my purse (AFTER I bought it) for lunchtime reading. The Brothers Karamazov. Later I realized it was ABRIDGED. Stay away from abridged.

The only reason I shop the brick and mortar store is when I need something RIGHT NOW and don't have the patience to wait for something to be shipped from their much cheaper online store. Or when I run out of Sudoku puzzles. Ok, that's often, and if you're like me, get their $25 Membership card. It really will save you money.

This is typical B&N and pretty close to my house. I've never been to a quiet B&N and I have to say that I don't really notice constant loud noise anyway, so hadn't considered it noisy until I started reading other reviews. The store is big with two floors and contains a children's area and music/DVD section. The selection appears pretty broad although I couldn't find a decent planner there. The have some other fun and useful items there, like bookends, laptdesks, moleskins, etc. I like Barnes for getting out of the house and perusing books (as opposed to searching, then you may want to call ahead), maybe getting a coffee, but wouldn't really attempt studying there.