I visited twice in one day. There is a large range of genres and many interesting vintage finds to consider so the first time i just checked it out and identified a few books i liked. The second time i purchased two books and also connected with the owner on a shared interest and had a great conversation. I'll stop by again next time I'm in town. read more

I've never been in the shop, but the owner was super helpful when I called. One of the things that attracts me is the location. This building used to be apartments: Eller Apartments. We lived upstairs and one unit south of this store. It was about my favorite place, after 70+ years of living in many places on 3 continents. I will be in to shop one day.... read more

The place has everything and if they dont they will get it for you. Super place! Great people with a lot of knowledge. I go there every chance I get. read more

Electric & funky We needed some reading material for our vacation days here in town and we were happy to see downtown books open on a Monday afternoon! Great prices and some cool finds. So many genres and a great place to check out for more unique book needs. Every inch of the store has books, even the fun closet of classics. We left with books about caviar and flowers, also found an awesome card deck from the 1960's with all the pieces! Owner is a little bit of an odd ball but very sweet! read more

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Downtown Books is a small hole-in-the-wall used bookstore at the end of a business condo row on 8th St. Parking is easy enough to find on the adjacent streets. The bookstore is very, very cramped. Patrons are not able to pass each other in the rows or aisles. We were not able to see the books on the bottom shelves because we couldn't bend over to see them. It would be much more comfortable and less claustrophobic if a row in each room were removed, but that would leave too few selections. Large bodied people and those will mobility issues will have issues navigating the space; those people in wheelchairs will not be able to access the space. The sections weren't clearly marked, if there were markings, and there wasn't a store layout poster up at the front. The organization seemed very haphazard. There wasn't a check-out counter or area, so I'm not sure how patrons purchase books. This isn't a business I'd return to, even with loving perusing book selections. read more

Downtown Books - Used Bookstore Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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This is a super cool used bookstore. It's packed incredibly densely, giving it a unique aesthetic even college town bookstores don't have. The store has a wide selection of lesser known titles for surprisingly low prices. The owner is friendly and seems to love chatting about books when given the opportunity. I'd highly recommend checking it out read more

Downtown Books - One of the rows of books - Used Bookstore Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Yelp hours are not updated. :( They now open at 12 and not 10. We came first thing on a Monday and were very disappointed.

Recently moved to ABQ and this hands down my favorite bookstore in town with any genre of used books I could ever hope for. The owner is well read and has the best setup if you want to chill here for an hour or be in and out. You won't be disappointed if a new reader or avid book lover! read more

Unquestionably, THE best bookstore in Albuquerque! Wide selection, well organized and very knowledgeable staff. Prices are excellent.

Cool store and owner. Lots of books you won't find in other stores. Check it out if you're downtown.

A charming used bookstore in downtown Albuquerque. Walking in, I immediately fell in love with the vibe and atmosphere. There is an excellent selection of used books. The staff was friendly and helpful. I was able to chat with Lloyd, the manager. He was so sweet and full of stories from his past career. It was so lovely to connect with him and learn a little bit about him and the book store. My favorite was the children's section; there was just something magical about the room. Filled with tons of old children's books, it took me right back to my childhood. If you haven't been, I highly recommend stopping by and supporting this gem in downtown Albuquerque. read more

Downtown Books - The children's section. - Used Bookstore Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Awesome collection of may books , always new selections. Highly recommend this little hidden gem read more

This store rewards patient perusing of each shelf. Friendly person on the store. The prices are fair and I would like to return and stay for a long time. read more

Downtown Books on 8th Street nearby Robinson's Park is located amidst a two-story Victorian style buildings. The owner Scott, has owned the establishment for over 10 years. it is constantly well stocked of literature that could accompany nearby UNM students, Albuquerquen poets and artists. There are good mixtures of philosophy, mythology, photography, art culture, Native Americans, and other cultural books to name a few and then some other well stocked reads... The staffs here take turns managing the store. Each one is very well verse and knowledgeable in all aspects of the literature. I recommend that you come on in browse on your own or sit down and have a conversation with any of the staffs. They are all very friendly and super helpful! You could definitely strike up a conversation with any of them on all topics and all subject matters. This particular bookstore represent a dying breed, so to speak, when there are so many ebooks and Kindles readings available through the internet, It is easy to forget the bookstore which has the tangible book that you could hold and turn the pages for reading pleasure. It would be good if we, all passionate readers will come and support this bookstore and search for an actual hard pages to hold onto and treasure for old time sake! read more

Downtown Books - Used Bookstore Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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I always search out the used book stores when I travel. This gem is just what I enjoy- several rows of books organized (mostly) but not so well that I don't have to do a little searching to find a good book. I found 2 good paperbacks! The owner is friendly and more than happy to help. I will be back. read more

Best bookstore in Albuquerque! If you need it, they have it but it's most fun to just browse and surprise yourself.

Boo, you lose a star, Downtown Books! I decided to talk a walk on my lunchbreak and ended up at Downtown Books. Got there just a pinch before noon, and the sign on the door said returning at 12:00. So I decided to wait around a bit - it'd be worth it - but finally by 12:15 I was sicking of sitting and waiting in the sun. If you aren't going to be in at noon, don't post that you will be! What are your hours, Downtown Books? If potential customers can't get to you, how will you ever sell anything! read more

I just love the energy inside of this place and the worker Lloyd who is very very kind. He made me feel so welcomed and I enjoyed the conversations we had, I will definitely be back for another bundle of books Thank you so much for the kind gesture and for sharing your stories with me! read more

Downtown Books - 11 whole books for only 40$ - Used Bookstore Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

This place has a tremendous and remarkably varied selection of used books on offer, all at very reasonable prices. It's the best bookstore I've been to in Albuquerque! read more

I grew up around antiquarian books, book, and record dealers. This is a well laid out and organized store. You go in and it has that clean old ephemeria smell. Channels are small but cozy. Prices are very reasonable. Pete was working the counter and he was knowledgeable about stock on hand. He even directed us to another book dealer who is at Winning's cafe on Harvard St, when they did not have any Bukowski that dealer is there on Mon, Weds, and Friday. He is a tad more expensive, but has a lot of the lit scene greats. I had gone in looking for some sic fi writers which are elusive even to find in Barnes and Nobels at times let alone used. Though I did not find all of the selections, I sought after. I had great luck in the Classics closet. I like small cosy spaces and I kind of wanted to shut myself in there with a reading light. When you shop for used books you may go in for one thing, but keep an open mind and wonder about, and you will be sure to find something stimulating. Even if you do not find anything you fancy, bookstores like this are great places to go talk about subversive, political, and counter culture topics They even have Theosophical section, not that I am still into that but I was in College. Parking is available for free on 8th St 2 hour time limit. read more

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I love used bookstores. Since I've been in ABQ I haven't come across one that I really cared for, but this shop had some real gems. The guy working the front (owner?) was more than willing to be sure we were taken care of and to scour the high and close shelves of books to see if the kinds of titles we were interested in were available. The prices are good and the quality of the books that I perused was high. It's well organized and surprisingly expansive. Give yourself time to let your eyes wander over the titles and to read a few pages here and there...it's worth it. Help keep local ABQ bookstores like this alive! read more

According to their listing in the Albuquerque Used and Antiquarian book dealer guide, they have a general stock of used & out of print books, specializing in science and technology. I wouldn't quite go that far, but they do certainly have some old physics & engineering books that could have been up at Los Alamos back in the day. The shelves are a little narrow for browsing, but the store is otherwise well organized and the owners are friendly. Most items are internet priced, so don't expect to find many bargains. read more

This is not the place to visit with a particular book in mind, but, rather, a place to wander the narrow aisles until you find those gems you didn't know you needed. Downtown Books encompasses everything that is great about small, locally-owned used book stores. It's cozy without feeling too stuffy. The shelves are spaced compactly, but not close enough to leave you feeling claustrophobic. The wonderful must of old books fills the air and the shopkeeper is welcoming and tries to ensure that everyone finds something up their alley. The books are in great condition and there's a good balance between fiction/non-fiction. There's also a kid's section, dubbed the "The Kid-Chen". Prices are fair for the condition and overall quality of the selections. If you're looking for deals, the Yelp promotion of $20 worth of books for $10 can't be beat. I walked away with four books (three paperbacks, one hardcover) for $11. The closet at the back of the store is where $2 classics are kept. Can't go wrong there. A local treasure trove worth preserving! read more

In town from Austin and was itching to get some good reading in. SO glad we stumbled across Downtown Books! This place is out of a time period where the book store itself has so much personality. The (I'm assuming) owner was very warm, friendly and more than happy to help answer my difficult questions. Someone even dragged the owner out of the store to meet their husband, so it's clear he has a great relationship with the people. Maybe it isn't the go-to place for the weeks newest releases, but it is a treasure trove of classics, rarities and plenty of surprises. Not to mention the prices are great! Definitely worth checking out!! read more

This is my favorite bookstore in Albuquerque. While the store doesn't carry women's lit or romance, they have almost everything else. The owner is extremely knowledgable about authors and genres. If you have some favorites he can recommend more choices to try out. The store has an interesting selection of older books that aren't always available at Amazon. I've found some facinating cookbooks. Anyone who collects rare books would definately want to check here. read more

Awesome little bookstore right in the heart of downtown! Being a sucker for used books I immediately fell in love with this cozy environment. I love that there were different genres in each room making it an adventure walking through. The staff was extremely helpful/knowledgable. Highly recommend! read more

Downtown Books - Used Bookstore Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

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I've been horribly spoiled by great used bookstores back in Minneapolis, but I'm tryin' to get beyond that to give these folks a fair review. On convenience, they lose a star - they've got remarkably short hours, (Noon to 5pm? *Really*??), and parking is a bit of a challenge - street parking, on the edge of downtown. I could always find parking within a couple of blocks, but I had to go look for it. That said, for its size, the place is jammed full of a nice selection of books, on a very wide range of genres, well-identified and sorted by author name. There's a nice variety between the recent releases and the old classics, too. The place is a tad claustrophobic - the aisles between the shelves are *not* overlarge, but given the choice, I'd vote for more shelves and less elbow room, too. The prices were fair to good - I picked up 6 paperbacks, including a near-new Westlake trade paperback, for only $15. The staff was, for such a warm day with no A/C, notably friendly, cheerful, and eager to help. I'll definitely be back. read more

Everything one wants in a good used book store: charm, character and all kinds of books. Love it.

Solid used bookstore, a bit cramped, some unusual finds. Credit for selling books is a little low, but overall a nice store.

This is a bookstore for people who like to read. The shelves define eclectic, and there's a tremendous range -- from Voltaire's "Lettres Philosophiques" (in French) to "Baking Basics (with 101 Luscious Dessert Recipes). You'll find dime store pulp fiction, author-signed copies, and full sets of attractively bound novels. But the real joy is in just being surrounded by a bit of everything -- especially if you are transported by the smell of an old book. The owner and his staff are helpful without hovering, which comes in very handy for a guy like me who can spend a couple hours crawling the copious shelves (and nooks, and crates, and closets...) without noticing that time has passed. Every time I'm in Albuquerque I come here, and if you like books, you should too. read more

This is a great book store, a gem. As others have said - beautiful books, great prices, big selection, nice layout, cozy but not cramped. Compact and very pleasant. Gentlemen at the desk knows books and is super helpful. I will try to spend more hours here when in ABQ, and I urge you to do so, too. read more

This is very much a classic used bookstore. Books are everywhere! The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. Given the size of the store, it's relatively small, they have packed an amazing number of books in there. read more

Great little used bookstore with wonderful variety of books. The owner is extremely knowledge about books and their content. Great place to browse. read more

Just what a used bookstore should be... Full of surprises. Small. Choice. Quirky, one-off-stuff like a neatly bound vintage photocopied set of instructions on how to build an Alexander Calder-like mobile ($2)....A book of Lee Friedlander's desert work (?!)...And on and on. The architecture of the building supports the vibe too-- lots of little nooks and twists and turns. An Albuquerque treasure. Go there. Browse. Buy. Let's keep this bookstore healthy and alive! read more

Adorable little bookstore! This little gem is rather quaint and full of lovely old books. This place has a couple of modern titles, but it looks like the selection is more of older books. If you're looking for an old copy of something, this seems like the place to look. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, and the store itself is well-organized into sections. I rather liked how books were shelved in odd places like an old kitchen sink and some cupboards--added to the charm of the place. Prices are pretty reasonable, and I believe they have a Yelp deal running right now that would give you an even better deal on the books. Great place to just walk through and discover some cool new reads. read more

Don't go here! No help. very rude on phone. Probably should go to school and learn how to run a business.

I really like this shop and can easily spend an hour here. The selection of books is impressive and I like the shop-it is filled with nooks and crannies and lots of books that interest me. The variety of books here is what draws me back as well as the staff. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. read more

We got the $10 for $20 deal and ended up spending $40 worth of books! If you're looking for a specific book, then I'm not too sure how helpful it is (though, there are quite a few books in the store), but we simply like to get books of various genres and read them. This was perfect for that. The people who work there are also very nice. The prices are good and the layout is great. read more

I strongly urge you NOT to support Downtown Books located at 109 8th SW, Albuquerque, NM. I inherited 6 large boxes of old books from my grandmother. They are classics and in pretty good shape for the most part. Included is a complete, first edition set of the Harvard Classics. I went to Page One, as I know nothing about old books, and they recommended taking them to Scott (the owner) of Downtown books. This is a store that buys, sells and appraises books. Scott was incredibly rude, disinterested and he actually hung up on me! I would understand if my books are not worth anything but he didn't say that. He didn't even want to discuss them. I don't understand a small bookstore owner who is rude and disrespectful to customers. That's not OK and his bookstore will suffer because of his lack of manners and communication skills. I support local businesses over chains but I will not be taking my business to Downtown Books! read more