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Category: Bookstores [Edit]
Neighborhood: Harvard SquareHarvard (Red)
Mon-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Hrmm, what does one do when one week they want to read the history of China, and the next week they want the Bespoke edition of the Sartorialists new book, never mind the days in between when a Salinger book or that really odd orange spined Alan Cummins novel in the used books section keeps calling you?
One goes here. By far my favorite bookstore in Boston, now before the purists attack me with bookmarks, I do dig Raven but I find that Harvard Bookstore not only has more of the things I'm into, there is a Star Wars pop-up book there for pete's sake, but if they don't have it, they have been the quickest at getting it for me.
And for when I have time, going through the used book basement is always worthwhile, and for the most part cheap.
Here is a list of the things I think make it stick out:
1. From their website I can see their employee picks, and do more on-line research to see if I would dig it before I even go in
2. The used books in the basement, everything from traveling to Salinger.
3. VERY quick at getting me special orders
And, yes I guess it has to be thrown in there, it's independently owned. Since Harvard Square is now owned by Barnes & Noble and McDonald's with a side of Starbucks (I actually love Starbucks), it's kind of nice to know this store is still kicking it on it's own.
You know, in all my years as an educated Asian, I never felt like Harvard and I would get along. While my overall dealings with Cambridge have generally confirmed this sentiment, I have to admit that the Harvard Book Store gave me pause.
The upper level is comprehensive, with a great selection of fiction. The real treasure, though, is the used book collection downstairs. This underground trove houses wall upon wall with shelf upon shelf of high quality gently read literature at pretty great prices. The store standards for buying used books must be quite high, because though I'm fairly anal about the condition of my books, almost everything I saw was up to snuff and I walked away with four titles (Possession! Strangers on a Train! Middlesex! The Master and Margarita!) after weeding out a few to keep my luggage reasonable. If I lived in Cambridge, I'd visit on at least a weekly basis. I've been to many used bookstores, and I can't think of a single other that has impressed me to the same degree.
The bookstore seems to put on good events as well, with frequent readings and the like. I imagine the Harvard name has a lot of draw for authors. As for me and you and everyone else, that beautiful basement of bargain books should be the only pull necessary.
I can't even tell you how much I love Harvard Book Store. But I'll try.
They have a choice selection of the best books! The good ones are not hidden amongst the mediocre/bad ones, they ARE the books there. As a result, it's sometimes hard to get out of there without making multiple purchases...
The staff do their own recommendations, and tell you a little about the books, which is nice when you're just browsing for something good to read. They actually do an exceptional job of making displays there, really picking out some exciting new books, making it a great shopping experience.
And then there's the downstairs...
Used books and the sort of surplus books discounted from publishers. They have a fair selection of foreign books, but not great. The used books are very well organized, and they are super picky about buying, so the selection is great. They're not inundated with low quality books (in fact, they have none!). So if you're coming to sell your books, be aware that they'll probably not buy many because they only buy the few they need. Also know that the buying hours are limited, so you may want to check before you head in unsuccessfully.
They also have a great selection of art books, social commentary, etc. A really diverse collection, and of the best quality.
Check it out for yourself and enjoy!
On a lovely evening after such a wonderful event me and my friend were just hanging in front of the bookstore. All of a sudden my friend points out, hey look at the little mouse in the window. As a girl walking by says oh my god its Little Stuart! (When I actually think she meant Stuart Little...) I ran over to take a picture of the cute little guy in the window but he ran quickly into a little crack. And then we notice one of the books on display in the front window is about mice. Go Figure!!!
He was the cutest little mouse ever but, just dont touch the books then touch your face...
I could tell from the window that they do that they have an awesome selection of new & used books.. so for being opened minded to furry friends and having a good variety of books, I give them 3 stars.
I love bookstores. Love them. In all shapes and sizes. The only thing I love more than a good bookstore, is a good used bookstore. This place has an amazing selection of used books and the price is always right.
All the books are not used, however. Some are 'remainders,' books they have too many copies of that didn't sell. Possibly better than the books, is the decor. They decorate the walls and columns (any blank space really) with items they find left inside re-sold books.
I went here for the first time today, and I was very impressed with this bookstore. It has a really great mix of used and new books, which I think is hard to find. It also has a library feel to it more than a bookstore I think.
I always end up going to the COOP instead of here, but I think I will have to add this to my list. My only concern is that I didn't see much seating to sit around and read, but I'll have to look for that more the next time I go.
I also enjoyed the cards throughout the store with suggested reading. That is something I really appreciate, and when they come from places like Barnes and Noble, you're kind of wondering if some 17 year old kid wrote the review and even knows what he's talking about. Since there were so many, and such a range, it's makes you feel like these people are really into all kinds of books.
Going to be stopping by more in the future!
This is my favorite bookstore in the whole of Boston. I love everything about it, from the friendly and knowledgeable staff to the wonderful author readings, to the extensive second-hand section they have in the basement. The staff at Harvard Book Store are passionate about books and it really shows. The last time I was there I was looking for a good English translation of Du Fu's poems. Imagine my delight when the woman in the store turned out to love Du Fu and recommended several books for me to refer to. I ended up buying a collection of Chinese poems instead, and have her to thank for introducing me to other poets like Li Bai,Yuan Mei and Bei Dao. I've also spent many an hour in their basement which has a wide selection of secondhand books.
The next time you buy a book please consider coming to Harvard Book Store instead of clicking through Amazon. If you look in the basement, it may even be cheaper that buying online.
When I moved to Cambridge 10 years ago, Harvard Book Store was the first book store that I stumbled upon. My unerring dumb luck. I thought the store had something to do with a certain university and would be stocked with textbooks, but downstairs I found a trove of used science fiction (my then genre of choice) as well as a kitschy nude art coffee table book for $5. Harvard Book store has been my book vendor of choice ever since.
Sure, it's cheaper to shop on Amazon, but the act of physically shopping for a book is pleasing. I like standing in the aisle, skimming the book spines and forcing you to squeeze past me with a mumbled apology. I like seeing what other readers are browsing and buying. I like the friendly people behind the counter who will sometimes compliment my selection when they check me out. Hey, I'm a reader. I don't get out much.
There's a discount card that if you spend $100, you get 20% off a future purchase. Plus, they buy paperbacks downstairs!
GREAT book store. Has a basement full of used books - for those thrifty shoppers. The variety surpasses any of the chain stores. Only thing lacking may be the stock, but variety far up-stands stock, so, I'm good.
They have free readings - for instance, I just attended a reading by poet laureate Rita Dove, which was MC-ed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. It was fascinating. The whole time I was thinking, "This is FREE!" I love it. It was true Cambridge style of event. There was a brief Q&A, plus book signing. I hung out a bit, just observing the people flowing freely and was amazed at the comfort level that Harvard Book Store provided.
I love books, particularly used books because I dislike paying retail for anything. Thus I love this store. The downstairs selection of used and remainder books is great. You can find a little bit of everything and oftentimes exactly what you're looking for down there. The history section alone is amazing but add to that the great biography/literary criticism section, great selection of fiction and so on and this is a great place to spend a few hours.
It's also nice to go in to a bookstore that is just that. They're not hawking DVDs and CDs and coffee in a lame attempt to remain relevant they just ARE relevant. Being a part of your community goes a long way in getting people in to your business to part with their money. They do their best to be involved and draw their crowds from this. Awesome.
They recently started a Twitter feed as well: http://twitter.com/har... which is a great resource to keep up on events and speakers in the store. It's nice to see a place harnessing new technology and using it to their advantage rather than ignoring it and hoping it will go away.
I hope they are around for years to come since there are ridiculous amounts of books that I still need to buy from them.
This is my absolute favorite independent bookstore. I haven't shopped at a chain since moving to Boston, and the only reason I can say that is because of the Harvard Book Store. I've done special orders with them, and it's incredibly convenient and easy. The staff is so helpful and friendly, but they don't linger too much - it's a bookstore, after all, and sometimes you just want to be left alone!
Tons of free readings, too, and a fantastic used/remaindered section downstairs. I've had so many great finds for cheap. The only downside is for serious book geeks like myself, it's almost impossible to leave without buying something - you'll definitely find something you can't live without!
while browsing through http://boltbus.com, i chanced upon a $1 nyc-bos fare deal. i have no idea what i would be doing in boston, but what the hey, it's only a buck!
and then i remembered that i was due for a visit to harvard book store, which is one of my favorite spots in boston. so i hopped on the boltbus and ended up spending an entire day at this bookstore. yes, an entire day.
i like the remainders section downstairs. was surprised to see philip roth for a buck (hmm.. there seems to be a $1 pattern here), too bad i already have a copy of "everyman". they don't have a very wide selection, in fact i noticed that their stock leans towards scholarly titles.
i also like the recommendations from the various book clubs that this bookstore hosts. staff is friendly and very helpful. and overall, i'm just happy to support an independent business.
great deal all around- from the bus fare to the books!
Although cramped and boasting the staircase from hell (a million people trying to go up and down one tiny stairway,) the Harvard Bookstore is your go-to place for knowledgeable book service. Just ask the staff, they can tell you anything about books. Especially the older guy... ask him a question, I guarantee he'll know what you're looking for.
The collections are a little cluttered, and they're hard to manuever, but overall this place is a good experience.
Much more personable than the "Coop," Harvard Book Store is your place to go if you're looking for a book in Harvard Square.
Coop, Schmoop. It's the Harvard Bookstore for me every time. They have a gorgeous number of books and I could spend hours here if my lunch break weren't so dern short. There's an incredibly thoughtful and vast selection of every genre.
Downstairs is where it's at, though. The used books and remainders selection is insane. I almost always find what I'm looking for and it's such a thrill to spend half the price. HBS also has a rewards card so once you spend $100 you get 20% off your next purchase of up to $200. Sweet!
I think the people who are disappointed by the Harvard Bookstore are missing out on a Yankee tradition-- rummaging.
Sure, the upstairs new books are expensive. But in the remainders, you can spend happy hours poring over titles and through dust jackets, carefully searching out books you never thought you'd find as cheap as they are, in as good condition.
Because when the Hahvahd kids return the books they (sort of) read for that Modernist American Literature course, you can score a barely-opened copy for the price of a dogeared wreck somewhere else.
Take your Seattle bookstore-cum-cafe-cum-organic market and shove it. You're in Boston-- Building 19, Filene's Basement, Harvard Bookstore remainder territory.
I own too many books. I have so many, in fact, that I've run out of places to keep them. They're in boxes piled in the back of my closet, stuffed two-deep in the bookshelves, stacked on the coffee table, the kitchen table, the bedside tables, and on every other flat surface. I'm going to have to move because I need a room specifically for books. (I'm not pretentious enough or rich enough to say I need a library.)
Some books I collect. Who doesn't need multiple copies of Baedekers from the eighteen-nineties and the nineteen-aughts, a complete set of autographed true first editions of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, or anything published prior to 1920 by the Paul Elder Press? Some books are for reference. Dictionaries of course, come to mind, and encyclopaediae, and reference materials specific to my profession and avocations.
Other books are the types of things that make me who I am. I will always buy antique travel books for Boston and Southern California, my two homes. I like American cultural histories and biographies, the occasional collection of poetry, and books on scientific topics I barely comprehend, although I keep trying. I have an almost palpable need for lurid science fiction paperbacks from the 1950s and 1960s. Junk novels, I mostly read once and pass along to friends or family. They are few, however, compared with the books I keep because I admire the author's writing or talent for telling a story--Updike or Lovecraft, for example.
I have no business buying any more books. There are times when I resolve not to buy so much as a magazine until I empty my bookshelves or move to a larger place but I cannot resist the siren call of Harvard Book Store. Interestingly, as long as I'm safely on the Boston side of the river, it holds no sway over me, but maybe once a month I'm in Harvard Square and no matter how I try to stay away, the Harvard Book Store beckons. I'm no different from the junkie who repeatedly forswears the needle or the pipe: In the face of temptation my resolve falters. My immediate gratification will lead ultimately to self-destruction.
I don't care that Harvard Book Store is independent. I go there because they have what I want--what I need--even though I'm frequently unsure of either until I see it. I ignore most of the first floor, except for the corner near the staircase. The first floor is mostly new releases and standard bookstore fare, the stuff you could get more cheaply at Border's or Barnes & Noble. Independence be damned! The money you save at the chains will allow you to stock up on discounted remainders at Harvard Book Store.
At Harvard Book Store, the crowds are fierce. It's not possible to keep out of one another's space nor should you try. Just push your way through, using elbows if necessary, mutter "excuse me" and don't make eye contact. Everyone else will do the same and they won't think less of you for your rudeness. You may glare scornfully at those who think the downstairs is for curling up in a corner and reading or for looking at pictures in the big coffee table books. The space is narrow and there's no room for lollygagging. Let those posers take up space in Starbucks at the Harvard Coop. The coffee table books are priced low enough to buy and take home. Let them do so and get out.
If not used wisely, Harvard Book Store will kill you but you will die sated.
this place tweaks out my inner claustrophobic. God forbid I walk in here with a backpack, and I feel like I am stuck in the middle of an awful 'drug haze sequence' from some B movie.
but when I take a few deep breaths and get out my masshole elbows, I really enjoy this place. truth be told, if they don't have it, I don't go elsewhere - I order it and wait. it's that cool of a place.
cheap remainders, good selection, cool staff
I feel smarter just walking into the Harvard Book store which is great, because most places I walk into in H sq make me feel more stupid. That is...Red line, or the CVS, or the adidas store (who pays 100 dollars for a track jacket?).
I feel even smarter when I walk past there every day and glance at the books on display. They're tend to be pretty thought provoking...take a second to read them next time.
I've always dreamed of having one of those weird moments in the bookstore where me and someone else both grasp for the same book at the same time and end up becoming fast friends over our similar literary tastes...I think that might happen some day at the Harvard Book Store.
My only neg is that its usually a little crowded for my tastes. I really wish other people didn't know all the cool places in H sq. Gah...wonder where they find out about them all ;)?
Pretty awesome bookstore when all is said and done. I think I would be in here a lot if I lived in the H Sq area. Their displays are always interesting (always end up buying something from them) and the used books are a deal, if you can stand sorting through them.
One complaint-ish: I went here last week to try to sell some books back, and they were quite selective about what they took back. Ok that was fine with me (and I actually got more per book than I expected). But I did find it somewhat annoying that they don't have really any way for you to donate books for the greater good. I know they're snooty and all, but would it really hurt anyone to have a bin for donations? When I asked what they'd do with the 75% of my books they did not take, they replied "dunno. dollar rack I guess". I was like...wha?
Prices are higher than Borders/BN on new books, and if you read my Borders review you'd know my view on this. I read alot therefore I need to save money on books.
When I need to indulge in some me time, little is as fulfilling as getting lost in these stacks. Late hours offer prime browsing time for the restless. And the staff are used to amblers, always happy to make suggestions or order if you're looking for a particular title.
Palming spines here makes me long for the days of college when our sole function was pour over words. Now I find myself reading for an escape, relishing the stories of others; member card adding up with fiction from the used bins in the basement. So exciting that when $100 hits, the next gem will be 20% off!
Independent and progressive, the ethos is sound. Stocking an impressive selection of academic books and offering talks by prominent writers from many disciplines (Dan Ariely & Neil Stephenson got me excited), you're certain to emerge with inspiration and a head full of ideas.
A real find. Everyone is very helpful. A lot of good reviews from employees. Wonderful to have around.
I love the Harvard Bookstore (not to be confused with the COOP), mostly for its great used books section downstairs. I could spend hours just browsing through, looking for good books. They are all in fine shape and are at least half off the regular cover price. New books upstairs are expensive (mostly because we're all used to insane deals at Amazon, etc), but they have a nice selection and a homey corner-bookstore atmosphere, which is hard to find these days.
Harvard Bookstore also has tons of fantastic author events for free or $5 (and you can use the ticket as a $5 coupon for any item in the store). Upcoming events are listed on their website. I've seen Paul Krugman, Madeline Albright, Muhammed Yunus, among others. They also deliver, sometimes on bikes!
They aren't my favorite independent book store, but they are an independent book store. I have to keep telling myself that, every time I see people traipsing around with the Harvard Book Store logo on a sweatshop-made tote bag. Or are there sewing machines in the back? Anyway. I really shouldn't write these reviews after I've been experimenting with hot toddy recipes.
The store has a nice used & remainder section downstairs, and good events. They sell out early, though, so check out their calendar online. Actually, check out the whole website: they do online ordering, and if you're local you can get green delivery. Or just come in and pick it up. Plenty of options. Just like with hot toddies.
The best part of Harvard Book Store is the downstairs--remainders and used books for days! I could spend hours there. The upstairs is great, too; the selection is huge and the staff are friendly and helpful. As an added bonus: When you shop here, you're supporting an independent business. :)
You know how sometimes bookstores and video stores have a wall that's like 'Recommended," or "Staff Favorites," or (in Harvard's case) "Book Club"? Those walls suck, and here's why: because if the book you're looking for is on that wall, then it's not wherever it ought to be. And it's not like it occurs to you to go check that wall because really, what are the odds? So you think the bookstore doesn't have that book, and you're all pissed off because you checked the bookstore's site and it said it had that book and now here you are and here it isn't.
And what if two out of three of the books you're looking for turn out to be on that wall? First off, that's a really weird coincidence especially because the books have nothing in common with each other other than they're about people who are dead, and second, now you feel like you're some kind of follower who just reads whatever the Harvard Bookstore tells you to read, like they're your own personal Oprah, and I'll tell you if there's one thing I don't need it's zebra-skin pants, but if there's two things then the fourth one is my own personal Oprah.
That said, they did have all three of the somewhat obscure books I wanted to buy, which makes the score Harvard Bookstore 3; Borders sucks.
I bought: Blue Latitudes, about a guy who retraces Captain Cook's voyages because that's fucking awesome; American Sphinx, a bio of Jefferson, no it sounds really lame to me too, it's for my wife; A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, a bio of the explorer William Dampier. I'm in an explorer phase with the reading.
So the Harvard Book Store doesn't always have the authors/books I want on the shelves. You know, they're easy enough to order and wait for, and the staff is always so friendly and great and mostly accommodating. Stores like this need attention by the masses and my 4-star review could potentially make people think twice about a visit here. I'd hate to have that kind of effect on people, especially since I adore the Harvard Book Store. The used section and remainders alone are the real reasons to drop by for a scan or two.
Okay, I'm officially adding a star to my original 4-star review.
Phew. I feel so much better now.
I love the Harvard Book Store...
It's worth the trip for the remainders alone.
They have a fairly…
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This place is part of the character of Harvard Square. It one of those bookstores that you can walk in and get lost in for hours. I always find time to wander in here if I'm in the area.
The fact that I met one of my dearest friends in front of this place is just a bonus.
I have a special place in my heart for the Harvard Bookstore.
This place reminds me of City Lights in San Francisco: locally beloved, but, by my impression, perplexingly overrated and irritatingly snotty. It's a largish bookstore with most of the bells and whistles that you would expect, but why would I shop here at list price when I can buy from Amazon for cheaper? Or at Barnes and Noble and save 10-40% with my membership card? I suppose you could argue in favor of the independent versus the corporate, but since I'm not local that doesn't hold water.
The store also has no restroom, which surprises me for their amount of square footage and number of customers that were here on a Sunday afternoon.
What saves this place from a two-star review is the basement full of used books and remainders. The used selection is extensive, but the books are in various conditions and the prices seem high. The remainders are cheaper (most around 60% off list) but there are fewer of them. However, like another recent reviewer noted, there were several titles in the remainders section that I actually would have purchased. In my case, I had already spent my allotment of extra luggage space in one fell swoop at Raven Used Books.
It's a big place, though you can't tell it from the outside. The whole downstairs is used books and they're all about half off the regular price from what I could tell. There's some like new books, but probably extra textbooks that never got sold, on a bunch of tables near the staircase that were relatively cheap - about five or six bucks. They even sell Harvard merchandise (shirts and hoodies) in a small section in the back of the first floor. And the rest of the space is filled with new books. The aisles are tight and I can see if it got crowded, it would be such a pain. And the downstairs is very musty but you can tell there's a lot of history down there. I like supporting local businesses and would come here again.
Of the ever decreasing number of reasons I find myself coming to Harvard Square these days, the Harvard Book Store is a reason to visit all its own.
About 5 years ago, the basement of this store was the first proper used book place I had ever been to. Worcester (where I grew up), specializes in such used items as cars and heroin needles; books are not one such commodity. So coming here, I was wowed. I could buy a book someone else has read, for at least half the original price and not have to deal with the faux snobbishness of Barnes & Noble? Yes, please.
Since moving out here, I have discovered other great used book stores around the city, but always head downstairs at the Harvard Bookstore, just to see what's in.
What I continue to be impressed with is their new book stacks on the ground floor. I can pretty much find anything here without spending too much time bumping into people reading. For example, a few months ago I was looking for a book I couldn't pinpoint into a single genre. It was "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs. This book could be an urban studies book, a sociology book, an architecture book, even an economics book. I looked around the city in vain for months and decided to look for it here.
So, I pulled up to one of their catalog search terminals and tried to use it. The screen looked like your typical library catalog search program, only circa 1989. Being an IT major, I was confident I'd get this machine to do what I wanted. None of the buttons did what I thought they would, so I gave in after 5 minutes of futile typing and read the posted instructions.
It only took 10 seconds to find what I was looking for after I read the instructions. The system found the book and it turns out they actually have a stack devoted to urban studies. Hooray! With that, I grabbed my book, waited in line briefly (there's always a line at the register here), dealt with the relatively pleasant cashier and was on my way. Perhaps, in the future, I should just come here first rather than spending 2 months in a seemingly endless paper chase.
I've loved this place for years!
Professional and knowledgeable staff, great author events and a great selection. Put it this way: In my WordsWorth days, some of us would be in the used book section on our breaks. Yeah. That's how great the Harvard is.
Hmm, I don't know what to make of this place.
As one of the last surviving independent bookstores in the area, I'm quick to support this place. They'll have my allegiance, even though their selection can be somewhat meager, especially in the science section.
Also, I'm never quite comfortable here - there's always someone hovering nearby, which, like the selection issue, is a direct result of small quarters.
Still, the staff is friendly and well versed, and the bargain bin never disappoints. I'll be back.
Excellent bookstore and great deals on overstocked editions.
A favorite of many local authors.
With over 100 reviews, I figure it's anecdote time.
My friend Era bought me Billy Corgan's book of poetry (yeahIknow) and it just so happened that same week Mr. Corgan was signing copies at the Harvard Book Store. So of course we skedaddled to the store where there was a HUGE line that night. While the cattle were being ushered into the store, we were told to keep our contact short and that he would only be signing the book. Sure. Lalala.
ME: Hi!
Mr. BC: Hello. ::takes book::
ME: I went to your Zwan concert a couple years ago. It was amazing.
Mr. BC: Uh.....
ME: It was at the Orpheum.
Mr. BC: Muhhhhhh.....
ME: In downtown Boston.
Mr. BC: Whaaaa.....
ME: Looks like a fancy theater/opera house...
Mr. BC: Was Coldplay there?
ME: No.
HBS Employee: Um.. there's a line..
Mr. BC: ::wiggles porn-stached mouth:: Errrrr.....
**3 minutes go by**
ME: There was a chick with a harp there.
Mr. BC: Children's Hour?
ME: I think so.
Mr. BC: Yeah I don't remember that concert.
ME: Kthxbye.
Not terribly exciting.. but pretty awkward. And Billy's teeth scare me.
Being the nerd I am, I always had this unbelievable dream wherein I'm standing within the confines of the most perfect book store, leaning up against a wall and taking in the first few chapters of a book I'd spotted and picked up just moments before. With each turn of the page, I'm drawn closer and closer in, and I'm finding it difficult to put my new treasure down. All is at peace around me in the book store, and I take sincere comfort in the fact that so many adventures await my eyes, my mind, and my soul. I finally draw myself away from my newest obsession long enough to gather some money together to buy the book, and while holding the book close to me, a hint of a smile escapes my lips, as I'm reminded of how beautiful new books can smell sometimes.
My love then appears in the dream, and I am startled. How long had he been there? And he looks at me lovingly and tells me he'd never seen me smile so beautifully before. And he carefully takes one of my hands, allowing my other hand to still clutch my book tightly, and he gives my other hand a little squeeze. And I think at this point in the dream, he asks me to marry him, and I'm sure if I was able to continue dreaming for days and days, we'd probably have wed in the book store.
I've been having this exact dream since I was about 16, and in all of my travels - and being a writer, lit major, and all around book nerd, I'd been to a hundred book stores without question - I had never found the book store that resembled the one in my dream.
Until, of course, I found the Harvard Book Store. I can get lost in there for hours. It's just that perfect.
There are three main reasons I have trouble walking by the Harvard Bookstore without ducking in, and then ultimately spending money (besides simply the whole it being a bookstore thing):
1.) The used books, stashed downstairs. Decent selection, decent prices, usually something tempting.
2.) Even more likely to end up coming home with me though is a selection from the remainders, also downstairs before the used shelves. They're stacked in piles with a some degree of organization by topic and style, but part of the beauty of browsing those tables is the randomness of the offerings and the odds of picking up something you might not have thought of, but which tempts you lying out there, slashed price sticker and all.
3.) The author readings/signings. They have some great ones, often at the Unitarian church at the other side of the Square (if there's a line there, odds are good that's what's going on). Tickets tend to be cheap, though the good ones tend to sell out. Sign up for the weekly email list if that's at all your thing.
I totally don't normally read. I don't think I could readily entertain myself in an average bookstore without going straight to the picture books.
This place is amazing. Anyone can find something by with to distract themselves for hours. Give yourself a few hours and just go.
Full of tourists, yes, but also full of nooks and crannies to sit and read. Try the top floor.
I very impressive small book store. Good variety in what they sell.
This is a fantastic bookstore for many reasons. One is that it is independent, the closest thing that Boston has to the holy grail of ginormous independent bookstores, Powell's. I say this because you can almost get lost in this bookstore due to sheer size and amount of books in both the new and used sections, and also because the scope of material available.
The Harvard Book Store gets five stars instead of four because it had "Last Exit to Brooklyn," a book that, shockingly, my other favorite independent bookstore in the greater Boston area did not. Please, if you are buying books in Cambridge, support this lovely bookstore instead of a heinous chain one. And if you are ever unsure of what book to read next, a problem I wish I had because it would mean less books cluttering my living space, the staff recommendations are usually terrific.
Dog friendly!!! Used and New book store located in Harvard Square. The staff is super friendly and very helpful! I bought a few used books on the racks outside a few weeks ago for $1 and then 20% off that price! They also have a wall of books selected by the staff that you can get an additional discount on. I especially loved the fact they allow dogs and even have dog biscuits for our furry friends.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Harvard Square
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Harvard Square
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Inman Square
Category: Bookstores
Neighborhood: Coolidge Corner
Category: Bookstores
Chronically early? Cheap? Bored? Check out…
When the sun goes down, I turn into a pumpkin. In…
Here's some great places to check out on a free…
Many pages, and many, many dollars later, I've…
where I like to buy (and sometimes sell or trade)…
So now I've been domesticated (and I dig it, as…
I have a love/hate relationship with the magical…
Why pay full price for a book when there are lots…
