Booklink is an independent bookstore in Thornes Marketplace in Northampton. It has been at this location for 25 years now. This bookstore is so beautifully set up. The upstairs section is children's books. Given that I am an elementary school teacher, I was very impressed by this section. There was a good amount of books I haven't seen before. They have all the book categories you'd find in most bookstores, but books popped out at me that I hadn't seen before, that I'd love to dive into. Their selection of greeting cards was also beautiful. You won't find Hallmark here, but independent maker cards that are worthy of being framed. I was pleasantly surprised that they only charge $3.00 for them. The downstairs will lead you to more non-fiction and fiction for adults. This bookstore also sells a really nice amount of tea. I didn't get any this time. But the line of bottles of loose tea went on forever. They have some books on sale, unfortunately the sale prices are still very close to the retail price. Booklink is such a lovely independent bookstore. You're guaranteed to find something new here! read more

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Hearing the rational "We are a small independent establishment" to try to justify the creation of non-reasonable/non-friendly customer service policies is becoming very old. Booklink is an establishment with bothersome and questionable quirks. I visited this seller with the intention of purchasing a specific book. I examined the half dozen copies on the shelf to choose the one that was in the best gift quality condition. A bearded man (owner) suddenly approaches me with "Can I help you? (No, thank you); Do not disrupt our displays (I am not); What exactly are you doing? (My plan is to purchase a book). He walked away, I purchased the book from the associate at the counter, and I immediately felt like a fool for doing so. Never again will I purchase from Booklink. There are other independent bookstores in this town, nearby towns, and of course on-line. read more

Quintessential passive aggressive Northampton virtue signaling and a smug, ideologically regressive shop. I asked if they would carry the current #1 selling book, The Real Anthony Fauci, to which they said, "[We'll] have to review it before making a decision." After kindly stressing the importance of carrying this book, I moved on. Once I was out of earshot, they rolled their eyes said to one another, "I would NEVER have that book in MY shop." Be direct to a customer's face, don't hide your judgmental sneer for the next to hear. read more

I liked this bookstore, but it has a few drawbacks. The bookstore itself felt cramped. It was rather small and finding specific topics was near-impossible. The shelves were largely "Fiction," "Poetry," "Literature" and "Non-Fiction." As someone who reads a lot of non-fiction, I prefer more variety in my shelves. Non-fiction can cover so many different avenues (as, for that matter, can "fiction") from religion to military history to anthropology to science to mathematics and far, far more. Finding a specific book seemed to be rather difficult since the shelves were not divided up at all. It it is one of my personal pet peeves, as I prefer my bookstores to be organized by subject (and my personal library at home reflects that). The store would do well to try to organize the shelves somewhat and put signs indicating what the books in a certain section are about. read more

Wow, the service from the woman who cashed me out was horrible. And she was new! She was completely uninterested in my as a customer, and seemed to recoil and sneer at me when I said "thank you, have a good night." Completely unacceptable. I'm sensitive to service/retail industry workers and what they go through. I've done it. I am always polite to them. This woman couldn't care. There are many places to buy books, including AMAZON. This customer service associate ensured that I will give any place but Booklink my business. Sucks. Only reason for the two star rating is the selection, which is about the same as any other local bookseller, and dwarfed by online booksellers read more

Nice shop with a wonderful selection of books, considering its size. One note -- be aware of very strict and detailed return policy *before* you make a purchase from this shop. Here's the policy, as printed on my receipt dated 12/11/2018 EXCHANGES WITHIN 7 DAYS OF PURCHASE ONLY. RECEIPT REQUIRED -- EXCHANGE FOR STORE CREDIT ONLY. SORRY, NO CASH/CREDIT CARD REFUNDS. SALE BOOKS, CARDS, CALENDARS AND OTHER NON-BOOK ITEMS ARE FINAL SALES. I purchased a book as a Christmas gift yesterday and thought I might pass the receipt along with the gift in case someone wanted to exchange the book for something else. This is clearly something that is not permitted at this this store -- since Christmas is more than 7 days from the date that I purchased the book. read more

I know this is sort of more a bookshop but there's good espresso here & coffee if you need a jolt of caffeine & this is also a plus if you're in Thonres Marketplace too. Also they got Wi-Fi 7 tables so you can do as need-be too. read more

Small bookstore but they had such great quality books that I had a hard time picking which one to get. This place is about quality not quantity. read more

this is the kind of place that reminds me why it's worthwhile to keep supporting small indie bookstores... it's low key, staffed by intelligent literature grads and there's a real focus on pioneer valley writers and local guidebooks. This is the place to go when looking for bargains on new books (check out the various discount tables on both floors). Plus, compared to some of the other bookstores in Noho, I find the staff are actually far more welcoming and the store itself considerably less cramped... there's even an espresso bar on the 2nd floor to buy tea or coffee (yes!) and relax on the couches. I do agree with the other post that having a non-fiction section is too broad and could be narrowed down, but that's my main gripe with the place. When I head to Thornes looking for gifts I ALWAYS find my way here, usually drawn in by their awesome card selection and then seeing some new title on display that I probably wouldn't have stumbled upon if I were shopping online. For me that's the perk of in-person book browsing and totally worth the price, along with getting recommendations from staff. A few weeks ago, when I was trying to find a last-minute xmas gift for my niece, a saleswoman here was very helpful in taking the time to show me some popular titles in the children's section. All in all, Booklink has been a Noho mainstay for a reason but if you're coming in with Amazon.com expectations for selection I can see where you might be disappointed.. read more

Located in the Thornes marketplace, it's one of the shops you want to visit. It's independent and smart. Albeit small, it has a decent selection of books. I do wish that there were more bargains in their "bargain section" but, it is an independent book store, and we should all be supporting them. Check it out if you are in the area. read more

There is a really good selection here for the amount of space in the store. I browsed for about 5-10 min with no intentions of buying anything, & found a few titles that I was interested in. read more

Gabriel was so helpful to my plight of using a northampton giftcard over the phone. Your customer service and recommendations were awesome. Thank you so much!! read more

Fantastic selection of books. There have been so many times where I have found the exact, obscure title for which I was searching. It's tucked away in the back of Thorne's Marketplace, away from the crunch and a perfect setting to sit down on the floor and settle with a book. One of my favorite places in Northampton. read more

They have a horrible return policy, and to compound that, the owner accused me of damaging the returned book (which I had only returned since it was a gift) days after the return. Take your business to Raven or Broadside. read more

Booklink booksellers is a beautiful bookstore with so many fascinating reads that will make you want to go back for more. My experiences there have been really great and i would recommend this store over any other bookseller. read more

The absolute WORST customer service I've ever encountered. I purchased a book here as a gift for my partner several days before Christmas as she had mentioned a month or two before that she wanted that book. The day after I bought it, I discovered she had just bought the same book for herself several towns away. So, a day and a half after I bought this $29.99 hardcover book, I went to return it, receipt in hand. I hadn't even taken it out of the bag yet. The book was in brand new condition. I went to the register where I politely told the clerk (bearded guy) that I wanted to return the book. I explained the reason I was returning it. The sign on the register indicated that because they're a small business, they would only do exchanges and store credit for returns. I was headed out of state, so I figured I'd get a store credit and come back when I had more time to shop. The clerk took the book and began inspecting it for at least a solid minute. He kept flipping through the pages, bending the front and back covers all the way back, inspecting the binding, etc. He then loudly, in a very hostile voice, told me that he couldn't take the book back because the binding was not in perfect condition. Surprised and embarrassed, I commented that I hadn't even taken the book out of the bag, let alone opened it. He rudely stated that the binding wasn't in very good shape. I politely responded that if the binding was damaged at all, either they sold it to me that way or perhaps he damaged it bending the covers all the way back. I indicated that I wasn't looking for a refund, just a store credit as their sign indicated. He loudly refused to give me a store credit saying I could only exchange the book for something $29.99 or greater, not a penny less. As I was in a hurry, that wasn't an option. Still, I couldn't understand why he was then willing to exchange it for a book the same amount or greater but wouldn't give me the store credit for that amount. It's the same amount of money either way. As I didn't have time to shop, I left the store with the book. I told my partner the story and after Christmas she went to try to return the same book with the receipt for a store credit. The same bearded guy was behind the counter. She told him she got it for Christmas but already had the book and asked if she could return it for a store credit. Without inspecting the book, he took it back and gave her store credit. Maybe it was because she had one of our kids with her, maybe it's because she's better looking than me, maybe this clerk was having a really horrible day when I tried to return the book; I don't know what to think but we just couldn't believe it. She will use the store credit and then neither of us plan to shop here again. It's a shame. We live here and make it a point to support the local, independent businesses but this was inexcusably bad customer service. If the owner of this bookstore, assuming it's not the bearded guy, is reading this, he/she should be disturbed by this employee's behavior. I've never been so disappointed in a business that I felt compelled to comment publicly on my experience, until now. That should tell you something. read more

This small independent bookstore has alot to offer with a wide range of books as well as journals, greeting cards, as well as other things such as teas and infuser mugs upstairs. I have been going here since I was a little kid. And the staff is very helpful knolagable and friendly. It is deffinitly one of the best bookstores in the area. read more

It's nice to find an independent bookstore--but this one seems to lack independence when it comes to the subjects of Judaism, Hebrew language, or Israel. The sotre is well stocked with anti-Israel books--but has absolutely nothing that is pro-Israel or "even-handed"--and nothing on Judaism or the Hebrew language. it is well stocked with Middle Eastern literature in English translation, replete with Middle Eastern cookbooks and travel books--but with lacking in Israeli literature in English translation or Israeli or Jewish cookbooks or travel guides don't carry the buzz-word "Palestine." So offensive is this dearth of information that one must conclude that the owner/buyer is following prejudices or misjudgments rather than stocking a bookstore. So go there and enjoy--but if you have been forewarned that "independent" is not always what it seems. read more

Visited this store with high hopes, only to discover that the store is lackluster and the owner himself is a complete jerk. The selection was very lacking and desperately over priced. The owner was 100% unhelpful and rude in assisting me personally (I was given a brush off, apparently he was too busy stocking shelves to be bothered assisting a customer with a very basic question). My visit to the travel section was the straw that broke the camel's back. The travel section is located near the children's section. Two little boys spent the duration of my visit yelling, running, and crashing into other customers, while two little girls sat looking at books quietly. While adjusting a shoe, one of the girls set a book on the floor. The jerk owner yelled girl for setting a book on the floor. Didn't say one word to the rowdy, obnoxious boys, just the quiet girls. Misogyny rules the day at this store, apparently! Good job, jerk owner, for putting a girl in her place, and making sure she obeyed your fascist rules. This place is not where MY local dollars will be spent. After watching the owner's parade of bad attitude, I opted to take my business to Amazon. read more

The owner of Book Link Booksellers hates kids. He made my 3 year old son cry by telling me he couldn't turn the pages of a book he was peacefully, slowly and quite dexterously looking at. That was the third of three different things he complained to us about in the span of 20 minutes we were there. May I just heartily encourage you, especially if you have kids, to go anywhere else but Booklink. Northampton has several fantastic bookstores - avoid this one. It offers nothing you can't find much more of elsewhere. read more

Great bookstore! The guy that has worked there for years is always helpful and is incredibly knowledgeable, offering suggestions based on other authors of interest, and always on target. read more

we try to support buying local but not this one. my husband and two young kids were in the bookstore today trying to browse. they got repeated dirty looks from the guy working the counter and when my daughter dropped a paperback book by mistake, he got mad and said that she was "damaging the books" (the book was absolutely fine btw). they finally left because of the rude service! families are obviously not welcome at this store! (very strange for a store trying to sell children's books). read more