This past weekend, my top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex and I had the great honor of…read moreparticipating (for the second year in a row) in the NJ Bookstore Crawl, one of the greatest events in all the lands. An absurd amount of planning/discussion went into this, but ultimately boiled down to just visiting the three participating bookstores in Sussex. Broad Street Books was my favorite of the three Sussex stops, simply because it had the most personality and options, which to me are the two central tenets of a successful bookstore. Honestly, I'm surprised every single bookstore doesn't focus on these aspects of the business model, but it is what it is. My chum and I got here within minutes of opening, a little after 10am on Saturday. There were a few other suspected Crawlers on the premises but given the location and time of day, this was unsurprisingly one of the quieter stops on the day's adventures. My chum actually dropped me off at the top of the Sussex Rail Branch Trail down the street a month and a half ago for training purposes, and I didn't have a clue that there was a real downtown area to Branchville a little further down - just on that basis alone, the crawl rocks. My chum lives a few minutes away and was familiar with this area and the bookstore, so we parked and got over there very easily. From the outside, the building looks like it used to house a bank but these days there are literally books all over it, including a tasteful display outside by the window. As soon as I walked inside, I got Strand vibes, which is pretty much the highest compliment I can give a bookstore - I went to college in Greenwich Village and the Strand was one of my favorite places to go; their $0.48 bin was the stuff of legends (which I hope they still have). But if you've been there before, it's disordered chaos showcasing an obvious love of literature, with literal stacks of books and so many options, both old and new. Same here. It's cluttered and looks like the basement library my dad had when I was growing up - awesome. As soon as you enter, there's a staircase to your right that's covered in books and isn't really accessible (which is fine, you're not there to climb to the second floor), and then tons of narrow labyrinthine passageways in several rooms for you to explore. THAT'S what bookstores should be about, at least in my opinion. In terms of the actual books, there's a lot of variety, both fiction and non. I tend to gravitate toward fiction, and - full disclosure - one of my toxic traits is that I judge books by their cover. So I had a lot to play with here and think about. The classics/older fiction section was abundant, but ultimately I went with the 2016 novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead because it won a Pulitzer and Obama said nice things about it on the cover. I haven't read it yet, but even if I end up massively disliking it, we don't blame the book purveyors for that. A pleasant purchase. The overall personality of Broad Street is interesting too, and it dovetails nicely with why I DO like indie bookstores and genuinely want to advocate for them, even though part of me has trouble justifying paying typically higher prices for the same product as, say, Amazon (which I know is heresy to utter). There's an interesting Lord of the Rings/fantasy theme that they really hit hard here, and my chum actually ended up winning a surprise door prize as the first purchase of the day, I believe an LOTR-themed paperweight, which she was enormously excited/proud about. Another big selling point for me - not every bookstore I've encountered in my two years on the Crawl really did too much beyond barebones participation/inclusion on the list, so I think it's cool these guys had some cool promotions and whatnot. Only constructive feedback? One of the owners was on the premises (which is a definitive positive in and of itself on what has to be one of the more important days now on the NJ bookstore calendar going forward) and had arguably a little TOO aggressive of a sales pitch. I would just respectfully suggest that you let the books do most of the selling - we're in there for the Crawl; don't worry, we're buying at least one book, and my chum bought more than that. Really awesome bookstore and I honestly don't know if I would have even known it existed without the event. Top marks for both. Get up here if you can.

Super used bookstore! The owner we met was so friendly and knowledgeable. Great selection and…read morereasonably priced. I purchased several books. We're from South Jersey and would love to visit again!

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?

This place has so many cheap books I love the vibe. They have such a wide selection and it's so cozyread more

sweet ladies running it who were delighted to find us the books we were looking for. a large…read moreselection and good finds! too bad the town it's in is really not great otherwise i would go more often :(

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.

This is wishful a great bookstore! It is well stocked - in fact it is far better stocked than most…read moreindie bookstores and I think can rival some of the bigger chain stores! Plus the staff is highly knowledgeable and helpful (a former book store owner and writer, a PHD professor and writing tutor, a children's library and literature expert, and every staff member has a genre they help make picks in and support in store!). The store is bright and welcoming and they offer free coffee, tea, waters, and snacks plus a free kids craft table that's always set up and available. Their kids section is delightful with a great safe space to leave the kiddos to play and read while you shop. The overall vibe at this store is so welcoming and their events are so fun that this is a favorite stop of mine every weekend !

The owner of the shop was very helpful and if you desired a certain book, he'd help you order it…read more Stay a while to enjoy their children's paperback book selection, as well as just about anything you're seeking! Definitely a place, I'm glad I spent time, worthwhile money and will be back!

Best concept for a bookstore, ever. You may never leave. Aaron doesn't help either, as he is a…read morescintillating conversationalist. Also, the view!

great. selections very cheap. helpful owner. ill. definitely be going back. and…read moreback

Finally decided to stop here after driving by the sign for "Books" for literally years. The store…read moredoesn't appear to be very large from the outside, but, you may find yourself slightly overwhelmed once you walk in. The books are practically floor to ceiling in some areas with many of the shelves being two stacks deep. Books are organized by genre and first letter of author's last name. Genres range from Mystery and Romance to Classics and End Table books. There is also a room full of children's books and a decent selection for young adults. I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of the store. It is relaxed and fairly quiet. No one comes up to ask what you're looking for (although you can ask for specific titles/authors if you need) or eyes you while you're digging through the stacks trying to find exactly what you want. There are several step stools around to help you reach the highest shelves and be sure to grab a shopping basket at the entrance, as you'll likely need one. Remember, all of these books are used and come in varying conditions. All of the books that I purchased were in good to excellent condition. For the price of $3 per book, you can't beat it. He even accepts trade-ins, which then brings the price down to $2 per book, if I understood correctly. He accepts cash and credit. I have no complaints at all and will definitely be going back to gauge how often the stock changes. Thankful to have a used bookstore nearby. What I spent today on 12 books wouldn't have even gotten me 3 at Barnes & Noble.

Came here recently with a friend as we had extra time to kill on our parking meter and who doesn't…read morelike a bookstore? Carroll & Carroll has been around and the store looks like it. Books all over the place kinda arranged in an order with numerous newspaper clippings posted throughout. It looks haphazard but it is able to be navigated. The owner is elderly and can be gruff but was nice to me today and answered my questions. I did ask about a bathroom because I missed the sign behind him saying no public restrooms. He advised to go to the bar next door and they'll let you use theirs without making a purchase. They have lots of new and old here and even some leather-bound books. I found the prices to be ok. Ended up purchasing an Anthony Bourdain chef follow up to Kitchen Confidential.

I've been in this amazing bookstore many times. I've waited to purchase, or been near the checkout…read morecounter and have had the opportunity to overhear some of the stupidest people ask the dumbest questions you could ever expect to hear in a bookstore or library. You may get disappointed when you find out your " rare and highly collectible " book isn't going to fetch the amount you dreamed of. Just because someone on eBay is asking a high price doesn't mean they will get it. If you think your book is so valuable sell it yourself on eBay, and good luck to you. Unfortunately I no longer live in Pennsylvania, but when passing through on interstate 80 I always take the opportunity to visit and grab a few books. Prices are fair, not free. I'm not sure where the cat went. I'm afraid to ask. He was definitely the prince of Main Street. When my father passed I called and spoke with Lisa, we set up an appointment date and time. I brought in boxes and boxes of books. She explained to me what books had a resale value and what books did not. I did not receive the amount that she was going to sell them for. I understand the need to cover rent, utilities, cat food, etc. Any books left over I could donate to various charities. Overall, a great store. Highly recommend.

Awesome bookstore. New and used books. Friendly and helpful staff. Definitely a favorite place in…read moreBeacon.

Binnacle books is my favorite bookstore in the Hudson Valley. The shop is cute and has a great…read moreselection. Lots of used books looking to find a new home. They also have a fun "blind date with a book" section, where the books are covered in wrapping paper with a short blurb about the book.

Purchased a used LP from Inquiring Minds at a great price. This purchase was directly from their…read morewebsite and I found it to be as smooth as any site that I have used online. Shipping was fast with EXCELLENT packaging.

I buy online from Inquiring Minds Bookstore and they are the best…read more Books come quick and in excellet shape and the price is right!!!

Delicious ice cream-LOTS of flavors to choose from. They even have no dairy alternatives (parole…read moreice cream). Clean bathrooms!

I was very impressed with this bookstore. The last time I visited, it was closed for renovations,…read morebut they have reopened and boy did they do a great job. The entire store is very clean, well laid out, and even has drinks for sale. You will NOT go wrong spending time at The Book House and don't forget to stroll around the adjacent Millburn businesses. You will be pleasantly surprised and accommodated.