"Books, you don't need, in a place you can't find" an ironic slogan for one of the most hospitable…read moreand inspiring bookstores I've ever visited. Many comfy nooks for reading, shelves filled with quirky adventures, kind & helpful staff. Delicious coffee available at the adjacent Lady Killigrew cafe.

Lots of great reads to find here and also so many music selections both new and old as well as cd…read moreand vinyl! Cannot believe how many areas there were that had been filled with books, yummy lunch options at the cafe as well!

Along a country road in the heart of the Pioneer Valley in rural western Massachusetts there are…read moretwo used bookstores across the street from one another. One is in a house and the other, Heritage Books, resides in a former turn of the century brick library. As many times as I've driven by Heritage on Rt 10 just a few miles south of bohemian Northampton, it never seemed to be open. This past Sunday it was and I stopped in for my first look-see. Nice. Lots of interesting volumes on just about everything are neatly stacked and fairly priced. They have a strong fiction and history section and I couldn't help myself and bought a book about exploring Alaska written about twenty years ago after the first couple of paragraphs grabbed my attention. This is one of those uniquely New England used bookstores - always good for a surprising find at a reasonable price. And if you don't like the price, you can always bargain. Will I be back to Heritage? Absolutely!

Overall, I wasn't impressed with the selection of books but the store does have some unique items…read more If you're looking for vintage paperbacks or vintage pulp novels (VIctorian-1960s) there's an extensive collection here. Downstairs you'll find the vintage paperbacks at $3 each and upstairs the vintage pulp novels are individually wrapped and priced. They also have vintage posters, issues of Harper's from the 1800s, and a good number of vintage sci-fi books. The mass market paperbacks were cheap ($1) but in poor condition. I'd rather pay a few dollars more and get ones in fair to good condition. If you don't mine driving north to Hadley, you'll find the best bookstore in the area. The left half of the store is the Troubadour Books (hands down the best used bookstore I've been to) and the right half of the store is Gray Matter Books, which has a great fiction and paperback selection. http://www.yelp.com/biz/troubadour-books-hadley

This is perhaps my favorite bookstore ever. So happy that it is the town I live in…read more They have a great in-store selection and make online ordering very easy. I especially appreciate their large section of horror books, unusual in many bookstores. The staff is friendly and helpful.

I love this cute book store in the heart of Easthampton. Andy was very helpful and ordered some…read morebooks for me which were not in stock. Great customer service!

Booklink is an independent bookstore in Thornes Marketplace in Northampton. It has been at this…read morelocation 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!

Hearing the rational "We are a small independent establishment" to try to justify the creation of…read morenon-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.

What a lovely bookstore! I came here with a friend and their daughter who were ready to get some…read morebooks. I'm not one to buy books often, so I perused their other offerings and got a few mood rings as well as some buttons and a sticker. Lots of cute gifts and a nice variety of books for all ages. I even picked up a free bookmark at checkout and enjoyed talking to Lexi, the owner, who is super welcoming and passionate about providing books, art and positivity in her community. She offers take-home art projects for kids which is pretty cool.

Wonderful book store! Me and my 7 year old had a blast getting a personal tour from Lexi and…read morepicking out some new chapter books and graphic novels. Amazing selection with someone that actually cares about inspiring others with the magic that comes from reading a good book!

Located next to Village Pizza, we stopped in because the nostalgic character drinking glasses in…read morethe window intrigued me. There was a great selection of comic books organized well. I ended up getting a Smurfette figurine while my husband chatted with the owner, I think. He graciously was giving my husband price estimates and guidelines even though my husband was thinking about selling his comics on Ebay. This guy really knew his stuff and had such a depth of comic history and information about various characters. He had also worked at the theater for 20 years, and my husband and him compared memories of the theater and we got to hear about secret, historical things in the theater as well. Really a great guy and making the store a wonderfully, helpful resource. It is guys like him that make small towns a special place to visit and the world a smaller, more friendly, warmer, better place.

Wondering what I'm doing at the comic store again? You guessed it right! My dear hubby couldn't…read moreresist coming in here and leaving with at least one flash issue. I'm not a huge comics type of gal but my better half sure does love them! We were on a quick weekend getaway and, after hitting up the awesome bagel spot down the street, we came right in. Cool little local spot, not a franchise, they sell a lot of local work from the area. The girl in the counter was awesome and very helpful. She was very interactive and down to earth also showed us some sections where they have the dollar comics at. We found a little gem in there and also left with one of the older original Flash issues. The owner was very reasonable and willing to even negotiate on it. I know if we lived locally I would know where to find my halfsie at, definitely in here! If we're ever back in the area, for sure I know he'll be back.

One of the things that makes Northampton, well, Northampton, is Essentials. I started shopping at…read moreEssentials almost twenty years ago, and it's been a staple of my quirky life ever since. It's changed hands twice in my awareness, and just keeps getting better and better with age. This is a design-focused, design-heavy shop, and there are things I can pretty much only get AT Essentials; for instance, they've got a cut-to-custom-length ribbon bar, and some of that ribbon is vintage, and my absolute favorite is the hand-dyed silk. Also, they've got the best collection of Tintin and other European character favorites (like Barbapapa and Babar) this side of the pond. Oh, and the staff is wonderful. Knowledgable, friendly, thoughtful, and creative. Over the years, the cast of characters has changed, but it's always top-shelf. One giant boon: they've helped me put together a gift in no time, saving my bacon on numerous occasions! On a typical day, you can find stationery of all kinds, the indier the better; dishware; rubber stamps; intriguing books (think Chronicle); bath goods; bags of all shapes, sizes, and purposes; clothes and scarves; eight million things for kids, from blankies to onesies to stuffed alligators; jewelry; small home goods; special pens; DIY kits; custom furniture; large sheets of beautiful artisan paper; and a ton of things I'm forgetting. And one other thing about Essentials I am not forgetting, but which I saved for last, because it's my favorite. Essentials has an in-house design and print studio. And they also work with a select group of indie designers and printers who create everything from business cards to party invites. Here is where Colette, the current owner, really freaking shines, in my opinion. There was one thing I wanted when it came time to get married. One. Thing. That one thing was letterpress wedding invitations from Essentials. Colette took us from beautiful nebulous idea to flawlessly-executed product without ever breaking a sweat. I don't know if you've ever worked with people who are about to get married, but we are not always the most poised, cool-headed, or unflappable of people; Colette sat us down in the big comfy chairs and made sketches and phone calls, and really made our family feel like we were the only people in the entire world. Go see what I'm talking about - our invitation is probably still hanging in its golden-framed, green-paper-backed glory. Nearly four thousand miles away now, and I'm still bouncing in my chair as I look forward to my next trip to Essentials, whenever it may be.

I like this store and their merchandise. The prices are high, as the merchandise is of a high…read morequality. However their store policies are not up par with many upscale stores. We received a lovely gift of several girls garments, however we have a male child. The store manager, who did not have the courage to call us, rather made a sales associate do their work, informed us without a receipt we can not get a store credit. So wonderful Essentials, you made some money from this sale, but you lost a lot more revenue from this here shopper.

Building 451 is a nice discount store with many interesting items and a large card selection. They…read moreare currently open seven days a week. Their inventory changes frequently with new deals. The store is similar to the former Final Markdown! It is worth a look...

This place is DISGUSTING. Dust EVERYWHERE, horrible service, awful musty smell. I felt a dyer need…read moreto wash my hands twice when I left that place because you can just feel the layers of dust sitting on their merchandise. I went there 2 times and both times when I walked in, the lady just looked at me and turned her head. I asked if she could help me grab something on the top shelf and she sighed, grabbed it for me and then when I asked a simple "wow, this is different! have you tried this?" She said in a very irritating manner "i dont know anything about that. I just sell it so just leave it there if you dont want it." All while walking away from me, no eye contact. I then stood in line waiting and waiting to be checked out while she was having side conversations with someone she knew. Conversations about grandchildren even though shes only in her 60's and how she wants one, how she doesnt want to wait till shes "10ft under" (thought the saying was 6ft under but anyways), talking about a restaurant near by, etc etc ALL WHILE SHE KNEW I WAS WAITING TO BE RUNG UP. As soon as I was about to put my stuff down and walk out, she goes "you need something?" I told her "yeah I'm waiting for you to ring me out." And she took my stuff, rang it, took my money AND THEN CONTINUED HER CONVO WHILE HOLDING ONTO MY MONEY!! She didnt put it in the register, she didnt get my change, she just held onto it and carried on with her conversation. I then wanted to take the money back and leave, thats when she opened the register, got my change and as I held my hand out for her to hand me my change, she just laid it on the counter for me to pick the change up. She didn't put my things in a bag, she didn't say thank you nor did she say goodbye. She just put my change on the counter and continued her conversation with the other person. I don't ever really see cars parked on their side of the parking lot and My mother and I were the only customers. No wonder why! I have a business of my own, my whole family does. That is not how you run a business. I felt SO disrespected while shopping there. I was not rude, I was smiley when I walked in and I always try to speak politely and professionally. If that lady isnt the owner then that place needs a new employee or new staff members. Someone who can utilize the down time to tidy up the place and can offer decent customer service. Completely unacceptable. I would give it 0 stars if I could, shame to this business.