When I walked in, I wasn't greeted, even though staff acknowledged other customers who entered after me. I spent about 15 minutes browsing and tried to ask a question about a title I was looking for, but the response I received felt dismissive and rushed. The staff member didn't make eye contact and seemed uninterested in helping. What stood out most to me was the difference in tone and attentiveness shown to other customers compared to my interaction. I left feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome, which was disappointing because I wanted to support a local bookstore. read more

The 2 star reviews below are right. I Love Books is a brick book store in Delmar. Each time I have stopped by, the cashiers switch their convo to weird and absurd matters. How some family members are richer. Wealth. Evil men. Even belittling customers indirectly. What I have overheard is: "The people in this town.." and "I don't ever watch TV, TV's for stupid people.." and "My brother left this town long time ago." You get the idea. Lots of moaning and groaning. How about welcoming people? I've been in 6 times, never been 'hello-ed'. There is a lot of the same sort of books, too. Multiples! Much of it is geared to babies, toddlers and women. There's a lot of one-sided, biased and straight-up in your mug NON-variety. All the books skew one way. Beatnik-y. Comical. Nonsensical. The literature section is all romance for women. There are diaries (all pink) for women. There are feather pens and cards and therapy books - you guessed it all written and produced for women. Trying to brainwash a village with one-sided sections, while selling to the people in the village? Badmouthing the people who stop in? That's why its "For Rent" (see pic). Review: 2 read more

I Love Books - I Love Books: rent it, now!? - Bookstores Near Me - Delmar, New York

I have stopped twice while waiting for a patient at the Stram center nearby. The selection is wonderful- books of course, but also lots of gifts! There is jewelry, cards, socks, reusable bags, toys, journals and 3-D flower arrangements (paper). The staff is friendly and helpful. I think I heard them offer to gift wrap! Shopping local is SO much more rewarding than waiting for an Amazon box to arrive. read more

Love this independent book store and whenever I go through a book drought they have great recommendations.

I Books is my first choice when I either want to buy a book, a card, toy or stuffed animal, baby gift, or pair of crazy sox (among other items). Very friendly staff. A previous reviewer (did he even visit the store?) said it was for rent. If he'd bothered to read the rest of the sign, he'd have seen that was for the upstairs apartment of the building behind the store. Some of my favorite items have been purchased at I Books. I would highly recommend visiting. You won't be disappointed. read more

I think it is wonderful to have a local neighborhood book store. I have three daughters who love to read and it would be so nice to have a local place to go instead of Barnes and Nobles or Amazon, however I am beyond frustrated with I Love Books. Every time I have been in there the staff is rude, condescending and I feel truly has no patience for children. My girls are well behaved and we encourage them to ask staff questions about books they want. Every time they are reprimanded for not being with their parents when I am literally 10 feet away and watching them. This is just not right. I also understand every business has a right to handle the pandemic anyway they feel appropriate, but I do not have the capacity to have a 1:1 parent child ratio. Many of us got stimulus checks and holiday gift cards. I was hoping to support this local business but frankly I am done with this place and will share it with friends and family who graciously give us gift cards there. I wish I had just one good experience in my 9 years going there that would make this better. read more

Fabulous destination store if you have kids and are willing to spend the $$, that consists of a gifty-level front for grownups and a much bigger back section devoted to toys and books for the younger set. The front is about half cards and knick-knacks, pleasant enough but there wasn't much that caught my eye as particularly unusual. The adult book selection is very small, and they stock multiples of a lot of titles, so I'd categorize it as more the "I need a quick read" soft-level browse type of store than a serious independent book store. The back, though, is excellent. The toys are in the middle to small size, and are scattered everywhere. They range from Alex-level creative things to science-store-level magic tricks and puzzles to Ugly dolls to a whole aisle of princess stuff. It's more on the creative side (no Lego on Mattel here, although they have the nostalgia line of retro Fisher-Price toys), but not quite up to the high end Melissa and Doug or German-made toys. The kid's books are excellent, interspersed throughout the toy area, so it's a major browser's paradise, particularly if you're gift-shopping for a kid. If your kids are in tow, you may have problems disengaging them, and there aren't a lot of demo toys out, so keeping their sticky fingers off the packaging can be a problem. But if they're book browsers they'll be happy, and having, say, the space toys and the space books together in one section is nice. The major drawback is it's regular retail pricing on everything, so it is more for the last-minute shopping or browse-and-impulse-buy lower end item type place. Don't miss the very back room, where they have the mark-downs and 50% off items. It's by no means a full-sized or full-service store, but it's got an individualized selection, and for kids stuff I'd say it's worth a side trip if you're within a half hour or so; the adults' part, maybe more if you're a bit more local and need a thank-you or other sort of gift or need to do a little self-care with a modest purchase. read more

I Love Books - And toys. I love Toys too. - Bookstores Near Me - Delmar, New York

The name is something of a misnomer. In addition to a decent selection of books, there's a LOT of kids' toys for sale here, and the layout of this old store is conducive to meandering aimlessly, a big plus to me. The wood floors creak nicely. The salesclerks do not. I usually fart around in the book section for a while, but always seem to leave with a Jack in the Box or something unexpected: a surprise for me and whatever kid is on the receiving end. read more

Love this place. I wouldn't even necessarily go there for their books (which they have a good selection of) but for their interesting toys, gifts, and cards. Need a pair of silly socks or beautiful jewelry for a friend or yourself? Then come here! If you're ever in the area just stop in and have a look around for fun. read more

I stumbled across this store on a recent trip to Delmar - it looks pretty unassuming from the outside. Inside - WOW! This is a cool store. Along with a decent selection of books, you can find awesome toys for kids of all ages (not your typical toys-r-us fare). I will definitely be coming back! read more

Cute little bookstore. The selction was nice and the staff was friendly. Only problem was how expensive it was.

OK, so we're supposed to like independent bookstores these days and not like large chain bookstores and online stores. The theory is that you should support local bookstores because they support the local economy and provide more choice. This is a nice concept, but what about this paradigm says it should be a one-way street? Pay higher prices to keep someone in business simply because they're local, but they don't see any reason to do the same with local businesses or authors? There's a strange idea afloat these days that it's not the bookseller's responsibility to sell books. They sit back and wait for the author to generate an "audience" and send them into the bookstore to buy the book. Seems like this hasn't worked out so well for this store because it has devolved into a toy and gift store with a few books on the side. read more

What a charming SURPRISE... the outside doesn't look like much, but something in the window caught my eye and I am so glad I went in. I just roamed around finding delights in every nook and aisle. I could've stayed for hours! The staff AND the customers were very pleasant ...and they offered to wrap my items - for free! read more

Not really a bookstore - the kids' selection is not bad, but the adult pickings are thin - but an excellent place for cards and gifts, locally-owned, and a good membership program. Best place locally for short-notice presents, toys, or fashion accessories. read more

Meh. I grew up in Delmar and I like to support local businesses, but I seem to recall a time when I Love Books had more...books. Now there are hardly any, although the kids' section is certainly better stocked than the adult section. However, if you're in the market for gifty-type things--be it knick-knacks for grown-ups or toys for kids-- it's definitely worth stopping by. read more

This is a favorite book, toy & card store w/ a huge personality. It is absurdly difficult to visit the store and not find something you absolutely need or know a person or special occasion for. Owner Melissa Steen and her team are a hoot--lots of opinions and very helpful. read more

Wonderful neighborhood book & gift shop. Quirky, homey space with friendly staff. The front has a smaller curated section of adult books, cards, and gifts. The back is dedicated to kids books and toys, with lots of crafts, trendy pens, backpack chains, glosses, Pusheen, plush, etc. My 7 year old adores this place. It reminds me of gift shops of my own youth. (All that's missing are the sticker rolls near the checkout counter.) read more

A charming little book store with an excellent selection of young adult books Obviously one can shop online, but what would the world be like if we didn't have bookstores to wander through? read more

Such a fantastic gift shop! I love coming in here to look for holiday gifts. Their card selection is very good and if your shopping for kids the entire back half of the store is dedicated to children. It's such a fun shop. read more

I love this place as it is NOT a big brother company with Robots as employees. It is so wonderful to just browse and have employees that actually are helpful and know what they are talking about. PLUS they wrap for free. Just that "little touch" made me a fan. I will be buying my granddaughter's books there from now on. read more

This store is really cool and it is great for just about everything from gifts or picking yourself up a new book to enjoy.

Love this place. Books and card selections are fabulous. Staff if friendly and accommodating. Plus they let me bring my dogs into the shop. Even got treats for them. Nice people and interesting things on the shelves. I highly recommend it. read more

It's nice to see a small, local bookstore still in business. If you are ever in the Four Corners section of Delmar it's certainly worth stopping by. They don't have the largest selection of books, they have lots of good ones for sale and a lot of neat and funny gifts to buy in the store. I just bought some Grumpy cat post it notes from there! read more

Love this store! Wish prices were a bit lower, however, they were open on Christmas Eve and all hands were on deck to wrap any and all last minute gifts that were purchased! Love that customer service!! Very helpful when picking up last minute items for guests! Great selection of puppets too! read more