Wonderful find! The books are fairly priced with a great selection. The owner was very helpful and…read morepersonable! My friend and I both walked out with multiple buys :)

It was a cold winter day, and my wife -- a true booklover -- wanted to visit this cute little…read morebookstore she had heard about (she was scrolling insta). Located on Main Street in Boonton, this shop is absolutely adorable. It gives off a charming old-school vibe, even though it only opened in 2024. It's owned and operated by a professional librarian Brianna. We chatted for a bit -- she's pregnant, and we recently had a baby, so we instantly found something in common to talk about. The store has hundreds of secondhand books, all in pristine condition, neatly lining the shelves. There are sections for kids, history, series, and many more genres. We picked up a few books for our little one. Got to sow the seeds early, right? Just kidding -- we read her these stories, and we're trying our best. Let's see how it goes! At the back of the shop, there's an adorable reading area that adds to the cozy charm. Note: The bookstore is only open from Friday to Sunday, so plan your visit accordingly

This is wishful a great bookstore! It is well stocked - in fact it is far better stocked than most…read moreindie bookstores and I think can rival some of the bigger chain stores! Plus the staff is highly knowledgeable and helpful (a former book store owner and writer, a PHD professor and writing tutor, a children's library and literature expert, and every staff member has a genre they help make picks in and support in store!). The store is bright and welcoming and they offer free coffee, tea, waters, and snacks plus a free kids craft table that's always set up and available. Their kids section is delightful with a great safe space to leave the kiddos to play and read while you shop. The overall vibe at this store is so welcoming and their events are so fun that this is a favorite stop of mine every weekend !

My top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex and I came here for Stop #2 of the 2nd Annual NJ…read moreBookstore Crawl (a 5-star extravaganza in and of itself) last Saturday morning. We hit up all three Sussex bookstores, and this was my chum's very clear favorite of the batch. I was a big fan too, even if ultimately it wasn't geared toward my literary demo. Our carefully planned itinerary suffered some issues with this one because Black Dog apparently moved fairly recently to more spacious accommodations further up 15. My chum frowned in confusion in a parking lot in the downtown Lafayette area for a few minutes before we got our bearings and retraced our steps north. I think that's on our Crawl Itinerary Expert but without context/knowledge of the move (which must have been at least KIND OF subtle since she lives within a few minutes of here and had no idea) an easy mistake to matter. No matter. Very easy to find once we had, you know, the actual address. And for the record, my chum said this was a HUGE upgrade over the prior location. All's well that ends well. I was REALLY hoping that someone took the name Black Dog Books literally, so it was an absolute delight to encounter a dark-tinted, wizened canine on the premises almost as soon as we walked in. Anya the chiweenie was a real trooper and an excellent addition to the festivities. I will say she's clearly an older pooch and didn't seem enormously thrilled by some of the younger human pups frantically taking selfies and whatnot (in my mild defense, I professionally took one tasteful photo and then gave her some space), but she handled it like a champ. I will say this for the record - every indie bookstore should have an accompanying canine chum. Apparently the Lambertville bookstore had a bloodhound, which is next level (massive FOMO but is what it is). But this was a good one. Thank you for your service, Anya. Unlike its literary counterpart in Branchville, Black Dog has much better lighting and much more space. It's no knock on them, but I just like the mild claustrophobia and overall personality that comes from having to get creative with the space you have and the massive amount of books to display. All due respect, this didn't feel as unique to me. I will say that out of the three bookstores we went to up here, Black Dog was the most enthusiastic about the Crawl, which is probably a huge reason my chum had the best experience here. They were giving away raffle prizes, naughtily had free wine(!) available before 11am and someone offering free fairy hair. I took her up on that generous offer but then belatedly realized it meant I had to stay still for more than five minutes. I just wasn't made to be an adult. My other slight issue with this bookstore (and again, this is me and I'm sure plenty of people have zero problem with it) is it just doesn't have the inventory that other places do - they leaned into presentation and more chairs and non-book products. And that's not necessarily a bad thing at all, but for me, it meant there was less overall space and options for the books I might potentially purchase. Also like a lot of bookstores in this day and age, a little too much chick lit for me; just not my thing. Very familiar with being a chick already; hashtag 1984 birth. The proprietors were VERY nice and accommodating. I didn't notice, but my chum said one of the employees was walking around giving customers recommendations based on their interests, which is a nice touch if welcome/slightly solicited. You felt good vibes throughout the store, which is important and should be a pre-requisite for any small business. (Truly love the Crawl for bringing stuff like this to my attention). Shameless judging books by their cover, I ended up purchasing Anthony Doerr's 2021 novel Cloud Cuckoo Land. Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, but I selected this one because the design on the front was intriguing and it had stickers denoting it as a NY Times Notable Book and a National Book Award Finalist. We'll see if I agree with the powers that be. Pleasantly surprised at the abundant literary options up here in the Kingdom, and a solid stop on our adventures.

Really nice lady running the show!…read more Lovely displays. I bought some absolutely beautiful cards made by a local artist Z I couldn't be happier .

I'm a firm believer in supporting mom and pop businesses. Tell me that your business was opened in…read more1934 and you pique my interest even more! That's how it was with The Town Book Store, a neighborhood fixture that was once located across the street many years ago. Now in a cute corner of Westfield, this cozy, beautiful store is very welcoming. You step in and see a counter to the right and books (along with plush animals and more) throughout the rest of the shop. There are even a couple nice chairs in a nice little waiting area off to the side. Walk towards the back and you find shelves with featured books and even a sale section. The woman behind the counter was extremely friendly and it was nice chatting with her as my girlfriend and I looked over the books selection. The store seems to largely aim towards kids. The kids section is extensive with the adult sections are a bit less packed with selections. That said, my interests skew towards scifi/fantasy and graphic novels, and you cannot expect every store to carry those in bulk. There was also a shelf dedicated to the town of Westfield itself, with books that covered the history of the town and even a pack of greeting cards with paintings of buildings from around town! This is not the flashiest bookstore around, but that's the charm. I absolutely recommend a visit if you are in Westfield.

Comics in Sparta, New Jersey…read more.. We passed this small business several times because it's on the main road. We decided to take a look... Wow... Located upstairs of a Historical building, Pyramid Comics & Cards is filled with all kinds of merchandise! Dani was very cheerful, helpful, and knowledgeable! My friend was talking about some series that she saw and wondered if it was made into a comic book. Dani found it!!! Preacher! Dani also know the difference between Marvel and DC Comics. She was able to carry a conversation about Spiderman, Hello Kitty, The Joker, and more! If you want to know anything or obtain any comics, Pyramid is the place to be...

Awesome little store with two rooms filled with comics. One room has all the modern releases and…read morethe other has some older stuff.

My top-tier chum from the Kingdom of Sussex and I went to all three of the bookstores in Sussex…read moreparticipating in the NJ Bookstore Crawl last weekend, and Sparta Books was our final stop (which, if you map it out, logistically makes a lot of sense). I wish we'd kept going into Morris County because unfortunately, this was our least favorite stop and left a slightly sour note on the overall proceedings. My chum is actually a semi-regular here and a rewards member, so she knew exactly where to drive us for this one (unlike our slightly ill-fated adventures with Lafayette's Black Dog earlier). Sparta Books has a non-descript exterior essentially in a strip mall, and we were a little disappointed not to see any indication from the storefront that they were participating in the Crawl (and to an extent, I AM reviewing them within the context of that event since they chose to be included and it's how we ended up here last Saturday). That was also true within the store as well, though I think one of the employees did reference the Crawl or ask my chum if we were participating. No signage or interesting promotions, unless you count the book pencil included with our purchases - and maybe you do; mileage may vary, etc. Beyond the limited participatory aspect, I just didn't think this place had much personality and it seemed like they were still sort of moving in based on some of the clutter toward the back of the store. For me at least, it just didn't seem inviting. Similarly, this was the most difficult spot for me to choose a book because most of them just didn't look particularly appealing, coupled with the limited selection. By far out of the three bookstores we visited, this one had the least amount of books and the quality just didn't seem that great. For instance, it wasn't easy to find acclaimed literature, but Travis and Jason Kelce's recent book No Dumb Questions and All of Our Dumbest Answers was prominently displayed. Ultimately I selected Madeline Miller's 2011 novel The Song of Achilles as my purchase (continuing to judge books by their cover) because it was the winner of something called the Orange Prize for Fiction. We'll see how it goes. The biggest issue I had here though went beyond personal literature preferences or lack thereof - it was service, which is not a problem I anticipated nor can I recall experiencing at a bookstore before. That's something I'd associate more with a bar or restaurant than this type of merchant. But when we got in line to pay, there were two women behind the counter. One was handling purchases, though it was a pretty slow process from what I could see. Despite the fact that there were multiple people waiting (I think one other person besides us), the second woman was just chattering away obliviously with a friend, who may have ultimately been a customer but wasn't buying anything in the moment. If you can multi-task/kill two birds with one stone in that regard, go for it. But to just flat-out ignore the fact that you have customers just standing there with literal money on the table is just bad business and didn't leave the best taste in our mouths. It took us close to 10 minutes to pay, which is ridiculous. The whole point of the Crawl is to promote indie bookstores, and by and large that's something I try to do so we as a society aren't just exclusively suckling at the teat of Amazon. But as my chum pointed out after we left, just because it's indie doesn't mean it's good, and since every store by definition is going to be different, some of these places are going to vary in quality. I think of bookstores and coffee shops as businesses that people really tend to grade on a curve, but I just can't justify doing that when at the end of the day, a) there was barely any acknowledgment of the Crawl aka the reason most of your customers are there that day, b) there weren't many books comparatively speaking and c) the customers weren't universally treated with attention and respect. You'd understandably expect any other consuming-facing business to have a solid inventory and good customer service - why should a bookstore be held to a different standard than that?

Great selection of children's books and newly released fiction and nonfiction. Staff is friendly…read moreand helpful. Sunny place to browse and read books in comfortable chairs. Ample parking. Coffee shop next door. Gift wrap available for books and free bags with your purchase.

I could get used to a place like this, which sadly exist only 30+ miles from my home. But on a work…read moretrip, finding a great used bookstore with both vinyl and new books too, and a really friendly and helpful staff, is absolutely perfect and makes finding surprises to bring home to my family so much easier.

"You don't go here to find a book.  Here a book finds you."…read more(I totally cribbed that from another Yelper's review of a different bookstore - in another state - so I'm allowed!) Can I share a story with you?  During the Dark Ages (pre-internet, no Yelp or smartphones) learning about something a bit off-the-beaten-path, let alone being able to source it, was an arduous task. I was an English Lit major and one of my professors loved to talk about even more books than the ones already assigned to his class and he always mentioned 'The Three Christs of Ypsilanti' that he read himself when he was in college.  It sounded more interesting than what we were reading in class (sorry, but there's only so many times you can endure 'Oedipus Rex') and I went hunting for 'Three Christs' but never had any luck.  Most workers at other shops gave the quizzical "What'cha talkin 'bout Willis?!" look and I'd leave empty-handed (or with a completely different book... just because).  Then I found myself here.  And while casually strolling through the store and eyeing up all the titles... I found a used copy!  (Can I tell you one other thing?  The book was a bit dry and dated and part of me wished it stayed like the Holy Grail - that it might keep me searching through different bookstores but never actually finding it.) And it's been more than a few years (okay, decades!) since I scored 'Three Christs' and now I'm here once again - this time doing my part to properly celebrate and support "Independent Bookstore Day" - and man oh man... you could lose an entire day here just drifting from rack to rack, aisle to aisle, floor to floor. Whatever you fancy - they have a section for it. Pricing is a-okay. The quality of the 'newer' used books is most excellent.  (The older, more rare and worn copies are out of reach or behind glass cases.) Behind the counter is the coolest and friendliest gal. From music to books to merch to a "gumball machine" that has poems (of course, right?) - the world is a better place with mom and pop (book)stores like this in it. "Since 1984" - and hoping they'll be going strong for another 40-plus years... (PS: if you stumble upon the movie version of 'Three Christs' - skip that as well.  They tried to make it a comedy and it's awful.)

Recently sold a large collection, and couldn't have asked for a better experience. Buyer was a…read morestraight shooter, honorable and fair. Good communicator, his team were all nice people. A fully successful experience! What else would you want when you're bidding farewell to so many dear friends!

I enjoy this place for the selection but after reading the reviews; I had the same issue with the…read morediscount punch card. I bought a 580$ Spider-Man comic and didn't get a stamp on my card. When people around me were buying 5$ loose cards from a binder and getting the card stamped? Doesn't really make sense. If I spend more money I get less rewards?

When I think of going to a quaint, local bookstore.... THIS is what I envision. Friendly people…read moreworking to assist you in finding your next favorite read, enough books, quantity and variety, to offer the customer a diverse and amazing amount of ideas to make it difficult to decide on a single book, and Chatsky's to make it difficult to settle on a single item. The next time I am in New Jersey, I will definitely be stopping in here! As for the attached restaurant next door, I have nothing negative to say. The food was fresh and had a great taste, and the people were friendly and helpful with everything. We sat outside because the weather was fantastic, and they delivered the food to us and picked us up afterward.

For those of us who are old enough to remember the movie You Got Mail . This gem of a book store…read moreis " The Shop Around the Corner " . The staff was young so they admittedly didn't get my reference LOL .Has the quaint & cozy vibe . The selection is expansive , albeit they may have one copy of a book on the shelf , understandingly given space . The Kids section is 4 doors down . Also great selection . Awesome space . No Big Box store feel here . Just note , for those parents who do take oversight to what their child is exposed to , know there is lots of material & books SOME parents might not find unsuitable for your OWN child to be exposed to . Literally there is a " Banned book " selection for young as toddlers .