An insta reel led me to Books for Life, and I'm so glad it did. Used bookstores are often…read moreoverwhelming. Books for life is not. It is organized in a very easy to identify way. I took my 12 year old, and she thought there was a small section appropriate for her, but for me... oh my gosh, I withheld because there were so many gems that I wanted to bring home but held back so that others could enjoy the selection, too. I'm talking hardcover, sprayed edges Onyx Storm for 10 dollars. How is that even possible??? Needless to say, we will absolutely be back, even with a 35 minute one way drive. Oh, it's in a totally nondescript warehouse space but is clearly branded. They also take trade ins, which I'm guessing is part of how they curate their selection. Lots on BOTM offerings. Go, just go. You will have zero regret, only new books.

My new favorite used book store. It's like the selection was catered specifically for me and my…read moredaughter. We will be back soon!

It's so refreshing to see a local bookstore that truly cares about its curation and being apart of…read morethe community. As stated on their website, "We take pride in being more than just a bookstore. We are a vibrant community hub, hosting events, book clubs, and providing personalized reading services that deepen your connection with stories and fellow book lovers. We believe that everyone can find themselves in the pages of a book, and we're here to help you on that journey." You can clearly see that mission reflected as you walk around the store. The book selection, displays, and merchandise all demonstrate thoughtful attention to detail. Everything is well organized, making it easy to browse, and the staff is knowledgeable and happy to help with finding the right selection or suggesting information about upcoming events. They also offered to order certain books to store if they were not on the shelf! In regard to community outreach, their social media pages clearly communicate upcoming events and highlight their wide variety of book clubs. I attended the Dark Romance Book Club and was please with how well the store facilitated the discussion, especially given the large size of the group. Coming in for the meeting, chairs had already been placed out in a circle for members to sit. The conversation was engaging and well organized with employees asking questions that had clearly been researched beforehand. My only complaint is that parking can be scarce during busy hours such as book club events, particularly after snowfall when available spaces are more limited. Overall, I love visiting this bookstore. It has a lovely charm and a makes a wonderful connection with its customers. It is an asset to our local community as a small hub. I look forward to seeing how their small business grows. I felt comfortable to ask followup questions - I love to talk!

Having just left a conversation about Spider-man with fellow teenager, Peter Parker, Mary Jane…read moreWatson, after reluctantly being made Homecoming Queen, is surprised to find her tempestuous best friend, Liz Allan, who deeply coveted that title, waiting for her in front of her home. "I decked Flash...He wouldn't shut up and, without even thinking, I balled up my fist and...Principal Gorbert chewed us out. Said we were a bunch of selfish brats. Said tonight was for everyone, and we ruined it." Moments later, with tears running down her eyes, Liz makes a startling confession. "I care about you so much. You're my best friend, my sister. I try to think of what my life would be like without you in it, and it makes me sick inside." Liz pauses. "Your popularity and success, it's all great. It's what you deserve. I should be happy for you, right? And, I mean, in a way, I am, but...I needed desperately to be Homecoming Queen. Not because I am trying to feel superior to anyone, or because I have it coming to me. I needed it so...so maybe I could stop feeling like...I hate you." Eventually, the panels of the fourth issue of Sean McKeever and Takeshi Miyazawa's Mary Jane: Homecoming miniseries end in complete silence--with the two lifelong friends each riding one of the adjacent swings Liz seized for them in elementary school, but the words that Liz spoke before are what spark the imagination and trigger empathy, regret, anger, and love. Sentences in the best-written novels, mysteries, fantasies, speculative histories, and gothic horror do that too; and there is no better place to discover new sequences of words that will linger in your memory than Queen Takes Book, located at 6955 Oakland Mills Road in Columbia, Maryland. There, the friendly service will welcome you as if to the sparking embers of a fireplace in which only your imaginations are lit.

Super cute book store that also offers a good cup of coffee to drink while reading your book! I…read morelove the antique witchy vibe of the place. As someone who is always on the lookout for witchy things, I loved spending time in the corner where they had a quaint apothecary, as well as a good amount of witchcraft books. I got a few spell oils and incense!

Old Fox Books is one of those low-key spots you almost don't want to tell people about because it's…read morethat good. Great place to grab a coffee, flip through some books, and just hang out for a bit. It's got a relaxed vibe. If you've got kids, it's an easy win; there's a small reading area inside and a patio with this cool little wooden playhouse that kept mine busy for a while. We ended up staying way longer than planned just chilling. Definitely a spot I'd come back to when I want something easy and laid-back.

What a charming new and used bookstore in fed hill. I've seen this store for years and years and…read morenever stopped in. But I was in the area checking out a new vintage store and thought I'd pop in. Retail is kind of dying in this area, but book escape was thriving. There were lots of people in there browsing and reading. There's a really cute back area with a mermaid mural and a reading nook. There's a lot of brand new books sold at 15% off, which are among the best sellers list. I thought in this economy - what a steal of a deal that is! The front desk is right around the front corner and the owner seemed nice. There's a huge selection of music in the corner and I thought that for a used bookstore, it was really well organized. It is a little clustered, but overall really bright and airy and lots of books!

I was out and about on a beautiful saturday afternoon and decided I wanted to read in the park,…read moreonly I forgot my kindle at home so I didnt have anything to read. Since I was nearby I thought id pop in and see if they had anything good to read. I ended up not only finding a book for the day but also a book ive been wanting to add to my collection! They have such a large variety of books and everything is laid out so well. Next time i go i plan on picking up a blind bag of books just to see what kind of wanders I find!

This quaint, little book store is a treasure trove packed not only with books but unique side…read moreitems. A perfect place to find one-of-a-kind tchotchkes for perfect gifts. Prices are extremely reasonable and there's the huge benefit of staff who are lovely and helpful. Check it out. You'll be glad you did!

This bookshop is so cute! I've been here twice, and there is a nice selection of various, unique…read moregoods with journals, bags, and other trinkets downstairs and majority of the books upstairs. In terms of books, there is a selection of both used and new books; the used books are reasonably priced to me because I got two used books under $20. The interior is so spunky with its cool decorations, and all of the books are well-organized and easy to find. Also, on both visits, the lady working there (I'm not sure if she's the same lady both times) was sweet! Overall, it's a cute bookstore, and I'd highly recommend visiting for unique goods and of course, books!

I love independent bookshops. As an avid reader and reviewer on social platforms, I love visiting…read moreand highlighting any that I go to. The issue I have with this shop is that it doesn't often have much I'd be looking for. In their popular fiction section, it's almost desolate for any current bestsellers which to be is weird. I read obscure horror books and didn't see much of that except in the YA section. I understand how hard it is to run a business, especially an independent bookshop. BUT.. I feel they need to bring someone in to bring the shop into current times and maybe get some new materials in. A social media presence would also be great to pull in new customers and those customers will bring suggestions. A small coffee area would be cool, a kids section with a few little bookshelves and couches would be awesome. I really don't want to see this shop go away and I'm hoping for an uptick soon!

Looked like a great store but after waiting 15 minutes for it to open we lost patience and left. We…read moredrove here specifically to shop at this bookstore which makes it extra annoying.

BLUF: Books, magazines, Paper Source products and a coffee bar…read more Visiting a Barnes and Noble takes me back to Saturday evenings in the late 90s. There was always something cozy about visiting B&N to sip coffee, flip through magazines and snicker at racy book covers. Now I visit B&N to shop their puzzles and to peruse the Paper Source collection. Yes, that's right, Paper Source is now sold at Barnes and Noble including one of my favorite brands - Rifle Paper Company. B&N also has one of the best brick-and-mortar puzzle collections around and in January they are buy one, get one 50%. On my recent visit to the Columbia Barnes & Noble I was poking around for a few things in particular and I found the staff to be very helpful. This particular store is located just outside the Mall in Columbia. It's detached from the main part of the mall but it's also not that far to walk between the mall and B&N.

Clean, well-organized Barnes & Noble with creative displays and easy-to-navigate sections…read more Everything felt thoughtfully put together, making it simple to find what I was looking for and fun to browse. Solid 4 stars.

This bookstore is awesome! When I went on a Friday afternoon recently, it was pretty calm and…read morequiet. Not too crowded which I liked as it can get pretty tight since there's many books and many shelves. Service was fine although I didn't really talk to many people while there (was more preoccupied with finding the books and checking them out). I'd say this place has great value as the books i got (3) were charged a total of just under $5. I can see why the staff put up flyers stating to be mindful with how many books the customers get as they're priced pretty low, allowing you to collect a decent amount. I'll definitely be back to check this place out again :)

Second Story Books is worth the drive or long Metro ride from Washington, D.C. Housed in a large…read morewarehouse within walking distance of the Twinbrook Metro station, Second Story Books houses over 500,000 used books on literally every topic. Want three aisles of kids books like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys? Go here. Need every book C.S. Lewis wrote? Stop by Second Story Books. After visiting nearby ZavaZone with our seven-year-old daughter, we stopped into Second Story for a few minutes, which easily turned into an hour. Every book is 50% off. We left with 15 books for just under $21. The books are well organized and maps help navigate visitors to each section, but know that the warehouse's narrow book aisles can get cramped. It adds to the appeal! There are even harder-to-find rooms with other items like posters for sale. They also sell CDs and DVDs. Staff are helpful. I lost my wallet and within an hour a staff member messaged me on Facebook letting me know they found it and it was safe at the checkout desk. If you have used books, Second Story Books buys them from people.

I ended up going to Second Story Books over a MLK Day weekend vacation in D.C…read more They had a 20% discount on books over the weekend so I felt I should take advantage of that and at least purchase a book which I did. Their selection and feel was good. Though, I was specifically looking for Agatha Christie books and was kind of stunned they really did not have any. Though they did humorously have some sort of John Grisham original collection for way too much money to the point that I have no idea who would love/care about Grisham to that extent. Anyway, I enjoyed the experience there, worth checking out while being in the popular area that is Dupont Circle, and still am using my Second Story Books bookmark.

I was so busy going through the books that the fact that they also sold antiques was lost on me…read more Their literary selection is fantastic and extremely well organized. I went in without expectations but left very happy with an unexpected book find at a very reasonable price. If I were local, this would be the first place I'd visit any time I was looking for a book.

Located in Silver Spring nestled in a cute home-turned-cafe! I lovvveee an Indy bookstore so this…read morewas a gem finding. Diego was super helpful and allowed me to take my time. He offered me coffee and gave me the history of the bookstore. He even took his time to grind me a bag of coffee!!! Not to mention Chardai personally reached out to me on status of book swag that I was looking for! That follow up and follow through really matters! Amazing staff! The book selection is phenomenal and even had the new Kennedy Ryan release available! The books are categorized by genre which makes it easy for shopping. They have vinyls for sale In the front of the store and in their back area. In the back is this super cute grandmas basement type setup with vintage couch seating, walls of crates of vinyls, a DJ booth AND a vinyl listening station that allows you to sample the vinyls. How cool is that?! They also have cute trinkets available such as stickers, greeting cards and pins. They even have one-of-a-kind coffee table books! And the coffee?!? WOW! A cup of coffee and your favorite book for less than $20?! Absolutely! And as you're walking out, check out the flyer at the back of the door as they have authors and other events posted! Outside has a small seating area and a clearance book section to check out. So go grab a book, a cup of coffee and enjoy a beautiful Maryland day at one their outside tables ( once it's warm lol) I can't wait to go back! Such a great bookstore!

I discovered Loyalty through bookstagram and the top lists for bookstores in the nation's capital…read more While this isn't the flagship store, it was certainly an experience! It's easy to visit a bookstore and find all the feature books to be by the same people: James Patterson, Colleen Hoover, and Taylor Jenkins Reid. That's great, but what about other authors and genres?? I saw not one of the previously mentioned books (and I loved it), but instead authors and titles I'd never heard of. I ended up purchasing two titles I knew nothing about. They say never judge books by the cover? Why not? If they're beautiful, then buy them. That's what I did, and I loved both books! The selection was incredible, and certain books had blurbs written by the staff to help with your decision-making. This store has so much to offer for a variety of audiences. Give it a try next time you're in Silver Spring.