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!

Huge independent bookstore with an emphasis on inclusivity and diversity! We stopped in for some…read morebrowsing and were impressed at how expansive the store is. Note they do encourage mask wearing at the front and provide masks - when we visited, every person was masked. Tons to look at here, with good organization into categories and staff recommendations. I liked that they had a tarot/witchy section, huge kids section, RPG section, and variety in themes. Great spot to browse for a gift or new book for yourself.

LGBTQ+ friendly, women owned local bookshop! Walls and walls of books everywhere you turn!…read more They do require face masks and provide free ones at the entrance. Retail prices on books, but they offer book clubs, open mic nights and lots of other fun/free events!

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.

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.

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.

Came here for some badgers gear. There were boundless options, yet very few things stuck with me…read moreunfortunately. Ended up with a long sleeve shirt and pajama pants. But it was cool to check this spot out as the gf of a Wisconsin Alum

They have a whole pack of badgers stuff on the main floor and over-priced text books for students…read moredownstairs. They also have a giant bobble head of Ron Dayne. At least I presume it is a bobblehead. He looked normal on tv but I've never seen him in person - maybe he just has a freakishly large head.

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.