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Wonder Book
Rating Details »
Category: Bookstores [Edit]
15976 Shady Grove RdGaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 977-9166
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- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
8 reviews for Wonder Book
found this place by accident (i'm rarely up in no mo co)
this is what a used book store (what's left of them) is supposed to be - all the way down to the deep, sweet, musty odor. lots of titles/subjects to choose from and in good condition.
now when you have to drop off that old t.v. and scrap metal at the recycling plant - you'll have a reason not to turn around right away and head home.
3 stars for selling/4 stars for buying
So I came in this afternoon to sell two huge boxes filled with books (mostly great condition ones) that I've gradually collected throughout my life. They offered me $5 for both boxes or $10 store credit. Which is kinda sad.
Oh well.
But they do have a very large selection of random, miscellaneous books neatly organized all throughout the store. It was fun browsing through it. You'd be surprised at the number of various paths to take throughout this tiny store.
Books are decently priced. Classics ranging from $2.95 and best sellers to $12.95, etc.
I could spend hours at this bookstore!!!! That being said, I could spend hours at ANY bookstore, but I would prefer that it be this one.
The first time I went, I was in heaven. I loved the way the store branched out and grew in all sorts of directions. It was such a wonderful surprise to turn a corner and find more to explore!
You never know what you'll stumble upon when you pay this store a visit, but I have never left with less than a handful of books that I cannot wait to read.
If you are in the area and in need of a good book to read, pay this store a visit, you will not be dissappointed.
I first discovered Book Alcove when I was in sophmore in high school. I was desperately in love with a guy who worked here, and I would go out of my way (I lived in Kensington at the time), to find ways to come up here. Unfortunately (for me), the guy was gay, so my little sophmore heart was quite broken. But my love affair with the Book Alcove never lessened.
Ever watch that movie Labrynth? That's how the Book Alcove is laid out. You start off in the kids section, two turns later you're in Sci-Fi, but when you turn around, you're in the Romance room, which turns into Horror past the little doorway (that you thought would take you to the bathroom), and somehow you end up staring at the most amazing gilded, leather bound, parchment collection of classic fairy tales - in German. The honeycomb of rooms is a treasure trove of gems.
I'm never quite sure what I love best about Book Alcove - the fun of wandering through the various rooms, or the great staff. They are all so funnily knowledgeable about random topics and never hesitate to offer their own (great) suggestions of what other books you may like.
If I could, I would move in! But since I can't, I'm hoping that my book collection can expand and expand and expand until my house resembles the Book Alcove.
I'd completely forgotten about the Book Alcove! Thank you Irena for finding it again for me.
The Book Alcove is located on the back side of a small strip mall, you definitely would never stumble across it unless you were looking for it in the first place. The storefront itself is a collection of smaller spaces, almost like wandering through a very old home that has had generations of additions added in random and haphazard ways. That all combines to create a wonderful browsing experience as the aisles twist every which way in a catacomb of old books. I too spend hours just flipping through books and taking in the dusty smell of old books that only a bibliophile could love.
When I was a kid I used to pray that I would find a corner of that dusty old store that led to Narnia, it's that kind of place.
I'm the only kid I know who used to get grounded for reading.
Sounds strange, I know. But you have to understand. From the time I was six years old, I read all the time. I read at the dinner table. I read on the toilet. I read when all the other kids were outside playing. I read with a flashlight under the covers after lights out. I just couldn't get enough. Other kids wanted toys for their birthday; I was happiest unwrapping piles of books.
Eventually school and work and adulthood caught up with me. I no longer have the time to spend every moment of my day lost in a novel. But, as evidenced by the hundreds of books lining the bookshelves of my condo, I haven't lost the passion for it.
Book Alcove allows me to indulge my literary cravings without breaking the bank. It's a little used book store that's bigger than it looks from the outside. It's hidden behind a beat up Gaithersburg strip mall, smells like old, dusty books, and is run by two guys who've yet to be asked about an author they haven't heard of.
I could spend hours there (and I have... no one ever wants to go with me anymore) digging through classics and modern literature and even newer novels that someone had decided to get rid of. I picked up my copy of Kite Runner there for $5, and the collected works of Jack London for $4. Sure, they won't have the selection Barnes & Noble has, but the things they do have are treasures at a very reasonable price.
My favorite part to browse is the antique books section. You MUST check it out. It is absolutely awesome to open a book printed in the 17th century and think about who might have read the same pages before you.
P.S. They also buy books (I believe until 3 PM.)
Since I was a little boy, this place has had my heart. I've found so many gems there I'd never find anywhere else. I recently bought an antiquarian book written at the turn of the century about sexual practices of the "savage" races, and what a find that was! I've also got a copy of "The Weaker Sex," which was once a legitimate social science book. The owners are also very friendly, so I hope they are around forever!
favorite bookstore as a child and ever. i grew up with this place. i used to love getting lost in the maze of shelves and ugly olive shag carpet. i hope this place never disappears, renovates, or changes anything (well except to sell some books)! i've found some lovely old gems here, including a full set of shakespeare's works that was printed in the 1800s, got it as a gift for my dad. i remember walking to this place in the summer, cutting across the farmland that is now king farm, ha ha! oh, moco. good times.
