Good used bookstore. Reasonably priced. Very friendly staff. Good selection and a searchable…read moreinventory

I visited Books & Company recently for the first time & completely fell in love with it…read more Apparently, this store used to be in Hamden, but the owner retired & sold the building & the company. This is the new location & new ownership. I had never been to the prior store. I spent a whopping two hours in this little shop. It is set up & well curated like a fancy bookstore, on par with my experience at shops like Athena Books in Greenwich, CT, and Martin House Books (formerly Savoy) in Westerly, RI. It's on the smaller/boutique-style size, so don't expect a massive range of genres, like one would find at the Book Barn in Niantic, CT. There's no coffee shop, but there is a Keurig & water available, and a handful of chairs to sit in. The used fiction books were in good or very good condition, easy to locate in their sections, and priced around $8 for hardcovers if the book retailed $24+. I got two recent NYTimes bestsellers that had been on my wishlist. The children's & young adults books were also well selected, and I bought a handful, ranging in $2-$3/each for paperback & hardcover. The price stickers easily peeled off all of my books without leaving any residue, which I very much appreciated. The gift selection was perfect for stocking stuffers or small mailed gifts, including for nerds, gamers, and musicians. There were bowls full of stickers, $0.25 each, and postcards, $1 each. Funny magnets, like Mincing Mockingbird, were a full $3 cheaper than at other gift shops (e.g. Bowerbird in Old Lyme, CT). There were also some handmade gifts from locals. There's a shelf near checkout with wrapped mystery books. I thought this was the common "buy a date with a random book" thing. It wasn't -- You picked one for free with the purchase of any book in the store. The wrapping is a hint related to the title or theme, and a lot of the wrapping was sustainable, e.g. reusing a helium balloon body or old calendars, etc. I was surprised that the mystery book wasn't tied to a minimum purchase amount (and I wonder if it will be sustainable for the shop's bottom line, I have to admit). I was further amazed that all of the wrapped books were advertised as being at least 3.5+ stars on GoodReads. My mystery book ended up being a pristine paperback copy of "The Time Traveler's Wife." There's a selection of greeting cards as well, but I found those to be the only spot the store was lacking; they were expensive at $6+, and I've seen a lot better selections, e.g. at The Bowerbird, with a larger range of independent artists, at more affordable price points $3-$5. I normally buy a lot of greeting cards when I come across ones that aren't the big box brands (Hallmark has a massive monopoly, omg), but I didn't buy any cards here. There was a free section near the front door, and there was a fill-a-bag sale rack near the front. I asked the cashier/owner a lot of questions, and she was very knowledgeable and helpful. I heard her speaking with others who came in & from my understanding, when you trade in books, you get half their selling value in store credit. All in all, this is one of my favorite used bookstores I've visited, and I will definitely travel to the area again before the holidays to visit it. I would highly recommend it! If you like to shop used/vintage/antiques, there's also a little store next door in the same plaza, but it doesn't have A/C. This book shop does have A/C. =)

Well played, Miller Memorial Public Library…read more We were looking for used bookstores & found a place in Hamden called "Second Hand Prose." Sounds cool, right? It's. in. the. library. Gah. Unfortunately, said store was closed. Instead, there was a small area near the checkout desk with an unexciting selection available for sale. So there is - or was - a used bookstore-- just not in the way we thought.

Grey Matter is heaven in a used bookstore! It has such a large and extensive collection of titles…read morein every category. I am particularly impressed by its offerings in art, theology, philosophy, literary theory, and literature. (Where else could I find, to my delight, a copy of Julia Kristeva's Desire in Language, which was a work cited and consulted in my master's thesis so many years ago? It was like bumping into an old friend.) Some first editions reside inside glass display cases. Academic titles abound. The store is impeccably organized and there are no boxes of incoming titles obstructing one's view or path. They have a pile of free books near the door and a rack of titles for $1.00 each both outside as well as inside. Grey Matter is a must when book shopping in New Haven. (And I think I'll be back to pick up that title by Kristeva!)

Our bellies were full and we needed to burn off some calories while in downtown New Haven, so my…read morefriends took my wife and I over to Grey Matter Books since we are big readers and don't care to just walk into the Barnes and Noble down the street. From the moment you walk into this place you are slapped in the face with the lovely smell of used books. This shop is filled from front to back with thousands of used books all separated in little sections. This place definitely doesn't have a ton of newer titles, but is definitely the type of place you can spend an hour or so in just digging through everything and finding some weird and quirky reads. Overall, Grey Matter Books is a very solid used book store with a wide array of different types of books. Although I didn't leave with anything (I live in LA so I can only travel with so many new books, which is a shame) this place is definitely somewhere I'll continue to stop at when visiting Connecticut in the future.

Very cute little bookstore. Books are free - just donate something. It is not closed contrary to…read morewhat Yelp says.

Open mic Saturdays. Music improv last Monday of the month. Great intimate book store. Uncanny and…read morecommunal space. Kind creative people.

Love going retro every once in a while! With the snow falling (pre-Thanksgiving!), the warm shop…read morewith the smell of Starbucks coffee and new books was very welcoming. Although everything is available online, it was really great to and there's nothing like being able to touch and feel and see before buying. They had everything we were looking for and we were able to "sample" several selections before buying. Here's to hoping ricks & mortar survive the internet/Amazon revolution

Staff is always friendly and helpful! I could spend hours in this place. They have a great…read moreselection of random finds as well as books of course. I actually got a large amount of Christmas gifts from here, toys, books, journals.. you name it. It's one of my favorite places! (that's the bookworm in me talking). My only complaint is the bathroom is kinda shoddy, one sink didn't work last time i was there. And there was paper towels all over the floor and i do wish the store itself was larger. But all in all its one of my happy places & i love to frequent here.

I love me a used bookstore. Whitlock's is a great place to spend an afternoon, with many shelves of…read moreunique books to browse through. In the main store, the floors are a bit topsy-turvy, so wear good shoes (leave the heels at home, lol). A beautiful spot, gorgeous scenery around the barn. A must visit for bibliophiles!

I am so grateful they had a sign pointing the direction of Whitlocks Book Barn on the main road - I…read morewasn't 100% expecting it to be in a residential area. But it is, and the store itself is lovely with the books split between two barns. The upper barn (as was explained to me) is where the majority of their fiction is and the best prices on used books. The lower, or main, barn with the cash register has their newer and rarer inventory. The floor is a bit warped so just be careful with your step. They do accept credit cards despite the initial appearance of a vintage register.

#27 in my NEW ENGLAND & NY COFFEE SHOP SERIES…read more A cute, old school, bookstore cafe with lots of seating for studying. If you walk to the left with all the books, there is a hidden study area with 4 seats, outlets, and a view out the window! They have all your typical cafe drinks. Not the best in terms of drinks, but it is affordable and gets the job done. I would come here to study again just for the vibes alone. However, if you're coming for a coffee date or great coffee, perhaps skip. Street parking available

I left DVD's to be bought. They're now for sale in the store. I was never paid…read more They have my my contact information. They've never been in touch. When I go into the store there is no offer/money waiting for me. Unacceptable.

This place is a must for the curious & the eclectic. Not a big place, great prices on items ready…read moreto be repurposed... don't miss the items in their space across the street too! I never leave without a find....

From the owner: Where you’ll always find the unexpected. We are constantly repurposing, reusing, and reimagining…read moreall of our inventory.

Reread books has quickly become one of our favorite spots. I love a pre-love bookstore, but they…read morehave so many other little details that make it just wonderful. They recently added the New England, coffee guy and a great coffee counter. He also has Kouign pastries for sale. The spot also attracted me because of their work with individuals with disabilities on their staff. There are tons of little spaces to sit in comfy chairs. The children's section in the back room is a really good size with just enough spots. There's a big round table in the back room that has a little retail of soap lotion. One of my favorite parts is the outside is a full covered awning so you can still sit out there even in the rain. We've been back many times and will continue to do so. Great spot.

It's an adorable store, located outside on the lowest floor of a larger shopping mall. It opens…read morewith tables and chairs outside, and a larger coffee and pastry shop inside. There is also a large desk to check out books - I got two paperbacks, one new, for six dollars. The inside has books divided up by children's, fiction, biography, history, etc. There are places to sit and chat, and playsets like a kitchen for the children. I could not find a restroom though, so maybe one is in the outer mall?

I walked in and I was immediately greeted by a dog. I told the owner, who was holding a book club…read moremeeting, that I was happy about that because I had seen a picture of the dog while researching the store and I figured that the dog wouldn't be there anymore because it was a three year old picture. They all laughed. After that, I took a cursory look at the fiction section. Then I wanted to look at the nonfiction section, which was next to the book club. I observed them for a minute out of curiosity. The novel they were discussing seemed interesting. I then spent a good five or ten minutes skimming through a book I found interesting and looking up information about it online when the owner walked up to me and asked me to go to the other side of the store because she thought I was eavesdropping and worried it might make the others uncomfortable. I apologized and sat down in a chair for about half an hour while I waited for the meeting to end so that I could browse that section again, but I eventually had to leave because I ran out of time and needed to be elsewhere. The book selection looked good from a distance. Wish I could have checked it out. At least I got to pet a dog, though.

Possible Futures is a bright, colorful, quirky bookstore in a little corner of edgewood. I came…read morehere for an album-release event hosted by my friends which Lauren, the owner, graciously supported. Walking around the store, I perused through all of the carefully curated book selection from culturally-savvy children's books to invigorating reads on advocacy and change-making. The store's environment is one of warmth which invites you in for a friendly cup of tea or one of their many events like a mahjong night I'm looking forward to attending. Once you make it, you'll want to stay and have a convo with the many regulars who swear by the magic of this store . Everything about this place embodies acceptance and welcome. Possible Futures is my new favorite bookstore in New Haven and I cannot recommend a place more. Bonus: Lookout for Sugar, the bookstore puppers!