The cutest bookstore! I wanted something where my kids could find books, activity items, stuffies,…read moreand games. This place was PERFECT!! We ended up going back because we didn't have long enough the first time! I love the space too - it was well situated and didn't feel crammed. They also have a few tanks with real turtles which was an extra bonus for the kids. Great book selection for adults as well as journals.

The Book Bin is my go to for interesting books and games. They offer books for all tastes, and…read morealways help me out when I'm looking for something hard to find. They make enjoying fiction or true tales affordable.

It's great to have a bookstore inside Woodfield Mall. I learned when shopping there that Barbara's…read moreBookstore is actually a family owned business, not some major corporate conglomerate. It's quite a nice size for being in the mall. They have a good selection on all genres. You can find new releases here along with some old favorites. They also have a bargain book section in the back. They utilize their space quite nicely. Everywhere you turn, there are books! I love it! Their staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. You can also join their rewards program and get discounts for books you purchase, just by being in the program! For an independent store, you can find a lot of discounts/deals. It's nice to see because I would rather invest in a locally owned shop.

Extensive board book collection, which I find it so hard to come by!! They had a ton I'd never seen…read morebefore, and I'm well versed in kids books. The wonderful employee also pointed out their indestructible books for my chewer of a 11 month old. She was very helpful and sweet! I can't remember her name but we talked about reading with our nieces. It was really a great experience. I heard her handle other customer situations SO WELL. Really just wonderful service. I hope she gets recognition! They have books for kids of all ages and backgrounds. I'm excited for mine to move beyond the board book stage so we can get some of their other amazing books!

Too few book stores of any kind in this area. So this unexpected and excellent book shop in…read moredowntown Bartlett is a real treat. Great selection and wonderful staff (just the one super helpful "booklady", I believe). Please support this gem!

This shop is just magical. I drove past after work one day and couldn't wait to spend my saturday…read morethere! Immediately transported to a world of warmth love and joy of story telling and books! very fair prices Pam is such a kind owner with great stories herself! Not to mention the wonderful bookmarks she makes as well!

A cool little find for me in Crystal Lake. It's a second hand bookstore run a non profit. All the…read moremoney that is made here is to bring projects to help humans understand the need to protect our environment, specifically natural area in McHenry County. It's a very well kept bookstore, although used books, they all look new! I would say 80% of their books goes to fiction. I found Don Winslow's The Border there, hardcover for $10! All hardcovers are $10. They have a set pricing system, $7 and $5 depending on the book. I do wish they would have a true crime section, but that's ok. I will make a point to come out here again. It's a great store!

Love this bookstore so much. Love that it's second hand books and decently priced. Service is…read morealways super friendly.

Nicely organized and inviting book shop. People walking around were friendly and helped us find…read morethings. Buy one get one half off, and excited to read and get cooking with the new text. with the sales, the price made sense.

I visited this store because I didn't want to wait for Amazon to deliver the book I wanted…read more I was surprised at the variety of books they carried. They are bit more expensive than Amazon but I love the Starbucks coffee shop inside that offers quiet space to work & sip. The Starbucks coffee does not accept Starbucks gift cards or rewards. The books are wonderfully organized and they offer unique and beautiful gift options. They also have board games, Puzzles and leather bound journals. I will definitely be returning when I need a place I can go to focus.

If I die and wake up at This Old Book, I'll know I've been admitted to heaven. Because, books. And…read morebooks. And even more books. How big is this place? Does that aisle keep going back and back and back? Oh boy, does it ever. With more shelves of books? Thank goodness there are two armchairs about half way through the store. I'm getting palpitations. History and biography and science fiction and cook books and mystery and fiction -- well, not so much fiction for me, but more history -- and oh my, even a kids' area near the back. My hand is itching, longing to grab my credit cards and pile up all that I want at the front counter, charging and charging until my credit card is smoking. This Old Book is That Kind of Place. The scent of printed pages fills my brain. I'm getting dizzy again. Wandering towards the front of this store, and I find racks of posters and old maps. I am fascinated by maps. I pull a few from the rack and stare intently at the little lines and various colors. There are also travel posters. My favorite one is on the wall behind the register -- "travel by TARDIS." I wouldn't mind doing that myself, except that you can't be sure where you're going until you arrive. These are all used books, obviously cared for and loved. Nothing is in tatters. All are clean and fresh and look like they are new. The prices are second-hand book prices, which only sends me further and further into rapture. I pick up a few and tote them under one arm, and force myself to make my purchase and leave, before I lose all control. This Old Book is a treasure. I plan to return when I have more time, and a smaller balance on my credit cards, and allow myself to peruse every aisle, flip upon a few covers, and let myself strike gold. Because the printed word is a gold mine, the kind that has the most value, and I am a devoted prospector. This is a good place. You should shop here, and let yourself wander among the stacks. Find yourself some gold.

Love it. I want to visit again and again. I've been twice already. Gotten a handful of books for…read moremyself and some for others

A very nice used bookstore. The selection of Mystery and Action Novels is excellent and a main…read morereason to go.

A wonderful store with a fantastic selection and helpful owner! We always find something…read moreunexpected and love that we earn points towards discounts. Love the memo books they have with the vintage golden book covers!

Came to Town House Cafe for lunch with some colleagues, and it was a great suggestion! Such a cute…read morelittle bookshop and cafe with a cozy, quaint atmosphere. The inside is charming, and they also have outdoor seating available. We came during lunch, and it was definitely busy, which speaks to how popular it is! I ordered the Town House Turkey, and it was delicious - fresh, flavorful, and exactly what I was hoping for. Such a fun little spot for lunch, especially if you enjoy a cozy atmosphere. I'd definitely come back!

Bookstore: beautiful on the outside, IMPOSSIBLE to find parking, staff didn't even make eye…read morecontact, dark and cramped inside, poor book selection. Definitely not worth the effort of the trip. 1 Restaurant: potato cheese dill soup, 1/2 club with chips was all surprisingly good. Iced coffee was also good and they offer free refills! $21 total seemed like a deal. Service was super friendly and helpful even though they were quite busy. 5

I've been to Amaranth a few times now, and each time I have been pleasantly surprised. I always see…read morean old book and a new book I want within ten minutes of walking in the door, but to avoid blowing all my money on books and forcing myself onto a diet of instant ramen and kool-aid, that's my limit per trip--one old book, and one new book. By "old," I mean one of many, many genuinely old books Amaranth has, in good conditions and for scandalous prices. I purchased a book of poetry published in 1920 for...drumroll...ten dollars. Not a torn page, not a dent in the cover, not a food spill to be found. I wouldn't call it mint condition, but it was in really great shape. On another visit, I found a book that was a little older, even, about the lyrebird. It just so happens that books about the lyrebird are not easy to come by, and I happen to love them. This book had photographs (black and white, but still), only one loose page, an embossed cover with no damage or flaking in the design, at a low, low price of $8. Regarding new books, I picked up a Sherman Alexie novel for $8 and a mid-90's edition of Anais Nin's "Little Birds" for $4. Again, there are no tears or stains in these books. I have my eye on a Diane Arbus biography that was published a couple of years ago for my next visit, and maybe an old-style illuminated prayer book that looks very pre-Renaissance but is actually from the early '70's and comes in its own slide-out box. You can't beat Amaranth for variety. They have books in several languages, a healthy little section of local history, books on travel, psychology, film, history, biography, and all manner of things, and mixed in with the old books are sometimes really unusual finds (like my book on the lyrebird). I was recently in with somebody who excitedly pulled something off a shelf, held it aloft, and exclaimed, "Ooh, Star Wars!" On another visit, I was all alone in the shop until a mother came in and found her favorite childhood book so that her little girl could enjoy it too. They might not have as many literary journals or last month's best-sellers like Myopic, but here's something that makes up that difference for me: as far as I can tell, if a book is damaged, it goes on the $1 shelf. I don't mean damaged as in, the binding is coming undone and ten pages are missing, because Amaranth doesn't sell books like that. I mean damaged as in, this is a somewhat new book that already looks a little old because of a scuffed cover or something like that. Other book stores will sell multiple copies of the same book, in varying conditions, at the same price. You won't be charged $18 for something that's in bad shape here. Instead, anything that's not in pretty good shape costs one measly dollar. Nice! Of course, this policy means the owner has to be a little discriminating. He can't pay you top dollar for everything you bring in; the store would close if it became one big dollar shelf. Some people can't understand that and get irritated because they want to fund production of a motion picture from the sale of some old Steven King novels or something nutty like that. Don't worry about those people. If you're a customer and actually need help finding something, the owner is wonderful. For example, I asked him if he knew what Sherman Alexie books were in the store, because Alexie writes novels, short stories, drama, poetry, autobiography, and probably something else besides that I haven't discovered yet. If the man also wrote travelogues and horticultural guides, I wouldn't be surprised to find out about it. Anyhow, rather than letting me comb the whole store, the owner said, "I know for a fact we have one of his novels, right...HERE." He pulled it off the shelf for me and the way I was smiling, you could probably see every tooth in my mouth. In addition to being helpful, the owner has also been nothing but friendly to me. I'd like to see a few more newer books, as in, from the past five years, but I'm happy going to Myopic for those, for now. I know I can always come to Amaranth and find a wonderful antique book, possibly on an esoteric subject, in great shape for a great price. Since I can go to Border's and pay only $2-$5 more for a new book than Myopic charges, the premium is really on good old books for me. I'm not trying to put Myopic down; I only want to distinguish between the various qualities and features of the different options available to book buyers. Also, if there's a heaven and I go to it when I die, I hope it smells like Amaranth.

What listings and notices fail to mention is that Amaranth's selection of rare/used books is…read moreinexpensive, in some cases surprisingly so. Thumbing through some mid-19th century curiosity it comes as a shock to discover such a seeming rarity priced at under $5!