Really like the new location of Beat Book Shop! Stone walls, lots more space, and even more book treasures to find in this Pearl and Broadway bohemian basement. And if you have the time, sit for a moment and talk with the owner, a walking wealth of memories about writers--those who are still walking around on earth and the disembodied ones as well. Seriously, Thom is an interesting person to talk to. When touching the books remember to be gentle with them. Some are collector's items and no book benefits from improper bending back of the binding. And please do take the time to check out the Poetry Reading sponsored by the Beat Book Shop every Monday night at the Laughing Goat which is just about 5 blocks east on Pearl St. 8pm. read more

Literally the rudest store owner I've ever met. Do not go here. The store is disgusting and while he has some cool stuff definitely don't touch it. He will instantly yell about how stupid you are for not seeing the twenty tiny "please ask" sign. read more

I genuinely think the owner here likes making people uncomfortable based upon other reviews. Sharing my story today because I also just think it's too funny not to. A couple years ago I was in this store and saw a copy of King Kong on VHS. Asked owner price and he said "$10" at the the time I decide to pass it up. No sweat. Stopped in today and the same vhs is in the store. I was stoked! It was the same as couple years prior. No doubt about it and I asked him how much fully ready to get it, and he says "$20" not meaning any disrespect (especially considering it's second hand book store and the price wasn't marked AND it was $10 a couple years ago) I asked if he would take $10 and the dude goes into rant mode. He starts in on me and straight up was trying to make me feel stupid for asking. It got to the point where he wouldn't drop it and made me and my fiancé very uncomfortable. I keep trying to diffuse it as well by saying "okay no problem" but he persisted. Finally as I was leaving he shouts at me asking where I found this item in his own store because he wanted to reshelve it. Was worried it was just me but after seeing these other reviews I know this dude just sleeps with a stick up his butt. Shop somewhere else for second hand!! read more

I picked up a book in a section I didn't know I wasn't supposed to and got scolded. I would have bought that book but was treated so poorly. Don't shop here it's not worth being treated so poorly. read more

The owner, Tom Peters, looks like John Barrymore. He is a genius who has authored many poetry books. His store is still here while others have blown away with the leaves of yesterday. Reveal: He is a close personal friend who talked me into attending the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University where I had the great privilege of studying with Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman and Jack Collom, Among others. His sometimes rudeness, I believe, springs from his passionate love of books and records. He is more knowledgeable about literature and music than anyone I have ever met. He is like a stern Shepherd of the contents of his incredible store. Over a twenty-year period, he has yelled at me on several occasions when he thought I was mishandling books. While he can sometimes frustrate, like the old Teddy Bears song written by Phil Specter (who defined rude and crazy), to know him is to love him. Doug Thorburn read more

Excited to find this little gem today. Good books, reasonable prices and friendly/interesting owner.

The owner SUCKS. Three of us went in just to look and my friend wanted two books. They were tiny books and each were $10, which I guess is fine but my friend changed her mind on one. Owner got super defensive and said that because it was a 60 year old book, it deserves to be more than he was offering. He started raising his voice and getting super aggressive. We immediately left without buying anything and definitely should not get any business. read more

Felt pressured to purchase. Super pretentious owner. His prices are super high for what it is.

Wonderful used and antique book selection, and super records as well. The guy that works here could not have been nicer or more helpful. Highly recommend if you're walking around Pearl Street! read more

The Beat Book Shop is sort of a landmark in Boulder. It's a small shop owned by a tall handsome eccentric who, when he was younger, was friends with Allen Ginsberg and his crowd and Jack Kerouac's and Neal Cassady's relatives who have been photographed in the store, as have many poets. Patti Smith loves the place, I saw her photo. The owner Thomas is there every day, and also holds poetry readings in Boulder. If you don't dig the atmosphere and manhandle the books you might hurt his feelings, but if you get to know him you'll find he is fascinating. He spent time in Hollywood acting and being with his punk rock musician friends but his first love seems to be poetry books! read more

If you are in Boulder, do yourself a favor and stop into this lovely book shop. There is a wonderful energy and eclectic selection, you couldn't escape into a better shopping experience. A truly cherished Boulder treasure. It is a must do if you come to town. read more

We walked in because were looking at some book shops. Saw him (the person working who I assume to be the owner and manager. Tall man kinda really ugly and looks like a rat who "beat"s his wife) on the phone being a total ass hole to some Comcast employee but when we realized all his store was just grossly overpriced garbage/stuff he has been hoarding since 1983 we decided to leave. He pointed to us and at the records and told us to put it back the way we found it. We were literally just flipping through records like you do with pages of a book looking at them. He was rude. After putting them back to be nice he yelled at us again and told us to do it again at which point I said that since he cares about our business he should put them back to how they were. I explained to him why he was being a rude hypocrite, threatening the employee on the phone to find a new ISP because "Comcast doesn't care about his business" yet turns around 5 seconds later and yells at us, complete strangers who came in looking to buy some records for the new turn table we got for x-mas. Normally I support small businesses and I am literally so nice to everyone but this guy is something else. Please spend your money at a small business that has an owner who understands the world doesn't revolve around them. I hope he goes out of business and idk how he still is because there are literally YEARS of reviews talking about how horrible the owner/worker is. read more

I have been wanting to come into this bookshop for a while, but have not been able to come in due to the odd shop hours and me not being a night person. I finally made it in during the opening hour and was able to parooze the selection. The shop owner has a great selection of records and vintage and rare books. The prices are what you expect of a used book shop. There is a $12 debit/credit card limit, so I ended up paying an extra dollar for my book so that I could use my debit card (no big deal in all honesty). The shop owner has a unique personality that not everyone would mesh with, but to me he was friendly and helpful. read more

One of the worst experiences I have ever had in any store. The pretentious ass of an owner seems bound and determined to run off any potential patrons by hovering over them and making them feel incompetent and unwanted. He's very shifty and paranoid about anyone who dares to enter his store. His merchandise is largely old, used, and mediocre. I do not recommend!! read more

Excellent selection and knowledgeable employees who provide insightful and thorough information on what I was looking for, and even more to the stories I was interested in. I left with a prized poster (which I didn't even know existed) of a favorite author of mine which was only brought to my attention after the employee was able to find and show it to me. Large selection of hard to find vinyl. Like a chaotic encyclopedia, there are items from past and current American culture everywhere throughout the store which can be a bit overwhelming and the atmosphere can be a bit intimidating. read more

Not impressed! They do not pay their bills. We have tried many times to get payment and they have not responded.

I've never encountered someone who is as knowledgeable of their product as the owner of Beat Book Store. His passion explains why he was able to open A store around his collection of literature 27 years ago and thrive ever since. I implore any visitor or local to stop by for an intelligent conversation and an unmatched recommendation of your next literary conquest. read more

A great place to find quality used poetry and prose, as well as vinyl. Owner Tom is a wonderful source of knowledge about writers of all eras. The shop is a mainstay in the ever-changing Boulder scene, and a must when I'm in town. read more

You either like the owner because you find him interesting or for all of the people that gave Tom & Beat Book Store a 1 star (only because you have to write a review) he is as condescending and rude to vendors as he is to customers and he does not pay his bills!! The owner is certainly not an ethical person and when I read how he treats customers who want to buy from him, I now understand why we have had a nightmare of a time collecting $50! read more

I was hanging out with some of my friends and we are into vinyl records and we figured we would check out this shop as we had never visited the shop and had some money to spare. As we enter the shop the owner is sitting right next to the vinyl records which makes the section hard to move through but whatever. He tries to make small talk as soon as we enter interrupting a conversation but whatever, it's his shop and he wants to be nice to his customers right? Well as soon as we start looking through the records we see they're extremely overpriced. He had an original pressing of the Doors 13 for $70.00 that I got at a shop for $10.00 and they were in relatively the same condition. No record in his store was under $19.99 from what I saw. I was showing my friend a sealed copy of Ace Of Spades by Motorhead that he had for $30.00 and mentioned that I'd seen it go for cheaper, even sealed and he interrupted me mid-sentence saying "No, this is worth $30.00. This is the suggested retail price on it and it is brand new. You should pay $30.00 for it." I give my friend an awkward glance because this made me a bit uncomfortable but oh well, I continue to look and find nothing that I would buy for the prices he has listed. He interrupted us a few more times and we decide to leave and as we're leaving he sees an asian woman and asks her if she understands a sign she's reading. She replies "Yes, I understand English." He then keeps asking if she speaks English and understands until we can't hear him anymore. The owner of this shop has no understanding of customer service and I'm surprised he's still open from what I've seen. If you want a record shop in boulder I'd recommend Bart's Record Shop and Albums On The Hill. If you want a book store I'd recommend Boulder Book Store which is on Pearl Street. read more

I went in to the Beat books shop and immediately the owner honed in on me, he asks if I need help with anything and I said no. A minute later I pick up a Beatles anthology and a few seconds later he is on me telling me to be careful with the dust cover and that it is a first print edition and then to he asks if my hands are dry! I put the book up leave and felt insulted by his behavior. I understand the need for clean hands and gentle care with books, but if this anthology means so much to you then place it behind a glass case like most other book stores with rare books. You are setting up yourself up for failure if you leave rare books out in the open, or at the very least state what you don't want to happen and print out things like no food or be gentle with the books. Doing this gives the customer a good idea of what to expect right out of the gate and if they chose to come in know they have to go by these rules, don't bum rush me ( owner bumped into the lady to get to me holding the Beatles anthology ) like some hopped up junkie on speed, I get it these books are rare but don't act rude or insulting to your customers. Finally the vinyl was lacking and compared to other record stores overpriced. I will never come back and never recommend this store to anybody. Be like the Beatles man and get some Help! read more