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.

Great gem of a bookstore with the most helpful and engaged staff! Their selection of books and…read moregifts are top notch from a large used section, impressive new book features, classics, manga, sci-fi and a great romance section too plus the owner is a history PHD so her history section of the store is well done also. They also offer free coffee, tea and snacks which is quite a nice treat. Big plus is also the easy off street parking with a flat in handicap accessible entrance and bathroom. Highly recommend!

I love this place... I purchased several rare collections from this shop and found the prices…read morepretty good, but of course when you see something that you really want and know it is hard to come by price doesn't always matter. What matters is the wonderful collections. Hard to find books to impossible to find books, well almost impossibe... and some pretty amazing old prints in the back of the store are excellent buys as well. I think what holds me back from giving this place 5 stars is the fact that I've been going to this store for about 5 years, I go about once a month and often bring friends PLUS have made some rather pricy purchases (meaning between $50 and $295) and each time I walk in I expect the owner to know who I am and everytime I walk in she acts like she never saw me before. I think she should get to know her customers better, I mean, just because I'm not interested in her big white poodle doesn't mean I'm not interested in her book collection... The other gripe I would have would be I onced asked her for a book that I couldn't locate and she did an internet search and found it and turned to me and said that I should go to eBay. If I wanted to go to eBay I would have. What I wanted was for someone to get the book for me and have it delivered to the store so I wouldn't have to be home to receive it. Its called customer service!

oh boy, I love me some indie book stores! This is a good one with a nice selection of…read moreantique/vintage hardcovers and in the back, a surprisingly beefy room of paperbacks. Especially well-represented were mysteries and westerns. One of the owners is also a professional bookbinder. I'm taking off one star for the insanely cramped space...you have to be careful moving around in spots. But it's totally worth it to score that one item like....a book on the Beatles with rare photos for only $15! (of COURSE I bought it!) Have I mentioned how much I love places like this?

I love this place. It may be small, but it is expertly curated. I stop by weekly to see what jazz…read morevinyl has come in and there's always something new. Joe, the owner is great to talk to and is always helpful. His grading on the vinyl is always spot on and the pricing is always fair.

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

My top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex and I went to all three of the bookstores in Sussex…read moreparticipating in the NJ Bookstore Crawl last weekend, and Sparta Books was our final stop (which, if you map it out, logistically makes a lot of sense). I wish we'd kept going into Morris County because unfortunately, this was our least favorite stop and left a slightly sour note on the overall proceedings. My chum is actually a semi-regular here and a rewards member, so she knew exactly where to drive us for this one (unlike our slightly ill-fated adventures with Lafayette's Black Dog earlier). Sparta Books has a non-descript exterior essentially in a strip mall, and we were a little disappointed not to see any indication from the storefront that they were participating in the Crawl (and to an extent, I AM reviewing them within the context of that event since they chose to be included and it's how we ended up here last Saturday). That was also true within the store as well, though I think one of the employees did reference the Crawl or ask my chum if we were participating. No signage or interesting promotions, unless you count the book pencil included with our purchases - and maybe you do; mileage may vary, etc. Beyond the limited participatory aspect, I just didn't think this place had much personality and it seemed like they were still sort of moving in based on some of the clutter toward the back of the store. For me at least, it just didn't seem inviting. Similarly, this was the most difficult spot for me to choose a book because most of them just didn't look particularly appealing, coupled with the limited selection. By far out of the three bookstores we visited, this one had the least amount of books and the quality just didn't seem that great. For instance, it wasn't easy to find acclaimed literature, but Travis and Jason Kelce's recent book No Dumb Questions and All of Our Dumbest Answers was prominently displayed. Ultimately I selected Madeline Miller's 2011 novel The Song of Achilles as my purchase (continuing to judge books by their cover) because it was the winner of something called the Orange Prize for Fiction. We'll see how it goes. The biggest issue I had here though went beyond personal literature preferences or lack thereof - it was service, which is not a problem I anticipated nor can I recall experiencing at a bookstore before. That's something I'd associate more with a bar or restaurant than this type of merchant. But when we got in line to pay, there were two women behind the counter. One was handling purchases, though it was a pretty slow process from what I could see. Despite the fact that there were multiple people waiting (I think one other person besides us), the second woman was just chattering away obliviously with a friend, who may have ultimately been a customer but wasn't buying anything in the moment. If you can multi-task/kill two birds with one stone in that regard, go for it. But to just flat-out ignore the fact that you have customers just standing there with literal money on the table is just bad business and didn't leave the best taste in our mouths. It took us close to 10 minutes to pay, which is ridiculous. The whole point of the Crawl is to promote indie bookstores, and by and large that's something I try to do so we as a society aren't just exclusively suckling at the teat of Amazon. But as my chum pointed out after we left, just because it's indie doesn't mean it's good, and since every store by definition is going to be different, some of these places are going to vary in quality. I think of bookstores and coffee shops as businesses that people really tend to grade on a curve, but I just can't justify doing that when at the end of the day, a) there was barely any acknowledgment of the Crawl aka the reason most of your customers are there that day, b) there weren't many books comparatively speaking and c) the customers weren't universally treated with attention and respect. You'd understandably expect any other consuming-facing business to have a solid inventory and good customer service - why should a bookstore be held to a different standard than that?

Great selection of children's books and newly released fiction and nonfiction. Staff is friendly…read moreand helpful. Sunny place to browse and read books in comfortable chairs. Ample parking. Coffee shop next door. Gift wrap available for books and free bags with your purchase.

A very cool comic shop with a lot to offer for comic fans…read more With their ever-present Halloween decor and surprisingly organized interiors, Gotham Comics is not your run of the mill comic shop. From new issues to back log, everything has a neat and tidy place, making browsing quick and effortless. They place a variety of mid-level rare comics ranging in price from $15 to $40 near most of the comic shelves, which make for both excellent window shopping and dangerous impulse purchases. They have a nice selection of old and new comics, mostly from DC and Marvel, so Gotham might not be great if you're looking for more obscure or niche comic brands. Similarly, this is a comic shop first, and things like games have a small presence. I also have to mention the staff working at Gotham. The employee was super helpful, going above and beyond in looking for issues that I couldn't immediately find. He made my visit feel extra special. The only downside with this comic shop is that it isn't located closer to my home! Otherwise I'd go there every week!

Quaint little comic book shop that totally gives off the "local comic shop" vibe from the 90's…read more Take it for what it is, and don't expect it to have everything you're looking for. But if you're looking for mainstream new releases, chances are you'll find them on release day (maybe the week after too). Not too much else to look at, especially collectibles, so your visit will probably be a whole lot shorter than other comic book shops (which is better for your wallet). But if you're in the area and you're in a pinch for that new Batman comic, this is your place. It was a hot day when I visited and they just had a couple floor fans running. Nothing gets me out of a comic book shop faster than sweaty hands on loose/unbagged books. And for parking, expect to circle around a couple times (plan to pay for a meter). But service is super friendly and they take card. And like I said, for what it is/does it's still a 5 star place

When I saw the sign for Phoenix Antiques and Crafts, I was expecting an antique store with some…read morecrafts. I was not expecting what I found, which was a really cool store stocking mostly Southwestern and Mexican goods! The store is in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, on the Pennsylvania side. It's on the northbound side of Route 209, across from the Delaware Cemetery. There's a white columned house with a semi-circular driveway, and next to the house is a long, wooden building with a yellow sign and old license plates near the door, and chili ristras hanging from the roof overhang. Inside is quite a collection: wonderful Day of the Dead merchandise, fine crafts, some fine art prints, "Graphite Objects" ( http://www.asbworkshop.com/collections.html ) that are hand-carved and write without rubbing off on your hands, animated diffraction grating postcards, Frida Kahlo items, carved wooden boxes, ceramics from Acoma Pueblo, rugs, scarves, felted animals, tin animals, jewelry, Talavera ceramic tiles, "treasure boxes," glass ornaments. The store is not large but despite the amount of merchandise it doesn't feel like it's too tightly packed. It's definitely worth stopping in if you are driving Route 209 in the Dingman's Ferry area! In fact, if Day of the Dead merchandise interests you, it's worth stopping in if you are anywhere within the region!

They've consolidated by closing their Phoenix East location…read more Still offer their great Southwestern items at the original Dingman's Ferry location.

Great vendors with highly eclectic finds. Military…read morememorabilia is broad ranging. Staircase up to the two buildings is also full of finds. Finds of books, art, pottery, clothing, signage, posters and glassware. Nicely laid out into mini rooms for vendors' offerings.

Loved this well curated antique store. It has beautiful home decor, jewelry, porcelain, toys and…read moremilitary collections. It's definitely worth a visit.

NEW BOOMING BUSINESS JUST OPENED IN MIDDLETOWN!…read more Come check out the HYPE! There's a wide selection of bags and jewelry on the first floor, but what I like best is the second floor which is filled with a diverse variety of snacks and gourmet foods!

A surprise to me! I am glad Middletown is reborn and many…read morenew stores are opening. This one is definitely one of the best.