Comparing Myopic Books with Barnes & Noble is like comparing a Panera (if we ignore their disastrous quality recently) with a slightly rough-around-the-edges dive that makes great food and has some character! Myopic books is stuffed to the brim with gently loved books found across three floors. Sometimes, the flooring can be a little uneven, or even a piece of lumber as if from a hardware store, but it is all part of the charm. It's such a pleasure to explore the nooks and crannies of the place and see what kind of books they have. Whether for yourself, as a gift, or just to see what is out there, it makes for a fun experience! The staff is friendly, helpful, and happy to help you find what you're looking for! The space is also inviting for those who'd like to relax with a book for a bit, rather than get, buy, and leave... and they do this without having a coffee shop on-premise. Final verdict: I am working on being more of a reader. If a bookstore is to help me do so, Myopic Books may just be the one. It finds itself on many of those "Explore IL" Facebook posts, and for good reason! read more

Over the years, this place has truly been a sanctuary for me. Whether I was just killing time while my girl was out shopping, spending a lazy Sunday afternoon browsing through the aisles, or picking up great second-hand books of interest, it has always been my go-to spot. A timeless gem for any book lover looking to unwind! read more

super cool store. three separate stories and an underground level of used and new books, all well kept and organized among a flurry of rows. everything you could want out of a local bookstore and then some. read more

Myopic Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Oy... the typical pretentious book store, at least from the outside... My kid needed a book that she forgot about; I called around, they had it. I said I would make it in just before close at 8pm, they said they would hold it behind the counter... fast forward a frantic drive into wicker park, made it at 7:58pm and the lights are off... I knock, they make X symbols with their arms like power rangers. I call, they say we already closed the register. I said it's not even 8 and that I had called and said I was coming in from past O'Hare. I offered to pay cash with a tip. Nope. What has happened to my Wicker Park... Wicker Park used to be my old stomping ground back in the 90s and 00s... when people used to be fun, trying to make a buck and hustle. Now its full of boutique shops, like in Evanston, but dirtier, and staffed with people perpetually having the worst day of their lives. read more

This is a cute bookstore, which gets so busy and lined up even before they open at 12. That was pretty interesting to me, but they had a good variety of books and good categories. A lot of used and new books and I had a good perusing through. I didn't end up buying anything since I had other things happening but a good place. Must try! read more

Stopped in because of the movie: "Love Jones", purchased books because my wife loves books, will be returning because of the extensive selection of books and the willingness of staff to assist as needed. The vibes are immaculate in here, and there is always a new treasure that catches your eyes every corner that you turn. Can be a little cramped due to the spacing of the building and also because of the consistent crowd that is funneling in and out. However this just adds to the overall ambience and experience. read more

Myopic Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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So many books, so few hours to shop. I got lost in my wandering a couple times. There is truly something for everyone here- and you can pop in as you're walking to meet friends. read more

Perfect find for book lovers. Hard to find books but adds to the charm. So many genres available

Cozy bookstore with cozy nooks about the upper area. We found some great finds on our visit. I left with two books. They also buy books, so I do plan own selling to the store as well. read more

A really lovely bookstore specializing in used books. You can sell them your books on certain days if you want, or you can come on in and browse for hours. What I especially love is the book I had my eye on was available - and cheaper than on Amazon. How awesome is that? Their selection is too large and ever changing for them to keep an inventory, so there are thousands of potential discoveries awaiting you. Don't skip the basement, where they keep their mystery and crime books in a windowless back room, like God intended. This is a great stop before getting coffee at Wormhole or a drink at one of the bars nearby where you can relax and start your reading. read more

I absolutely love myopic!!! I've found some of my favorite gems here. They have a phenomenally organized comic section and everything is super reasonably priced. The staff is always super friendly and ready to answer questions:) one of my favorite spots to visit on my day off. read more

Very cozy and so many books to read definitely a spot to go if you need a quiet and zen place

It is a neighborhood favorite for a reason! Myopic books has a plethora of new and used books for any bookworm. The two story building creates plenty of aisles for you to roam. The staff is kind and helpful if you need assistance finding a specific title. I recommend stopping by if you find yourself in the area! read more

Myopic Books - Inside - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So many sections and options for new and used books! Great place to find coffee table books, vintage, out of print books, and new releases. It's a tight squeeze in some parts but there's a huge selection and you'll find whatever it is you're looking for! Prices aren't bad, and it's important to support your local bookstores! read more

I LOVE Myopic. I've been coming here since I was very young and it's always been one of the best businesses in the neighborhood. Lou is amazingly helpful and tasteful and exactly the right amount of mean--he was a godsend when it came to gift recommendations for my family and completely saved my ass. I hope this store stays open until the sun burns out. read more

Y'all know I love a book store and a used book store is even better. The prices are good and I sort of love the homemade feel of the shelving and the labyrinthian path you follow to continue from one letter to the next. The layout is good (although there are a LOT of steps if that's an issue for you). Selections were interesting. My favorite area was the basement mystery section. It was very atmospheric... Lights go out and you're now in the murder mystery! Will definitely stop back in on my next trip to town. read more

Myopic Books - In your spooky voice: Mystery Basement !!! - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Love the Geek Section. A great place to get lost in as each floor has different sections and layout. Kind staff as well. Would recommend to everyone with the ability to read. read more

I loved it, had a massive collection of books and was fun to look through there genres and different mangas they have!

Great place to find books on the dark arts. Since they closed the Barnes and noble on clyborn I have had no where to go to source my magical spells and MYOPIC rescued me! Thank you! Charlie read more

Adorable! Loved the vibe in this place so many times different books! And the prices are just right! Staff is friendly and asked if I needed assistance right away. Loved it read more

Myopic Books - Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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LOVE. Really enjoy browsing this used bookshop in Wicker Park There are so many fantastic options...they actually boast having over 70k books in stock! That's insane. They also buy books on Fridays & Saturdays during select hours. So those of you doing some Marie Kondo-ing like myself can make a few dollars off their already read books they're clearing out. Plus, live music on Mondays! Saturday night live readings! Happy to have Myopic in the 'hood! read more

Myopic Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Highly recommended book store! Our favorite place to search for hard to find books. Great service, ambience and selection.

A treasure of a used bookstore, with reasonably priced books. While unassuming from the exterior, it's actually quite spacious inside, with three floors (including a basement). The shop is well-organized and labeled, and you can easily spend a couple hours exploring and reading in here. Ambience: Like your old neighborhood library or a museum that was formerly a house, it's homey and humble. A shiny Barnes & Noble it is not. However, it is a well-kept shop with a lot of personality and heart, and I had no problems finding my way around and exploring the nooks and crannies. There are also scattered chairs and benches so you can tuck in and get lost in a book. Service: No problems here! They accept card, which was a relief because I never carry cash. Parking; Metered street. I visited on a Sunday, so parking was free. I would definitely come back if I'm in the area. read more

It's like heaven on earth. Great selection. Friendly staff. A little crowded on a busy day so steel yourself against dodging elbows.

I have seen the many changes of ownership and addresses and have had the privilege of reading and buying rare and 2nd copies at inexpensive prices. Strange that the attendant young man in the front insists that the restroom has been closed for 20 years to this senior citizen who has been a loyal patron since the mid 1990s. read more

Beautiful used bookstore in Wicker Park. Affordable prices, very organized, and kind staff. Would definitely recommend. read more

Myopic Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've always loved shopping at Myopic, there's so many awesome treasures and specific books. It's also really well organized and there's lots of space to peruse even when the store is crowded. I recently had a lovely experience selling books for the first time. They took most of my books and it was a fair price! The only ones they didn't take had writing for example so that was nice. I hate leaving a store with everything I came in with.One of the owners, JR sorted through them and was very friendly. I will definitely be returning with more used books in the future, and I hope to find some cool ones too! read more

What I love about Myopic Books is the simplicity. It is in the middle of the hipster neighborhood & yet it somehow encompasses the vibe of an unpretentious living room filled with endless books and that to me feels like home. I come here now and then to meander through the snug chambers of orderly arranged books. Each floor has different selections and the categories are marked appropriately. My personal favorite is the cooking section on the top floor, towards the back. I also like that this area is a bit private and has just one chair to sit, which gives me the perfect quiet space to sit and read. Also, I was not aware of their live readings as well as live music days so I can't wait to come back and check those days out. read more

Myopic Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Nice little bookstore that is surprisingly large inside. Lots of aisles and corners to look around and explore. Not recommended if you're claustrophobic. We spent about 20-30 minutes hitting up a couple of our favorite shelves like cooking, language, and travel. I ended up buying two books and compared to Amazon I got a good deal. Plus I got the instant satisfaction of knowing I supported this bookstore and bought used rather than new. There's a couple of seats available on the higher floors so you can sit and browse the goods before you commit to purchasing. read more

great place to get lost in--if you're looking for artsy coffee table books at a reasonable price, highly recommend. stellar vibes all around. read more

Myopic Books - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The coolest bookstore around. Lots of great finds. Wonderful poetry and metaphysical sections. A treasure trove! Love this place.

This is a lovely 3-stories book store. A lot of books and you'll definitely find something interesting for you. read more

Myopic Books - Amazing - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Myopic Books is a massive, delightfully chaotic used bookstore in Wicker Park. My husband and I spent an afternoon hanging out in the neighborhood during a recent trip to Chicago, and I noticed Myopic Books right away as we pulled into the train station. We love bookstores, so we decided to drop in and ended up browsing for about half an hour.. The place was huge and exploding with books. The shelves were crammed close together and arranged in a more or less logical way that still took some effort to figure out. There was a whole downstairs area where they kept the genre novels, and it was straight up hard to find the way down. I kind of loved this. The place felt like a hedge maze lined with bookshelves. I browsed the fiction shelves and found first editions of Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates and Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo, both priced like regular old used books. I already have a signed paperback of Blonde, and this copy wasn't in the best shape, so I left it, still reluctantly, on its shelf, but I picked up the Russo, which was in excellent condition for a 25-year-old hardcover. I paid $12.75 for it. I was dismayed, though, to find an advance reading copy of one of my friend's books for sale, priced at $7. I get a lot of ARCs and think it's a super dick move to sell them (they're free, and the covers tend to have "NOT FOR RESALE" printed all over them), and it's not great that Myopic buys and sells them. Anyway, I still liked Myopic and thought it was a fun place to hang out for a while surrounded by books. I think I'd have a hard time walking past it without stopping in for a browse. read more

It is only with great good fortune that you might find yourself in Wicker Park and Myopic Books on a cool and rainy Saturday afternoon. Enter and the immersion is immediate: narrow aisles high with books, well organized and identified, but not so much as to discourage discovery. Climb the wooden stairs to the second level and find a trove of cookbooks and plenty of room to move about, and near windows overlooking Milwaukee Street a long table to peruse books. It is quiet, like a library. I try to read Faulkner in the summer and am fortified with a Vintage Book paperback, The Sound and the Fury. The clerk--a discovery too, on a raised platform behind stacks of books --is pleasant and puts it in a plastic bag, and I head out into the rain treasure secured. read more

Myopic Books - Written in 1929, awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949. Faulkner my summer read. - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Soooo many options! My boyfriend and I actually wandered around here for a little date when we first met. Great spot!

Loved checking out this book store! They've managed to fit books in almost every square foot of the store! It's so much fun to browse the shop and come across interesting titles. It's a fun place to take your friends for exploring around read more

Love Myopic!! Tons of great books and they get new stuff all the time. There are several floors and a basement - mostly ordered by genre and author. I'd recommend checking out the new arrivals in Fiction or staff picks (right next to the stairwell around the middle of the store) read more

Myopic Books - Outside Myopic Books! - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Honestly ... the average Half Price Books is as good or better. HPB may not be quite as large, but in my experience, the inventory is a lot more interesting - e.g., lots of antique or collectible books. read more

Really neat bookstore! Super fun to walk around as it was great to just explore a bookstore with many shelves to surround you! Service is great as well, feel like you could spend hours here if you wanted to. read more

This is a really neat house turned bookstore that is hard to find these days. It's quite a lot of books and I was glad that the staff is willing to help you find "your section" (the one you are looking for, like horror or romance). It's quite daunting otherwise, as there are SO many book and many of the shelves are really tall. I saw a few reviews mentioning a no cell phone rule, I didn't notice any. Just the no bags bigger than "this sign" (an 8.5 x 11 paper); you have to check them at the counter. I didn't check book reviews of the ones I purchased, but I feel I should be able to use my phone to see if it's a good book or if I'm buying it at a reasonable price. I really enjoyed the place, it has a crowded vibe and there's lots to choose from. I hit the sci-fi/fantasy, horror, and graphic novels sections. I wasn't blown away by anything and there weren't any great finds. But there's plenty of books from the 90s and up. I thought the gentleman who I checked by bag with was pretty nice, he checked me out at the register too. The prices were a bit high. I got a book published this year (2018) for 6.50 (originally 9.99) and one published in 1988 for 3.50 (originally 6.99). I checked the price of these used on amazon, and I about broke even. The older book was a bit more and the newer one a bit less. read more

Myopic Books - Books purchased and free bookmark! - Bookstores Near Me - Chicago, Illinois