As a nearby resident, I am at the Book Barn at least half a dozen times per year. I always find the…read morevolunteers to be both pleasant and helpful. I always find multiple books to buy: $2 for paperbacks, $3 for hard cover--can't beat that! After my honey and I have read a book, we donate them back to the Book Barn--saves piling up and they can give the additional money to local charities when these books are sold again! I am also a Shakespeare aficionado and have always found copies of the next play that my senior center's Shakespeare Group is studying!

I am a sucker for old buildings and books, so when The Book Barn popped up on my Instagram feed, I…read moreknew I had to make the trip. Walking into a centuries-old barn with books stacked from floor to ceiling feels like stepping into another era. Prices are incredibly reasonable, and if you wander all the way to the back, you'll discover a clothing shop and a room full of housewares. I found shelves of delicate china and vintage dinnerware at prices that made me do a double take. My only real complaint is that Saturday mornings are busy. Because everything is donated, this isn't the place to hunt for the newest bestseller. It's where you come for the experience, the possibility of stumbling across something unexpected, and the thrill of finding a great deal on a forgotten gem. I have a feeling this place is going to be even more magical in the fall. I'll definitely be back.

What a cool bookstore! They had a great selection, prices were fair and the owner was very nice and…read morehelpful. It's a bit hard to get to, GPS doesn't take you to the correct building but if you follow the road all the way down to the dead end, you'll find it!

A great used bookstore and you can find some amazing books here. I often come here to buy science…read moreand philosophy books.

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 I…read moreespecially liked the historical documents section, they have items from the 1800s which was so cool to see.

great. selections very cheap. helpful owner. ill. definitely be going back. and…read moreback

Finally decided to stop here after driving by the sign for "Books" for literally years. The store…read moredoesn't appear to be very large from the outside, but, you may find yourself slightly overwhelmed once you walk in. The books are practically floor to ceiling in some areas with many of the shelves being two stacks deep. Books are organized by genre and first letter of author's last name. Genres range from Mystery and Romance to Classics and End Table books. There is also a room full of children's books and a decent selection for young adults. I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of the store. It is relaxed and fairly quiet. No one comes up to ask what you're looking for (although you can ask for specific titles/authors if you need) or eyes you while you're digging through the stacks trying to find exactly what you want. There are several step stools around to help you reach the highest shelves and be sure to grab a shopping basket at the entrance, as you'll likely need one. Remember, all of these books are used and come in varying conditions. All of the books that I purchased were in good to excellent condition. For the price of $3 per book, you can't beat it. He even accepts trade-ins, which then brings the price down to $2 per book, if I understood correctly. He accepts cash and credit. I have no complaints at all and will definitely be going back to gauge how often the stock changes. Thankful to have a used bookstore nearby. What I spent today on 12 books wouldn't have even gotten me 3 at Barnes & Noble.

Been to this place twice and each time had a smooth experience selling some of my collection and…read morepicking up some new blurays/4ks for some really great prices imo, my only gripe is that it's a little far away from me but it's definitely worth the drive

Everything Had lots of great stuff. I will always recommend…read morestation 1 to everyone I know they are very friendly too...

I could get used to a place like this, which sadly exist only 30+ miles from my home. But on a work…read moretrip, finding a great used bookstore with both vinyl and new books too, and a really friendly and helpful staff, is absolutely perfect and makes finding surprises to bring home to my family so much easier.

Have visited this Bookstore/Record Shop. Yelp rates this as the best bookstore in NJ. Well, that's…read moresad comparing the bookstores in NYC that put MBC to shame. But I went primarily for used vinyl (which I'm a collector). Their used vinyl is relatively expensive and is not competitive with NYC stores. But since I won't take a trek to NYC due the Communist status and they don't arrest criminals. This store definitely has the 'Montclair" ambiance, "extreme arrogance". I loathe the city, 50 x at this store not a "peep" from any employee.

Always love stopping in and trading in books at the end of my semester for store credit. I usually…read moreturn that right around and get new novels for the next semester. Owner is sooo friendly and very intelligent! She is always helpful when asked and happy to talk about literature or family. Books are priced fair, and it's always worth turning in some books for store credit, their system is perfect for a revolving door of patronage. Always a lovely time here!

I have shopped in many used bookstores in the Philadelphia/New Jersey/Delaware Valley area, and…read morethis was the worst customer service I have experienced! The woman working there was not very friendly, and when I first "found" her (she was not visible, and I said, "Hello, is anybody here?", to which she did not reply), she acted as if I was bothering her. She asked me what genres I was interested in, went and pointed out where a few were, and then left me. She was then talking to a regular customer, and seemed more interested in "gabbing" with him. There was no explanation from her of their pricing scheme, and since she was chatting with that customer, I felt like I should ask another customer, who was nice enough to explain it. I guess that I was spoiled by Labyrinth Books the day before when I was in Princeton, which gave me excellent customer service from every employee there that I came in contact with - probably the best I've ever had! I plan to return to the area, but I will never come back here.

This is wishful a great bookstore! It is well stocked - in fact it is far better stocked than most…read moreindie bookstores and I think can rival some of the bigger chain stores! Plus the staff is highly knowledgeable and helpful (a former book store owner and writer, a PHD professor and writing tutor, a children's library and literature expert, and every staff member has a genre they help make picks in and support in store!). The store is bright and welcoming and they offer free coffee, tea, waters, and snacks plus a free kids craft table that's always set up and available. Their kids section is delightful with a great safe space to leave the kiddos to play and read while you shop. The overall vibe at this store is so welcoming and their events are so fun that this is a favorite stop of mine every weekend !

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.

A very small bookshop in rural Woodbury, CT. Couldn't pass by w/o taking a look, but the Sci-Fi…read moreFantasy section was so minuscule, it only took a minute to see that there was nothing there that interested me. Honestly, I've found selections of used books in church basements. That's my report, "Hidden Gem" it is not.

I had a fantastic experience when I visited this store on a Saturday. The two people working there…read morewere incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. The prices are very reasonable, and the selection is surprisingly extensive for a small secondhand bookstore. I highly recommend stopping by the Book Cellar in Woodbury, CT--you never know what treasures you'll find!

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!