As a West Coaster I have many bookstores to patronize and usually order from Amazon as I read as much as I can. However after finding this little gem of a bookstore I can now say I order from Broadside! The shipping is more than reasonable and the selection is as all encompassing as I see online. The staff is tenured and reliable, one of the staff "Brenna" keeps a running log of what I read and like and when they have three or four they go ahead and charge my card and ship them out. It is so delightful to find a package of books waiting for me when I get home, I just dive right in. Thanks Broadside, Brenna and the rest of the fabulous crew for making reading even more fun. read more

Very cute new book store in Northampton! It's across the street from the Smith College Academy of Music, in front of a "15 minute free" curbside parking spot. In addition to books of all genres, they sell a lot of adorable book related accessories - I do regret not getting the book earrings, but love my ribbon bookmark (the purchase of which helps with community hunger). They also have POSTCARDS! There's a bunch of local cards for Northampton and Smith, and the rest of vintage pictures, political, or just best described as random (but would be perfect for someone out there). Masks are required as of April 2022. read more

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We are so lucky to have this bookstore! I love walking through that old door and being greeted by folks who have been furnishing my book shelves for many years. If they don't have a book in stock, no worries, it can ordered! Hands down the nicest bookstore with really kind, smart, helpful humans. Thank you for being here! read more

I f'ing love Broadside. So many books and cards and stationary sets and shirts and bags and stuff. So much. And it's all so delightful. The employees are kind and happy to help you find things you love. Amid the pandemic, they had a sign showing Jane Austen with a mask. It was PRECIOUS. The prices are generally the stock price of the book (no Barnes & Noble discounts here), but we all love supporting small businesses, especially local book stores. You can order through their Bookshop.org page or directly from their website and pick up in store (save the shipping costs). Overall, big big fan of Broadside. Go show them some love... read more

Fantastic bookshop within Thornes Marketplace! One of my favorite stops when visiting town!

A good, quality bookstore, if not of the size of the dear departed Beyond Words, but Broadside has staying power: I started frequenting Northampton in 1982, and while so much in downtown Noho's proven ephemeral, Broadside stays the course. A good solid collection, progressive even by Northampton's unabashedly liberal traditions, and good service. The only fly in the ointment is that it's pricey, but not a whole lot on Main Street is anything but. read more

Such a cute, cozy bookshop! I love coming here when I visit my friend who lives in the area. They always have unique and interesting finds alongside more popular releases. read more

I can't believe this store only has 11 reviews! We stopped in here (with a dog, nonetheless), and loved browsing around. Really excellent selection of new fiction and gender studies. I particularly loved the selection of handmade cards and stationary from local letter presses. I purchased a huge handful which I plan to frame as art and hang on a gallery wall. My two favorites were from locally made letterpresses with Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde quotes. They also had other trinkets for sale, and if I lived nearby, i'd probably come here often to buy unique little gifts for people on the regular. Its not really a place to sit in a read (seems to be the theme in Northampton), and they just have a few chairs spread throughout. If they just added a couple more, it would be nice to sit and read. The 3 chairs I saw were all taken when I was there. Even without the chairs, we'll definitely be back to visit. Broadside is a super convenient stop on the way to several coffee shops and lunch stops, and as I said, they let us bring the dog in, which was most appreciated! They were super nice to him. Broadside is a sweet addition to the downtown Northampton! read more

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I love everything about this store! I could have browsed for much longer. I found a book in here that I never would have found at Barnes & Noble in Kansas. In addition to books, they have all kinds of gifts too. And their magazine section contains only intelligent, balanced periodicals. Nothing that could trigger negative body image, and no right wing propaganda. I like that. read more

I wasn't looking for a book, but after spending ten minutes reading all the cards in the front window, I knew I was in for a treat. Not every indie bookstore has the kind of curated collection like this one. The breadth of interesting selections fills me with admiration. I walked out with a book that hooked me with its fascinating title "How to Read Water," and I can assure you that does not often happen. I was going to buy a book just to support a local bookstore, but this place was a bibliographic treasure chest. Wish I lived nearby! read more

This is a lovely independent bookstore in the heart of Northampton. I have to stop in when I'm in town - even if it's for just a few minutes to walk around to soak up the atmosphere of the place and see what's new. I've been coming to Broadside for nearly twenty years and like a good friend, it hasn't changed all that much. The emphasis here is on exceptional service. Even today, when I was poking around a customer called and was looking for a title. The sales clerk checked and said they didn't have it in stock; but they'd be happy to order it - it would be there in 48 hours. Sure, you can go to Amazon and get a book there, but it's somehow not the same thing. Broadside has a soul - it makes you feel good to be here and anything purchased here will be remembered as being purchased from here. There's a specialness about independent bookstores and they must be preserved. There aren't many discounts - but the benefits are in the service, commitment, passion and intelligence that can't be replicated anywhere else. I love this store and would be crushed if it ever closed. read more

Beautiful local book store with a large selection of books and nick nacks for purchase. Their card selection is outstanding and the staff are helpful. Would recommend. read more

Broadside Bookshop - Bookstores Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Broadside is a fantastic bookstore, especially if you like your literature with a side of politics. Case in point: they have a big electronic sign in their front window tallying, in real time, how many US soldiers have died in Iraq since the war started in 2003. Let's just say that they aren't subtle in their opinion about the war, Mr. Bush and all the rest. Broadside has been in business since 1974, and I couldn't be more happy to support a local, independent bookstore. They have regular in-house author readings, stellar recommended reads and a user-friendly website. They also have these great, apparently homemade political bumper stickers at the front counter with catchphrases like "Completely Appalled." I can't ever seem to leave the store without buying something - last time it was a book of essays on Hurricane Katrina, a travel guidebook to Ireland and Philip Roth's "American Pastoral" (the staff recommendation below the book sold me). If you're in the area and are a devoted bibliophile, definitely swing by. You won't regret it. read more

Love, LOVE, LOOOOVE this book store. Great staff. Small and crammed with selection. I bought a birthday present for a friend here. This is the old school book store like they used to have before Barnes N Noble and Borders closed up all the mom and pop book shops. I would definitely come back here and pay full price for a book once in a while purely because I believe in good books, a cozy seat to peruse a new potential purchase, and a chance to support a local small business. Top notch customer service and staff. Very personable and attentive to customers. Cannot recommend highly enough. read more

Broadside is my favorite bookstore for buying new books in the area. They have a great selection of fiction, kid's books, magazines and a lot of other sections that I don't shop in. I particularly enjoy their staff selections where I can reliably find something I will enjoy. I like to shop here for holidays and birthdays too because they often have books that would make excellent gifts right up front on display racks. I've found the employees to be very helpful, though not exactly overly friendly. But who needs a smile when they have a great selection and will help you find what you need. read more

Cool bookstore. It looks like they put a lot of thought into the layout of this place. It's bigger than it looks from the outside. read more

Broadside Bookshop - Bookstores Near Me - Northampton, Massachusetts

Broadside is a pretty dreamy little bookstore. It's rather small, which means you are enveloped by bookshelves upon stepping in. DELICIOUS. (For others delighted by this prospect: www.bookshelfporn.com) I know new books cost a pretty penny these days, but there is a library cart up front full of new books on sale. I got Tristram Shandy for $3! If you're just stopping through Northampton, check out Broadside's postcard collection. Fellow geeks: great little graphic novel section here. Not huge, but really well curated. I left with a big smile, a new book and an EAT. SLEEP. READ. bookmark;). read more

This bookstore generally makes best-of lists for bookstores in the New England area, despite its small size, for good reason: they've maintained their character and personality, and continue to offer an extremely well-curated selection of books and literary journals. I make it a point to visit whenever I'm anywhere near Northampton. Visiting independent bookstores over the past few years has been a painful experience, as you see the pressures affect their inventory: a narrowing selection, more kitschy non-book items taking up space, used books replacing new titles, and in extreme cases children's book sections gradually taking over the entire store. There are still best-sellers and plenty of general interest titles here to interest friends & family members who are more casual readers, but Broadside is clever in their placement of these books so that browsers inevitably stumble upon books they wouldn't have considered prior to entering the store. The store's cozy ambiance (okay, a bit cramped when it gets busy) also enhances the likelihood of discovery of cool independent literature and non-fiction titles. I even walked out with a cookbook once (in bigger bookstores I don't get anywhere near the cookbook section) because it had so many interesting looking -- and most important, simple for a cooking dunce like me -- recipes for Asian cooking as well as discussion of the different cuisines. That's the magic of this store...and any special bookstore. You go in thinking you'll pick up Harry Potter for your child, you walk out with a volume of Chilean poetry. Or you go in for Russian literature, and add a cookbook and the latest Paris Review to your purchase. Even the kitschy knick-knacks -- paper doll books of politicians, joke bookmarks, etc -- are good kitschy knick-knacks. Visit here, and visit often. read more

Another ode to a small, smartly curated, indie bookstore. Broadside is small, and everything it stocks is smart - from its very intelligent fiction section to a great selection of lit mags (yes: you can get Granta, the Believer, and Paris Review here!) to charming stationery. I wouldn't necessarily venture here for my academic book needs - but that's not their speciality - instead, I enjoyed spending time wandering through their fiction section, and discovering things I wanted to read (isn't this the joy of the indie store? Finding things you wouldn't otherwise!). And the folks who staff the store really want to share their love of books - take note of the sign that says "please ask us for recommendations!" read more

WHOA! This place is the best! It's a tiny little bookshop but those are the absolute best and have so much character. Not only does it have Scrabble coffee mugs but it has copies of current and past issues of Lapham's Quarterly, McSweeny's and the Paris Review. I'm in heaven. This place is NOT to be missed. read more

Great little independent bookstore. It's got a good selection of books, especially kids books. Sometimes some real gems can be found on the bookrack outside. read more

Can I just say that this local bookstore is a gem? It's a small store in the center of Northampton and I always pass by to browse when I am around. This store has a great selection of books and bookish accessories. And the staff are so nice and such voracious readers that whenever you buy something they will always have read it before you and have something to say about it, which is awesome. And you can also earn points for every $10 spent until you spend $100 and then you get $10 off. read more

This store carries such a well-curated selection of books. I often stop in to kill time and end up leaving with several books that I did not intend to buy. Whoever chooses the titles here is really stellar. Also, they will order books for you if you ask. So keep it local if you can! read more

Our favorite bookstore! Wonderful owners, great selection of books and they bring in wonderful events with local authors! Probably our favorite place in Northampton! read more