This past weekend, my top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex and I had the great honor of…read moreparticipating (for the second year in a row) in the NJ Bookstore Crawl, one of the greatest events in all the lands. An absurd amount of planning/discussion went into this, but ultimately boiled down to just visiting the three participating bookstores in Sussex. Broad Street Books was my favorite of the three Sussex stops, simply because it had the most personality and options, which to me are the two central tenets of a successful bookstore. Honestly, I'm surprised every single bookstore doesn't focus on these aspects of the business model, but it is what it is. My chum and I got here within minutes of opening, a little after 10am on Saturday. There were a few other suspected Crawlers on the premises but given the location and time of day, this was unsurprisingly one of the quieter stops on the day's adventures. My chum actually dropped me off at the top of the Sussex Rail Branch Trail down the street a month and a half ago for training purposes, and I didn't have a clue that there was a real downtown area to Branchville a little further down - just on that basis alone, the crawl rocks. My chum lives a few minutes away and was familiar with this area and the bookstore, so we parked and got over there very easily. From the outside, the building looks like it used to house a bank but these days there are literally books all over it, including a tasteful display outside by the window. As soon as I walked inside, I got Strand vibes, which is pretty much the highest compliment I can give a bookstore - I went to college in Greenwich Village and the Strand was one of my favorite places to go; their $0.48 bin was the stuff of legends (which I hope they still have). But if you've been there before, it's disordered chaos showcasing an obvious love of literature, with literal stacks of books and so many options, both old and new. Same here. It's cluttered and looks like the basement library my dad had when I was growing up - awesome. As soon as you enter, there's a staircase to your right that's covered in books and isn't really accessible (which is fine, you're not there to climb to the second floor), and then tons of narrow labyrinthine passageways in several rooms for you to explore. THAT'S what bookstores should be about, at least in my opinion. In terms of the actual books, there's a lot of variety, both fiction and non. I tend to gravitate toward fiction, and - full disclosure - one of my toxic traits is that I judge books by their cover. So I had a lot to play with here and think about. The classics/older fiction section was abundant, but ultimately I went with the 2016 novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead because it won a Pulitzer and Obama said nice things about it on the cover. I haven't read it yet, but even if I end up massively disliking it, we don't blame the book purveyors for that. A pleasant purchase. The overall personality of Broad Street is interesting too, and it dovetails nicely with why I DO like indie bookstores and genuinely want to advocate for them, even though part of me has trouble justifying paying typically higher prices for the same product as, say, Amazon (which I know is heresy to utter). There's an interesting Lord of the Rings/fantasy theme that they really hit hard here, and my chum actually ended up winning a surprise door prize as the first purchase of the day, I believe an LOTR-themed paperweight, which she was enormously excited/proud about. Another big selling point for me - not every bookstore I've encountered in my two years on the Crawl really did too much beyond barebones participation/inclusion on the list, so I think it's cool these guys had some cool promotions and whatnot. Only constructive feedback? One of the owners was on the premises (which is a definitive positive in and of itself on what has to be one of the more important days now on the NJ bookstore calendar going forward) and had arguably a little TOO aggressive of a sales pitch. I would just respectfully suggest that you let the books do most of the selling - we're in there for the Crawl; don't worry, we're buying at least one book, and my chum bought more than that. Really awesome bookstore and I honestly don't know if I would have even known it existed without the event. Top marks for both. Get up here if you can.

Super used bookstore! The owner we met was so friendly and knowledgeable. Great selection and…read morereasonably priced. I purchased several books. We're from South Jersey and would love to visit again!

My top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex and I came here for Stop #2 of the 2nd Annual NJ…read moreBookstore Crawl (a 5-star extravaganza in and of itself) last Saturday morning. We hit up all three Sussex bookstores, and this was my chum's very clear favorite of the batch. I was a big fan too, even if ultimately it wasn't geared toward my literary demo. Our carefully planned itinerary suffered some issues with this one because Black Dog apparently moved fairly recently to more spacious accommodations further up 15. My chum frowned in confusion in a parking lot in the downtown Lafayette area for a few minutes before we got our bearings and retraced our steps north. I think that's on our Crawl Itinerary Expert but without context/knowledge of the move (which must have been at least KIND OF subtle since she lives within a few minutes of here and had no idea) an easy mistake to matter. No matter. Very easy to find once we had, you know, the actual address. And for the record, my chum said this was a HUGE upgrade over the prior location. All's well that ends well. I was REALLY hoping that someone took the name Black Dog Books literally, so it was an absolute delight to encounter a dark-tinted, wizened canine on the premises almost as soon as we walked in. Anya the chiweenie was a real trooper and an excellent addition to the festivities. I will say she's clearly an older pooch and didn't seem enormously thrilled by some of the younger human pups frantically taking selfies and whatnot (in my mild defense, I professionally took one tasteful photo and then gave her some space), but she handled it like a champ. I will say this for the record - every indie bookstore should have an accompanying canine chum. Apparently the Lambertville bookstore had a bloodhound, which is next level (massive FOMO but is what it is). But this was a good one. Thank you for your service, Anya. Unlike its literary counterpart in Branchville, Black Dog has much better lighting and much more space. It's no knock on them, but I just like the mild claustrophobia and overall personality that comes from having to get creative with the space you have and the massive amount of books to display. All due respect, this didn't feel as unique to me. I will say that out of the three bookstores we went to up here, Black Dog was the most enthusiastic about the Crawl, which is probably a huge reason my chum had the best experience here. They were giving away raffle prizes, naughtily had free wine(!) available before 11am and someone offering free fairy hair. I took her up on that generous offer but then belatedly realized it meant I had to stay still for more than five minutes. I just wasn't made to be an adult. My other slight issue with this bookstore (and again, this is me and I'm sure plenty of people have zero problem with it) is it just doesn't have the inventory that other places do - they leaned into presentation and more chairs and non-book products. And that's not necessarily a bad thing at all, but for me, it meant there was less overall space and options for the books I might potentially purchase. Also like a lot of bookstores in this day and age, a little too much chick lit for me; just not my thing. Very familiar with being a chick already; hashtag 1984 birth. The proprietors were VERY nice and accommodating. I didn't notice, but my chum said one of the employees was walking around giving customers recommendations based on their interests, which is a nice touch if welcome/slightly solicited. You felt good vibes throughout the store, which is important and should be a pre-requisite for any small business. (Truly love the Crawl for bringing stuff like this to my attention). Shameless judging books by their cover, I ended up purchasing Anthony Doerr's 2021 novel Cloud Cuckoo Land. Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but I selected this one because the design on the front was intriguing and it had stickers denoting it as a NY Times Notable Book and a National Book Award Finalist. We'll see if I agree with the powers that be. Pleasantly surprised at the abundant literary options up here in the Kingdom, and a solid stop on our adventures.

Great gem of a bookstore with the most helpful and engaged staff! Their selection of books and…read moregifts are top notch from a large used section, impressive new book features, classics, manga, sci-fi and a great romance section too plus the owner is a history PHD so her history section of the store is well done also. They also offer free coffee, tea and snacks which is quite a nice treat. Big plus is also the easy off street parking with a flat in handicap accessible entrance and bathroom. Highly recommend!

I visited The Book Trader a few days ago. What an experience!…read more First of all, they have every type of book imaginable. From cookbooks to sci fi, from fantasy to biographies, from adult romances to children's picture books! You could find books from the 1600s all the way until the 21st century. The Book Trader is exactly what its name says: it trades books. You can bring books, which they will give you store credit for and then you can buy books for cheaper than they would cost in a regular store. This was such a great idea, in my opinion. I traded in 2 books and bought one. Now, aside from being separated vaguely by genre and authors' works being mostly together, there is no other sorting system to this store. Books, as you can see in my pictures, are all over the place and it is very hard to walk around parts of the store. If you want a specific book...good luck! Also, make sure you have cash on you. The store only takes cash and checks.

Tons of used books available, and the owner was extremely helpful. Very reasonable pricing and they…read moreeven offer a trade back program (bring books you bought back for credit towards another purchase). We will definitely return when we finish reading what we picked up in this trip!

Another B&N trip to help promote my partners book for author signing time…read more We were set up right to the side of the entrance so made it very convenient to get people's attention. A lot of people wanted to help get her book into the school systems. As for the store itself, well marked and easy to navigate around.

Nice Barnes & Noble location…read more This is one of the "modern" versions and is a little smaller than other locations, but still big enough. With those modern versions, inside can seem like a maze and if you're used to the non-modern locations, it can take a little getting used to and knowing where you need to go. Everything was clean and well stocked. If you're going for movies, there's a very small selection for that. They also have CD's and of course vinyl. Of course they have the selection of books they always have and if something is not in the store, they can always order it for you. The employee who rang me out was very friendly and welcoming. This location shares the space with several other businesses and is part of a larger shopping area, which includes a Walmart. There is plenty of parking, though the overall parking lot is not the best designed. Overall a good location and one I'd return to if I'm in the area again.

Beware. You could spend a lot of time in here getting lost amongst shelf after shelf of used books…read more The staff greets you warmly from "the back" and allows you to browse. They have a great selection of books. Titles are well organized and in good condition. Madison is a cute town. Street parking is plentiful enough and free. There are several public lots behind the store fronts as well. It's worth a stop when in the area.

LOVED this bookstore, so many cool gems and the shop owner is friendly but not too pushy. I…read moreespecially liked the historical documents section, they have items from the 1800s which was so cool to see.

What a fun spot! There are sooooooo many books crammed into the shop you won't know where to look…read morefirst. Looks of vintage and retro stuff here as well as stuff from indie authors. Oh also a ton of kids books and comic books. If you're in the area it's a definite must stop.

I love a good used book store...and I seem to have helped develop the love of books in both my…read morekids-which makes me very happy. My daughter called me recently and told me about Ray & Judy's Book Stop and wanted to meet me there...how could a Dad say no? I found a parking spot about a block away (there is only local parking, though there's a small Quick Chek across the street) and made my way over to the store. As of this writing, the owner still asks that anyone coming into the store wear a mask (he's an older guy so just do as he asks...if you don't want to mask up just go somewhere else). This small bookstore is laid out pretty well and they have a great collection of books. They have a pretty large selection of science fiction and westerns (my guilty pleasures), but really a nice collection of everything. These days so many people use electronic readers, but still have a love of having an actual book in my hand. I walked away from the store with a few nice purchases and my daughter had a full bag. Owner was a really nice guy, prices are good, it's well organized and they have a nice selection...for someone like me that's all I can ask so I'll be back.

Great spot in a perfect little town. We need more places like this.read more

This shop is one of the last few independent bookshops and a treasure. It smells of books, is…read morequirky and unique, and has such a great energy. The owner and employees are so helpful and obviously love the Califon Main St. community and their patrons. A tip, there is a play space upstairs. Ask for a map of the gnome trail houses and be sure to look for gnomes in front and around the side of the store.