A small independent LGBTQ+ bookstore located on Main Street in Southington. Staff are friendly and…read morewelcoming. Inventory includes all genres but with LGBTQ+ characters and/or authors as well as some book themed gifts and art. Selection includes books and authors not always carried by the big, box stores. Books, gifts, and art were all affordable. Recommend parking in the lot behind the building as street parking is limited.

The Enchanted Violet is a small gem of a store located in a multi-purpose building. There is a sign…read moreoutside with some directions (down the hall of the building and to the right!) to get to the shop itself. I stopped by while doing some shopping in the area after my friend and I had seen a sign for it in a local coffee shop. I'm glad we did! We were greeted kindly by the bookseller, and we got to chat all about books and upcoming local events for a while. We got recommendations and had an incredibly pleasant conversation!The books are catered towards being LGBTQ+ friendly, and focus on romance and romantasy, as well as offering a selection of manga. The store had a variety of deals ongoing and many options were 20% off! There was a section where you could select a mystery bag for a piece of jewelry. I got the cutest earrings from my bag! Speaking of jewelry, this bookshop offers a variety of jewelry as well as clothing and some posters/cards/art/stickers. There were so many fun things to choose from! Super cute, I'll have to check out some of their community events sometime for sure. Definitely worth a browse!

Small shop but packed with tons of great stuff, pleasant staff, great place. Very clean and…read moredisplays are appealing, you feel like you're in a gift shop rather than thrift. fun items on the dollar rack, and nice jewelry

From the owner: We are a nonprofit thrift store that supports our Ministry, Hand To Hand Direct Care Ministry, Inc…read more We help people in need in our community with free furniture, household items, and clothing. Referrals are required.

Never know what you will find. I highly suggest people read all the expiration dates on their food…read more Other than that the prices are very good especially for the clothing. They typically have bedding sets for under $50 but you have to find your bed size (Queen seems to be hard to find). The appliances are normally name brand and great price, I recommend you review their return policy on electronics and thoroughly test things out. Staff is generally nice. FYI: For parents this is also a hidden gem for the popular dumplings and squishy cubes.

"I'd gladly lose me to find you I'd gladly give up what I…read moregot To catch you, I'm gonna run and never stop I call that a bargain The best I ever had" (The Who) Man, oh man, do we love the bargains at Ollie's. This was our first visit to Newington's Ollie's, and we scored a fantastic deal. I am the Committee Chair for a convention next month, and one of the participation activities for the conventioneers will be assembling kits to donate to a Boston charity for children in need. We are set on the school supply side, but we are still a little short on the socks and underwear side for 50 boys and girls. So, when I saw a "15% off" email from Ollie's, it seemed like a divine sign to make a pilgrimage to the new Ollie's in Newington. And guess what we found? How about 5-packs of boy's underwear marked down to $2.99? BEFORE our 15% discount. Thank you, Lord Ollie. Ollie's was stocked to the gills and very neatly shelved. We bought this eclectic mix of goods: a big bag of Dot's pretzels, five boxes of K Cup coffees, a bottle of shampoo, a jar of pickled zucchini, a jar of salsa, and 20 of the aforementioned underwear 5-packs for just a shocking $88. Ollie's is a fun store to browse around in, and today we made out like bandits.

This is a great used bookstore. It is almost a literal hole in the wall, located in an old factory…read moredown a long hallway. The books are used but all in fantastic condition. The aisles are narrow so only one person can occupy the space at a time, but it just means you have to look at other books waiting your turn. The prices have a range depending on type, age, and genre but are pretty easy to figure out. Those that do have special pricing are also clearly marked. The shop doesn't have set hours so definitely follow on social media. Not only is it fun to see all the new books that come in, they're very clear about when a sale will come along.

Great used book shop. They're done an expansion for add to their overall are which allowed aisles…read moreto be expanded for easier movement. All books are in great condition and very from an average of $2-$10 with children's books at .50, occasional $1 finds and signed copies or harder to find/newer books being over that $10 average, which is perfectly fine. Still a great overall discount usually and the experience is always great. Always busy!

It's a cool place, so stop in some time....You'll find cool books, as well as vintage shoestore…read moreaccouterments and vintage shoes to view. Super cool and nostalgic!

Eclectic retro-chic bookstore that is also a hangout for artists and locals. The proprietor is…read morefriendly, witty, and a nationally known sculptor who uses one of the upstairs rooms as his workshop. The building itself is huge and is worth a trip just to explore the remnants of the shoestore, radio station, and candlepin alley that it used to house. This is your bookstore if you want to buy 25-year-old satin wedding shoes, There are many Western and English saddles, 3 pianos , a harp, guitars, and other musical instruments you can play. Not to mention the candlepins.

I always try to support my small, independent bookstores as well. For a large distributor, this is…read moremight be one of my favorite Barnes & Noble locations. My other favorite being in Pittsford, NY, which has nostalgia since it was a treat to go there when I was a kid and it also has 2 floors! This location is not as large as that one, but it is larger than most of the other spots in Connecticut. Their selection is impressive and they are unbeatable in the "buy one get one" options they always have out and seem to rotate regularly. That is always my favorite "excuse" for picking up a stack of books I have been eyeing. They also have a very large section of toys and puzzles next to the cafe area. Highly recommend this location if you are trying to resist Amazon and just love a good, relaxing perusal!

It was a great shopping experience with excellent customer service. I hope I can visit it in the…read morenear future.

Explored this place as a random Yelp find. It certainly takes a minute or two to find being in the…read moreart space multi building parking lot, and figuring out how to get buzzed in by calling, however, there's some really good book hunting here in the decent sized space, particularly if you're a fan of old books. The owner was very friendly and chatty to me and I had a pleasant experience, found a few old reads, and would return. Thanks!

Weird little place in a weird little space. The whole store is under lock and key--one must buzz-in…read moreby telephone request unless one has made a prior appointment to access what could be a browser's paradise. The owner (as he announced himself) is, on every third Thursday of each alternate month, a nice-enough-fellow full of the love of books. But every other day at the store, he cements his love of books at the cost of a passing indifference for his customers that borders on hostility. While the book selection is as comprehensive as it is well-organized, something about the place seems... well... 'off.' It's as though one is being watched--or rather scrutinized--by unseen eyes, suspicious you may be replacing a book in the wrong place, disturbing the piles of rarities without regard to how the newly imbalanced feng-shui will impact the owner as he lingers scowling from the sequestered bowls of the shop. The books are, nevertheless, excellent and priced clearly in the "almost-too-expensive-but-still-just-affordable" range. Comparatively, the prices here are fair to good. You will not be finding any shocking bargains or hidden but neglected treasures here. The books are carefully selected, after all, and intended to turn a profit for the owner. After all, buying low and selling high is the name of the game--and yet, listening in on the owner's bargaining with one collector attempting to sell her books, I'd say there are fairer prices to be had from other buyers. But after exhaustive talks ranging from condition to author popularity (when has it been hard to sell Orwell?), she settled on a price with our peculiar host all the same. It was, in a word, creepy. Upon leaving with my new acquisitions, I was reminded of John Locke's description of this weird trade which combines refined erudition with predatory avarice: "Printers, binders, sellers, and others that make a trade and gain out of them have universally so odd a turn and corruption of mind, that they have a way of dealing peculiar to themselves, and not conformed to the good of society, and that general fairness that cements mankind." True enough of this odd little place, I thought. And then I went home, placed the books on my desk, and retired to take a nice long shower.

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!

My wife and I are driving around Connecticut (we grew up here, but many many years ago) and are…read morehitting up some local book shops while in the area. We were making our way through West Hartford when we stumbled across the River Bend Bookshop and just had to check it out. This shop is super cool looking because it's basically just inside of a small apartment. The shop itself has a cozy New England vibe and has a small to large section of pretty much every genre. Sadly, the horror section seems to be one of the smaller sections but hey, I don't live here, so clearly they know what their customers are looking for. Near the cash registers they have a nice selection of merch for the shop (sadly, no River Bend Bookshop Magnet) and a cool section dedicated to local authors and stuff like that. Overall, River Bend Bookshop is a super nice little book shop for the area and definitely a place worth checking out. Sadly, I didn't make a purchase on this trip because I can only fly back to LA with so much stuff, but I very much enjoyed checking this place out.

This is one of those places I wish I had growing up in CT. I make it a point to try and stop in…read morewhenever I'm back. This place just has that cozy, local charm that you won't find at other bookstores. The selection is great, the prices are fair, and their selection of bookmarks is pretty amazing. Could'a left with ten, but I need to cut back.

Customer service honestly could not have been worse! Everyone was complaining about their job and…read moregiving us attitude because we came in 20 minutes before they closed. The entire time we were shopping they were trying to rush us out. As another young adult I would never treat anyone the way I was treated, not just in my work place but in general. I'm just disappointed that I spent close to $100 dollars in sales for poor customer service and honestly a shitty experience. I rec comes Westfarms mall location to anyone planning to spend their money on bath and body works.

This review is for the store in Plainville,Connecticut.Love this location Always clean and well…read moreorganized.Last time I went ,they had the corporate visiting because they were doing so well I was told and I believe that. It's a breath of fresh in the Plainville Plaza and every time I need to recharge my batteries for the week I go there (or as soon as I get my coupons ) I love the small store atmosphere rather then going to the mall,customer service is good,the girls are trying to help as soon as you enter the store!