- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Seaburn Books
Rating Details »
Category: Bookstores [Edit]
Neighborhood: Long Island City33-18 Broadway
Astoria, NY 11106
(718) 267-7929
- Nearest Transit:
-
Broadway (N, W)
Steinway St (G, R, V)
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
6 reviews for Seaburn Books
It's so sad on my part that I haven't been browsing this gem weekly. I've been a few times now and have made a promise to myself to stop in at least one per week. They are, after all, open until 8 p.m. on weekdays.
The selection of books is impressive, both new and used. New releases, classics, and obscure. Normally, I peruse http://amazon.com for used books - ranging in price from $.50 to $5. However, add $4 for shipping. At Seaburn, you can get used books that are in great shape for $4...and not have to wait for the shipping.
Yes, the store is a bit disorganized and disheveled, but that's at least half of the fun. The staff is very helpful and clearly takes great pride in their inventory. My roommate is a teacher and she has taken to stopping to buy books for her class library (4th grade). She was incredibly pleased at the titles she found today (as was I).
Drop by to see what I mean. You won't regret it. You can also feel great about supporting a local business while getting some cheap but great reads.
If you love that old book smell, and the feeling of getting lost for hours in an ADD adventure starting in an exploration of Metaphysics and ending with poetry, then Seaburn is a great place to find your used books.
The great thing about this used bookstore is that they sell both used and new books. I found a brand new Gulliver's travels and a used book on the industrial revolution in Europe. You can find plenty of interesting material to keep you occupied.
Today was my first visit to the interior of Seaburn Books, although I've been known to browse the outdoor bargain table on my way elsewhere. I'm thrilled.
First there was the long and epic story of going through all the bookshelves in our apartment and picking out the duds, the old textbooks complusively held onto through way too many apartment moves, and the never-going-to-read-again sci-fi novels. It was epic. And at the end of it, four enormous boxes of rejected books huddled in the corner of our apartment for a full ten months. But, lo, the holidays approached, and, desperate to get rid of the books without throwing any away, I called Seaburn. The staffer who answered the phone was really freindly, and didn't sound at all like he was rolling his eyes when I asked if they take used books, "a LOT of used books."
When I arrived a couple of hours later, another employee helped me through the door with my granny-cart o' books, then chatted to me about how they are the "book rescue" of Astoria, and he's been known to scoop books out of curbside boxes to make sure they don't end up in a landfill. Fabulous. It's so nice to see a small bookstore making it in a landscape full of Barnes and Nobles, so stop by soon, enjoy the friendly service, and paw through old and new books.
They're also really great about ordering books that they do *not* have in stock. You pay for the book, they pay for the shipping - the book usually arrives within a week from when you order it with them. Cheaper than amazon, and you get to support a nice local independent bookstore.
But yes, optimal for seriously aimless browsing too. The downstairs is insane. Great great sale books.
This place, as Chelsea said, is indeed cute. It's disorganized to an extent; right next to the Children's book section (if you call it a section) are photo books, but the thing is the column right next to the children's section is a profile photo book of 30 porn stars. NICE.
Anywho, so it's laid back and casually run; the man at the front, who presumably may own the store, is incredibly nice; his family helps out in the back. I'm not sure where they came up with the name Seaburn. Anywho, a lot of general stuff you'll find here, as well as some odd racks of random books and pocket romance novels that i was extremely tempted to get. It's cheap as any other bookstore for their used items.
They also sell random b-movie and tv episode dvds; there was one with Franco Columbo playing a undercover agent who does the nasty with some old flame and fights the baddies who have flushed him out of hiding. 1 dollar. I should have bought it. But I just got Wrong Turn 2 for free at work so I'll save it for another run.
The place is quite small; the front has a little more space but the back is a cluttered two row haven; the more messy it gets, the more cute it gets, because it's like, if you're just browsing, you feel at any moment you could find something oddly interesting. I was intrigued, for example, by the clinical neurology and anatomy and other used medical books in the back. Maybe it doesn't sound fascinating, but little moments like that are why Sunday early afternooons exist in Astoria.
This is a really cute independently owned bookstore, and when that's what you're looking for, this is perfect for it. The staff is very friendly and informed. It's a really cozy shop, and there are often good deals to be found, especially in their outdoor carts. There's a wide variety of genres for a store this size, too, with a lot to be found in children's literature. The problem with a place this small, though, as friendly and intimate as it may be is that they end up missing out on a lot of selection. You're not likely to find any more than three or four titles by even the most well-known authors. I wouldn't suggest going here if you're looking for a specific book for that reason. It is really nice to stop in and wander around and see what serendipity throws your way. I'd definitely suggest it to anyone in the area.
