Holy amazing bookstore, Batman!! This place is huge and stacked with books both used and new. Plus, upstairs is a plant shop and a cafe. The prices are great, and I found a few books that are hard to find in your average bookstore. Moreover, their organization and categorization is perfect, it virtually brought me to tears. Lastly, the service is friendly and nice. If you're a book lover, just go! Enjoy! read more

Chapters Bookstore - Bookstores Near Me - Dublin, D

We had a goal to visit almost all bookstores in Dublin on our trip, and this one was our favorite stop. Prices are reasonable, and they have a wide selection of both new and used books. I could have stayed an entire afternoon browsing their shelves. read more

Chapters is one of Dublin's if not Ireland's biggest and best stocked Independent book shops. I could happily spend a few days lost in Chapters. Their recent move North of the river has allowed them to expand and display fully, the huge range of titles they stock. Although I miss the higgledepiggledy feel that the branch on Abbey street had , i'm really glad the place has moved to bigger premises and seems to going from strength to strength. Ground floor is all new (non-second hand) books and theres always titles going cheap. From Cult to classics, art & history you'll more then likely find it here. If not the staff are extremely helpful and scarily knowledgeable and will order in whatever you require. The cashier seemed really interested in the book I was buying as she'd never heard of the author. I know its a small thing but you don't get that online or in a lt of chair bookshops. Upstairs is secondhand, music and DVD's. They'll buy books as well,depending on the condition. Chapters also has a blog http://chaptersbookstoredublin.blogspot.com/ which is worth a look. read more

Chapters Bookstore - Bookstores Near Me - Dublin, D

Chapters is truly one of the great English-language bookstores in the world. It doesn't look like much from the street, but I wouldn't hesitate to put it up there with Powell's in Portland or the Strand in NYC. The used collection is really beyond extensive, it's overwhelming in size and depth. I usually head right upstairs for the used books first, then work my way down to the new books, again, it's astonishing in scope, and pick up whatever I've missed. The staff is utterly charming, although seriously knowledgeable. The books are very well organized and specific titles can be easily found. read more

Books and alcohol are my only real extravagances in life and when it comes to the former, Chapters is hands down my favourite place to buy. They have loads of space for the many many books in here. The staff are either the kind of wise old fellas who seem like they'd be the mentor in a coming of age teen drama, or the really attractive female slightly continental college students who read Bukowski and think Dan Brown is shite. The upstairs of Chapters houses some of the cheapest clearance books you'll ever see as well as tonnes of second-hand books. Which are perhaps my favourite things ever. Plus it's one of the cheapest places that sells comics in Dublin. Win. Win. Win. read more

They are so feckin nice in there - genuinely nice. It must be a great place to work because they all seem so down to earth, eclectic, in love with books and just chilled. Please be my friend? After much delay I got this month's book for the Yelp book club. "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." For more info on this monthly event just check it out in events. OK plug over. A superior bookstore staffed with smiling folks that just make you smile in return with your new story in hand. read more

Don't get me wrong, I love the selection here and the prices, they're honestly amazing. Unfortunately, as much as I love a browse in here, I cannot sing praise for the shop. This is because of the staff. I have had a few negative experiences here and brushed the first few off. However, I can no longer ignore them due to the snobby staff and their treatment of customers. When you are talked to by someone whose tone is indifferent and rude, you don't get a good impression. Obviously there are some very friendly staff and they are the redeeming feature of Chapters. I would love to see an improvement in the store as it is a great shop, but I would rather pay more somewhere else for friendlier service. read more

One of the things triggering my homesickness the most here in Dublin is the lack of good bookstores. Books are an integral part of my life since I learned to decipher the TV listing in search of "Captain Future" at the age of 4, and books, not TV listings, were my closest friends ever since. In fact, no matter which turn my life has taken, my books have always been a source of inspiration and stability and my first means of escape from this lowly earth. Since I moved to Dublin I was on a desperate search for decent "used books" stores (like I used to have in my home and university town of Tübingen). I first found "Hodges and Fidges" for new books, which was kind of "okay-ish" but lacked the charm and magic I was longing for. I would never have thought that an area as rotten as Parnell street would give my digitally wounded soul the fluid it was longing for. Yet I found here, at Chapters, everything I could wish for. The ground floor is a "normal" bookstore with new books and not a real reason to cross the gates to this realm of paper and literature. The true jewel is upstairs, where I found a mecca of old books from all categories. I even found a decent choice of used German, French and -behold!- Japanese books (the latter were very, very scarce I admit). The charms of Chapters used-books section are manyfold. The biggest one for me is the simple fact that I can get lost between all those shelves, the experience is the one I had as a child, when my father would take me to the town library every Saturday (while he was doing the grocery shopping), where I would discover for the first time the joy of losing myself, ending up with random choices of books I often could not digest but opened in front of me a world to discover. No teacher, no official advice guided me, only driven by my guts I digged deeper and deeper into this analog and offline internet of wisdom, trash and fantasy. I brought all my books with me to Ireland, so I currently don't need to buy books as I have years of reading still waiting for me in my own personal library. But whenever I long for a nostalgic-magical trip into this precious world, Chapters is the place for me - one of the last oasis in life where I don't think of my stupid smartphone any longer and forget that things like e-mail, twitter or even Yelp (sorry) even exist. read more

I have to say, this must be my favourite bookshop in town. Firstly it's HUGE (the largest independent bookstore in Ireland), and it's got sections for EVERY genre you can think of. I really love the fact that they have a mixture of new and secondhand. I will always go looking through the secondhand ones first as you can often find exactly what you're looking for there, for much cheaper. Speaking of price, it's definitely the best value amongst other stores in town. Most of all though, it's the staff. They are lovely. Helpful, friendly, and love what they do. It's a pleasure to shop here, and even to spend an hour or two reading and finding new / old favourites. read more

Who didn't know and love Chapters on Abbey Street? It was a powerhouse of knowledge and dust and more than the occasional spider. A children's section at the very back of the shop that was removed from everything from the main store. A decent, archaic/chaotic secondhand basement. Cheap books and movies and music. And on top of all this. It had an amazing building! But the times, they are a-changin'. And Chapters has evolved alongside Dublin. It has taken up residence on Parnell Street and become an impressive book-seller while maintaining some of it's previous charm. The building is new (and huge) and forms part of the regeneration project around Parnell/Moore/Jervis Street. The prices are still kept considerably low in comparison to other stores and the massive floor space means that they are very likely to already have what you're looking for. Much of the chaos is lost in the new shop - bright lighting and considerably more organised shelving makes the experience more shopper friendly. The children's section is still at the back of the shop, more as a result of neglect than a thought-out feature though. Chapters' true saving grace is in it's second floor. Nearly equaling the size of the ground floor, upstairs is dedicated to secondhand books and you can nearly always get what you're looking for there at half the price. read more

Very pleased with the -thorough- service provided via telephone by Chapters Bookstore! I couldn't find an academic book at the local bookstores. Chapters helped me find and order the correct version via the UK and promised to ship it immediately. I'll have the book in my hands within four days! They've got serious book knowledge! read more

Definitely a regular here! This place is a treasure- huge in size and selection, cheaper than Hodges, and just completely peaceful. I recommend starting off upstairs in the secondhand section for cheaper prices, especially if you're looking for a popular book. Along with books, Chapters sells DVDs, CDs, calendars, language guides, notebooks/stationery and even adorable literary-themed mugs. I could definitely search around for hours. I've even sold old textbooks here, and of course I chose store credit instead of cash. 5/5! read more

Chapters is an enormous bookshop on Parnell Street, set apart from the other book shops that populate the centre of town. Having heard many favourable things about it prior to now I was surprised by the lack of character that the huge space sadly afforded it. I think what it was striving for was an essentially contemporary setting in the midst of touches of old authenticity in acknowledgment to the classic prose and older books it stores downstairs. It sorrowfully fails to accomplish this in neither design nor ambience. The shop floor is so large it is difficult to track down what you are looking for, not helped by a strewn alphabetical regime that you follow only for it to come to the end on a certain bookshelf, the normal stratagem at this point being to go to the neighbouring shelf and continuing to follow it but within this store things aren't that regimented and so you are left tirelessly trying to seek out what you are looking for. With no endearing quality to the overall shop to compensate for this dire filing system I have not returned. read more

Warning! WARNING! If you like books or a broad range of subjects then stay away! :P I walk in here looking for one subject/book... look down stairs... another section catches my eye... browse there... make my way upstairs to the second-hand section... and repeat! (2 hours later I come out with 4 books.... after putting back 4) Great collection of the weirder books on any topic! And then there is the second-hand section... great deals to be had! (make sure you have a hour or set an alarm! read more

Ah, books are a very important part of my life, second only to coffee! Chapters might have lost some of its charm moving from Abbey Street to Parnell Street but it's still one of my favourite places to spend an hour or even a whole afternoon. It offers pretty much every genre you can think of from true crime to biographies including a decent selection of graphic novels and most of them are cheaper there than anywhere else in Dublin. There is also a large second-hand and clearance section upstairs where you can find a variety of books even cheaper! So if you're looking for a good book to read Chapters is the place to go- I'll probably be there as well ;) read more

Absolutely one of my favourite places in Dublin. While they're (justifiably) best known for their second hand section (which I am forever grateful for for FINALLY getting me a copy of The Honourable Schoolboy), the general section downstairs is nothing to be ignored either. It's got a very wide selection with many titles discounted, and every time I've gone looking for a book I've either found it, or they've been happy to order it for me. Every time I've ordered a book, it's arrived in only a couple of days. Definitely the kind of place you can get lost in for some time! read more

I heart Chapters Bookstore. One of my old flatmates took me there when I was on a mission to buy some good history books to send back to Canada (hello Christmas presents!), and it was love at first sight. I could easily spend hours just strolling all the sections. My two favorite - crime (I studied criminology) and the biography and history sections. Coming from Canada it was my point to learn everything in Irish history not taught in Canadian schools. To boot the staff is deadly. I could walk up to anyone there with a random request for suggestions, from "What is the best biography on Michael Collins" to "I'm going on a beach holiday and want something fun to read. But dark. And based on a true story with a fragment of fantasy involved..." and they would always give me great suggestions. My only regret was not buying a couple more biographies on my journeys on my last visit. read more

Excellent bookstore. Some of the staff needs more fiber in their diets. Or something. read more

Chapters is one of those places I have a love/hate relationship with. I love that I can go browse for ages and kill some time there, and sometimes find something interesting. They also seem to have so much more than Easons, especially when it comes to Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I hate that: - Whenever I do find something quirky that I want, it costs an arm and a leg. Last year bought something here as a pressie and then realised I'd have saved over 20 euros had I bought it online. 20?? Really?? Holy cow... - If browsing the used items, you have to look really carefully as the same book will have different prices, sometimes up to 2 euros difference! - When they have a "sale" table, they always have book 2,3 and maybe even 4 .. but never 1. Which means I have to either pay full whack for the first one (thats if they even have it) or buy them, go home and order the first one from Amazon :| I wish they had a place to sit with a coffee. If so, I'd be there every lunch time to kill some time. read more

To my mind, there are few greater joys in life than browsing through a shelf of second hand books. Second hand books have a lot more character than new books, are a lot more pleasing to look at and the smell... Oh God, the smell of old books. I think that there aren't enough decent bookshops in town, particularly on the northside, and as such Chapters is a treasure. Chapters do of course sell new books, but in terms of second hand books, they have a larger variety than anywhere else in Dublin. So if like me, you are taken to rummaging through second hand book shelves for reasons of economy or otherwise, Chapters should be your first stop. It's only drawback is that is in a part of town that you would not necessarily be in if you were shopping, but Chapters really is worth going out of your way for. read more

One more city, one more bookstore with a second-hand books section. Except here the bookstore is amazing: huge selection, especially in fiction and sci-fi, no duplicates to clutter the view, of course some that I really wanted and had to buy (tm). I stopped for a couple of hours and browsed. Outside, pouring street traffic and unrestricted rain made my stop even easier. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. read more

Chapters Bookstore - Visiting Chapters, an independent bookstore, beats visiting the Dublin Castle and the Trinity College (not the library). - Bookstores Near Me - Dublin, D

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I absolutely love Chapters! The old building on Abbey street certainly had more character, but the expanded stock makes up for that. And the second hand floor especially still has that completely disorganised feel to it. I always have difficulty finding anything there, but somehow that is part of the experience. True story: shortly after the new premises opened, I was walking past with a friend who happens to know the owner (by sight at least) through her job. He was standing across the road, looking at the shop, with a huge grin on his face and eating an ice cream sandwich. The staff in chapters are also great, very knowledgeable and patient. On more than one occasion have they taken their time helping me track down difficult to find, out of print books. One guy even checked amazon for me, and advised me just to order it from there as it would be cheaper. Additionally, it is an independent shop and locally owned, as opposed to the other big bookstores. Nothing but good things to say about this shop so, although I agree with one of the other reviewers that the one way to make it better would be to have a cafe on the premises. read more

Two of my BF4EVA's recently marked my birthday with a voucher for Chapters, which gave me a chance to have a browse around a shop I tend to pass more than I should. The second hand book section is a goldmine. I spot O'Brien's, O'Flaherty's, O' Casey's and all the O' classics you could want at excellent prices, and with glorious old covers. Downstairs, the staff are as helpful as they come. I leave with two new books, and delighted with my experience. When something couldn't be found on the computer the man behind the desk insisted on coming out from behind it as "I'm sure I saw one of them earlier" and true to his word he had. Great staff, great selection and one I should drop into more. I'd agree with an earlier review that noted the trade-in prices they offer are low, but if you all want to keep trading in I'm here to pick 'em up ;) read more

Chapters is as good as it gets in terms of Dublin book stores- the staff is always helpful and pretty darn competent- I haven't found anything obscure enough to trick them with yet. The layout makes sense, the stuff laid out for their sales is always a pretty sweet spread, and the prices, even for new and ordered stuff is competitive. plus you get that nice pretentious feel-good mood for supporting a local business. Another big-ups to the used section, which has always served me well. read more

I kinda wish in my previous review I had only given this place four stars, so I could have bumped them up to five. Anyway, why this new found need to sing the praises of this, my happy place, is because of the guy who bought my books today. As I sold all of my books from the second half of this term, we and I joked about how uplifting Irish drama and poetry is. We had a fantastic conversation about mid-century writers and dramatist. It was a little slice of heaven. read more

Chapters is my favourite bookshop in Dublin. There's everything here, from pulp fiction to huge glossy tomes on art history and architecture. Any book-o-phile (if that's a word) will not want to leave. Staff are knowledgeable and can always help you find what you want amongst the sometimes intimidating selection. Upstairs there's secondhand stuff, and I'm told they will also buy and trade books. If you're on the north side and have anywhere from ten minutes to four hours to kill, I can't recommend Chapters highly enough. read more

Chapters Bookstore - Image courtesy www.chapters.ie - Bookstores Near Me - Dublin, D

Very nice bookstore. The entire second floor is used books! It is as big as the Strand! I like how Irish writers are segregated from and given a prominent place, away from classic fiction and traditional fiction. You can see who is considered Irish by the native Irish. Even the new books are marked down. The only flaw is that it closes kinda early, like everything else in Dublin. read more

I will put this one down as the best bookshop on the northside, although winding chairs comes in as a close second. The bookshop has pretty much everything you can think of and will order what the volumes or tomes you will need outside. There is plenty of genres to explore and if you are in need of a bargain just check the upstairs second hands. Additionally they have the front of the bookstore loaded with must go or super cheap new books. It is also a nice place to go and find stationary things, both the regular and somewhat quirky. If you need books or stationary, this is a place to bookmark and keep in mind. read more

Chapters is my happy place. I think it is the best book shop in Ireland. It's so big, bring a packed lunch. They stock a wide range of both new and second hand books. Everything is reasonably priced. They have a great selection. They also stick great stationary and have great gifts for sale too. The staff are always very helpful. read more

Chapters is seriously one of my favourite bookstores of all time. First of all, it looks cute as hell with its little labyrinth of tall bookshelves. The staff is always really helpful and you know they are book LOVERS rather than just salespeople. But the BEST thing by far is upstairs: It's the part of the bookstore that has second hand books for lower prices. But instead of just hoarding different editions of Maeve Binchy and Twilight, you can find almost everything up there: academic texts, cookbooks, travel guides, classics and contemporary literature. There is one negative thing I have to mention about chapters though: I was never able to leave the store in under one hour... So if you just want to "pop in and have a gander"... brace yourself to come out by sunset with 10 pounds of books! read more

After the closure of the Borders-branch in the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, this is undisputedly the mother ship of all indepent and chain-less Dublin bookstores when it comes to size. On their premises, Chapters sells an extensive range of books, music and DVDs, both new and second hand, as well as thousands of bargain priced titles. They even have the whole second floor reserved for 2nd hand books, but this floor may get a bit messy, so if you're looking for a specific title I recommend the ground section (which has also loads of bargain books ready to grab). Besides the usual in-store events like readings and book signings Chapters also plays host to small shows, as seen during last year's HWCH-festival. And they are on Twitter (http://twitter.com/chaptersbooks) and have their own blog (http://chaptersbookstoredublin.blogspot.com/). read more

Great book store! Love the second hand section especially. Would recommend! I've found loads of treasures here that I couldn't find anywhere else. It's also very reasonably priced. I could get lost in there for hours. Can't wait for my next visit! read more

Good foreign language second-hand area upstairs, great place to spend a couple of hours browsing

Great selection of books at great prices. Some of the first-hand books are a steal as well as the second hand and it's big enough to pass an hour or two browsing. Good experience with staff too, very eager to help me find books they didn't stock. Thumbs up. read more

The bespectacled manager is beyond rude. As someone who has worked in the book business for years, it pains me to say it, but my experience at Chapters makes me root for Amazon. read more

Okay, let me start with the many positive things about Chapters by saying that this bookstore itself is 5 stars. The secondhand book section is a place I could lose myself in every day of my life if I had bottomless pockets. The selection is varied and wide. There's something for everyone and my favorite thing is that because they stock both old and new books, you're not only left with what's popular at the moment. Now. The negative. This is a very unfortunate negative, which I think is very sad because it takes away from the otherwise excellent standard in this store. There is one member of staff (everyone else I've dealt with in my many visits was fantastic and friendly) who is so completely rude and transparent, I now have to go out of my way to avoid him whenever I'm there. Just seeing him now makes my spirits drop. I've had to handle his attitude both in person and over the phone, and he's disgustingly hostile no matter what day I catch him on. I wish I could blame it on him being in a bad mood, but this behavior is too consistent to do so. The most laughable part of this is that when I've seen him dealing with other customers, he acts exactly the same way with fellow female shoppers, but suddenly brightens when a man approaches him. It makes me completely uncomfortable, and to be quite frank, it makes me sick that I and many others have to deal with this when shopping for books, which would usually be a very enjoyable experience. He is an older gentleman who wears glasses, and I do wonder if he either owns or has a high position in the company because he definitely has a superiority complex either way. It's a very big shame because that one negative person often drains the positivity out of every other aspect. Literally, every single other part of this store is perfect. The other staff members are lovely people, the books are wonderful, the size of the store is awe inspiring. It's just that one cranky man who puts a damper on everything, every time without fail. If you're planning a visit, I'd advise avoiding him and you should have a great time! read more

In the mid 1800's, a man whose name eludes me wrote a translation of The Histories by Herodotus and dedicated it to his good friend Mr William Gladstone. Since then several other, less impenetrable versions of the book have been released thus leading this older version to be shunned by modern bookstores. Not so in this glorious haven of a bookshop where ancient Greek or Roman storytellers are not hidden in the classics section but are given pride of place among modern day historians. This is a shop where the classics themselves are not obscured from view but given a place more prominent than general fiction and equal to that given to the graphic novel section. In short, this place has its priorities right! But that is not to say its all academic snobbery. It has everything! From martial arts to diaries; from gardening to world war two; from motor sport to law. It has everything a bookshop should have as well as a quite excellent second hand section (which according to their bookmark they give good money for). As I write I am trying think of a downside to give this review the appearance of being rounded and unbiased but to be honest, its just a damn fine shop. No coffee shop unlike Easons or Waterstones but you're just beside Henry Street so not too much of a difficulty there. On a final note the sales seem to be pretty good according to woman who bought shed loads of stuff for a euro per item (apparently if it wasn't on sale it wasn't a bargain...makes sense really). read more

The best bookshop in Dublin, a huge improvement on its days in Abbey Street, it has a huge range of books and always has fantastic bargains in new and used, on one or two occasions I've spent two hours perusing its shelves, can't fault it to be honest . read more

Chapters has some of the friendliest,most helpful staff in Dublin. Love shopping here, they always have what I need and usually spend hours just browsing as well! read more

The selection is great, pricing is ok, personnel is kind and friendly...most of the time. The opening hours, you should take with a pitch of salt, because if it says 6:30 and you show up at 6:20 you could run into an hombre, who slams the door in your face saying "we are closing". Arguments, that you need one book as a birthday gift, located in this section by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, stored under P for Pratchett and you know they have a hardcover, because you had in your hand won't get you through, because you know....customer service and you could make him have to stay maybe up to 6:32. Just for fun, I will time how long it will take me to get the book and pay for it. read more