I was walking toward the lake and noticed books displayed in a window by my knees. I had to…read moreinvestigate. Lucky me, I stumbled upon Lake City Books. Looking at the sign on the door, I realized I was making this discovery 13 minutes before closing. I was greeted when I walked in and assured them I just wanted to poke my head in, as I saw they were getting ready to leave, and was told I was welcome. I made a quick lap around just to check them out, and stopped by their merch counter to grab a quick souvenir. I love a local bookstore, and grabbed a coffee mug to remind myself to come back. They had a cute setup and a table dedicated to my current favorite obsession, Dungeon Crawler Carl. They had signs everywhere informing everyone of their planned move, apparently out of the basement. I am not sure where they will be next, but I will make a point to search them out the next time I am in Madison. And come in plenty of time to peruse.

Love, love & more love for this indie bookstore. The owner & staff are so much fun & really know…read moretheir stuff. The selection is huge for a smallish store & they also buy used books for fair prices. Journals, candles, socks & other cool swag like t-shirts for sale, too. And they are moving to a new location on Carroll St in July! Get thee downtown asap!

Somehow this place has the best atmosphere for reading or drawing solo, meeting up with friends for…read morea hang out, studying, a date night, or just grabbing a drink all in one awesome place. It is so cute and aesthetically pleasing, with a wonderful book section to browse, a bar (with outlets) and cozy couch or table seating. The refillable tea is a great play, and they are one of the only places in town with a solid Vietnamese iced coffee--and they are open late, with the bar and cafe running until midnight every day!

MATCHA -7.5/10 AMBIANCE/BADDIES -9/10…read moreSERVICE-8/10 I ordered an iced matcha latte with oatmilk as always and it was pretty good! Very solid! The energy of this place is great It used to be one of my fav doughnut places as a kid The workers are nice and the design and aesthetic was great!

Barnes and Noble, you still have a good selection of books, music and DVD's...... However someone…read moreneeds to inventory the magazine section. It's March and there are Halloween, Christmas themed and various magazines over 5 months old.

I live closer to the west side of Madison, but I wanted to look at a book that the west towne…read moreBarnes & Noble did not have. It was my first time going to the east towne Barnes & Noble and I was just stunned by the staff there that was so rude. I tried to get help from 3 different people. The first one was just a bit helpful, by pointing me in the right direction. Still could not find it. I asked help from two other staff and they were both so rude. It was like they hated their jobs. The store was very unorganized and chaotic. I never have that experience at the west towne Barnes & Noble. I will never go back to the east towne Barnes & Noble.

Friendly and helpful staff. Enjoy the book talks by Kate Laack. Great location with a wonderful…read morevariety of books to choose from.

Stopped by while in the area. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Doesn't have the widest…read moreselection but the available space is full of books. I was specifically looking for horror and they had a few but like the name implies they are heavier on the mysteries. Was still able to find a good picks that I'm excited to read on the plane. The notes on some of the books from the staff were endearing and insightful.

I came during an after-hours event and the shop was great!…read moreThe gems and crystals seem appropriately priced. When you purchase any gems or crystals you have to write down on one of their pieces of paper what and how many your purchasing with the price. They also have a large selection of incense, small tubes, and dried herbs. I had a great time looking through their collection. The owner and employees were super helpful and knowledgable.

Very helpful staff, lovely books, crystals, cards, incense. We wandered in just to look around, and…read morefound really interesting things to purchase. We will visit again soon.

Let me be clear, this is a little comic store in a very small place. I did not give it five stars…read morefor its extensive collection or its low prices. Instead I gave it 5 stars for its customer service. They will look for any book or comic you are searching for. They have told me to purchase particular items from specific larger stores when they could not match a sales price on an expensive book. Finally, they are very knowledgeable about the topic of comics, SF and Fantasy as well as book selling and publishing. I also confess that I prefer, whenever possible, to deal with small businesses and 20th Century Books definitely fits into this category.

From the owner: Popular Culture bookstore: science fiction, fantasy, comic books, mysteryread more

Little bookstore within the library that sells library surplus books and CDs at very low prices…read more The selection is odd, you never know what you will find here. Because of the low prices it's hard to walk out of here empty handed.

Lots of great used books (including some new releases) for just $1-2. I'm always tempted to buy a…read moredozen when I volunteer. Because the store is volunteer-staffed, hours are limited and a bit irregular. The store is usually open 1-3.