Very informed staff, very friendly place, never hard to spend time here when we are in town!read more

I frequently play card games at Backstage Hobbies and Games. I enjoy the laid back atmosphere and…read morethe owners are very kind and friendly people. Backstage has a large assortment of comics, retro games and systems, Magic the Gathering TCG, Pokemon TCG, D&D, and much more! It's a great little hobby shop that's worth stopping in and taking a look!

I love used bookstores, but this one is a sad one. Kind of a depressing atmosphere. No music. The…read moreperson working there was very friendly. There are both used and new books. There is a good selection of used standard fiction, but other genres are not well represented. New books are scattered about with books not well organized. There was a corner with stacks of unorganized used books. Things were overall haphazard. I thought used books were slightly overpriced.

Good selection of items, very helpful folks, great prices. Helping the community helps the world…read more Buy local.

best place you're going to find in northern Michigan. Knowledgeable and friendly people that made…read moregaming their passion. Lots of great memories thanks to the people and friends made there.

The way this store is set up is very offputting and unwelcoming. Being a gaming store it makes…read moresense to have tables set up for games, however nothing makes you feel more intrusive than walking in to a bunch of grown men playing in 3/4s of the storefront. Very difficult to get around to see anything, and it makes you want to leave almost immediately after entering. Learning that the owners are incredibly shady and have pulled multiple scandals with consignment art was the final nail in the coffin. I'll order my tabletop gaming supplies online.

Great found a lot of mangas as well is tons of other books coffee chess cocking books definitely…read morerecommend and a fair price figits to

All the staff wear masks and are very friendly. Always say hi and they are very nice at the coffee…read morebar as well. Not very busy so I can get a lot of work on my computer. The coffee shop has high desk area that has plugins and you can stand if you prefer. Many books obviously and a good selection

Great place to spend a relaxing afternoon of browsing for books that I don't need to have...but…read morelove to buy!

Blue Vase Books is INCREDIBLE and I hate that I'm not located closer to it! This place is, as…read moredescribed by my friend when we walked in, a thrift shop for books and so many other kinds of media! The store is 95% used and 5% new - truly just one shelf at the front of the store with some popular, new books and that's about it! Books probably account for about 80-90% of the store, but Blue Vase also offers used records, board games, and some other music/movie items. But my friends and I came here for books and boy were we satisfied! The prices here!!! That's where we must start. All adult books in paperback were $2.99 and hardcovers were $3.99 (all unless otherwise marked) and you cannot beat those prices! All of their books that I pulled off the shelves were in great condition, so they are very intentional about stocking their shelves with good quality products, and I loved the way this store was organized! Things are grouped mostly by genre - cookbooks, sports, fiction, new fiction, young adult, classics, romance, horror, etc. Naturally, the fiction section is the largest and spans an entirely long wall of the store and that one was hard to look through because there were just SO many titles. Just know you'll be walking through this store with your head at an angle reading all the titles! I found the most success within the new fiction/young adult areas AND the awesome Michigan/local reads area at the front of the store! These shelves were so lovely and I definitely snagged a lot of books that I've either heard good things about or were just curious about them from what I read on the back of the book. All in all, I ended up getting 20 books for just a little over $100. WHAT A STEAL! I happened to snag a book that one of the employees at Blue Vase Books published as well, which I think is SO cool! There were also a lot of cute stickers and mini book magnets at the check out counter, so I got a little lost in those as well! The employees were so patient with us as we squealed over all the cute and delightful things and were just so kind and lovely! Pay attention to the hours here as their hours are limited. They're open 4 days a week and only from 10 am to 6 pm, but trust that it's completely worth a trip here! When I was chatting with the employee who was checking out my books, I asked her how often the books refresh and she said daily! They get about 3 giant truckloads of books each week that they sort through and put onto the shelves in real time! So you are sure to find something here and different every time you stop by! They also have an online store with great deals as well and a good selection of their inventory on their as well! I love it here and will be stopping by every time I'm in the Traverse City area no matter what!

Lovely bookstore. Has a good selection of books for great prices. The man helping us was very…read morehelpful and informative. We will be back for sure

Very pleasant and welcoming! Wonderful place to find a treasure in hard or soft covers! Great…read moreprices and unique selections!

The Happy Owl Bookshop was a stop on our quick visit to the Manistee area while camping at Orchard…read moreBeach State Park last fall. The vibe is a little retro but my friends and I found some items to purchase. Inventory was a little limited when it came to brand new bestsellers, but if you want an older popular book you might be able to find it here. I ended up buying a few fun Manistee postcards with vintage scenes, including one of Orchard Beach State park, where we were camping. They made for a great souvenir! My boyfriend got a book on knots, and we found a used board book in the used books area for our friends who are expecting a baby. The used book room was a blast from the past, with some retro 90s cookbooks and other vintage finds. If I lived in the area this would be my go-to bookshop and I'm sure they can special order most books. They have some toys and gifts for kids. Masks and use of hand sanitizer is politely required.

Was happy there was a bookshop right in town with new reads and then a small section with used…read more Beach reads, bedside table books, newspapers and writing journals plus some kitsch!! They also have a select few toys for kids which was awesome because there doesn't seem to be much (maybe backstage games?) that actually cater to the littles.