They can only LOOK at 20 books at a time. Out of maybe 200 books I brought in, they took 5. $20 in store credit or $8 cash. They have a sign saying they don't take trades in on Wednesday so I went in on Thursday & they said they were down for the entire next week. What should've been a 1 time task turned into a multi- week endeavor. They can't tell you what you recently bought (god forbid you're looking for the next in a series). They can't tell you at the counter to pay how much credit you have. Overall would not recommend as far as trying to trade things in. I also called and asked if they take puzzles (unopened) and they said yes, next time I came in I asked again and they said yes again. When I actually brought the puzzles in they said they don't take puzzles. read more

Wow, who would have thought to find this store in Anchorage!? What a great and eclectic selection. I usually only look for academic titles (B&N sucks) but they had lots - actually lots of everything. And fair to good prices. Do go if you are there. read more

Title Wave books is the largest booksstore in Alaska and one of the biggest used bookstores in the country. They have a huge selection of books plus thousands of DVDs, music, CDs, audiobooks and vinyl LPs. The staff is friendly and competent. I am always pleased with how easy it is for me to find what I am looking for. The aisles are well marked and I can always find someone to help me if there is something in particular I am looking for. Title wave has a large Children's section, and the best selection anywhere of books on Alaska that I have seen. They have an intake counter that is open every day except Wednesday and they urge you to bring in your used books to sell or trade . Title Wave Booms is a great place to shop or just browse . read more

Discovered this on my last day in Anchorage. Right from the entrance, there are lots of newer books marked for just $4.99! Store is huge and really well labeled by genre. Prices are fantastic. Several little nooks filled with good souvenirs/gift ideas. read more

Great independent bookstore with fantastic selection of Alaska themed books!! But such a variety of titles both new and used. Also fun accessories and stationery. read more

Title Wave Books is located in the same strip mall as Alaska Club West with plenty of parking available. While visiting Anchorage, I decided to visit this bookstore with my husband. This bookstore sells both new and used books, CDs, etc. I love used bookstores because of the great deals you may find and some hidden gems in a book (that is new to you) that you may have ever considered reading or an author you never knew existed. I visited on a Wednesday rainy afternoon, around 1:35 pm. I really enjoyed browsing through the aisles of random topics (DIY, Cooking, Fiction, Nonfiction, etc). I saw that most paper backs were between $7.95 and $8.95 (which is more than 50% of the cover price for a lot of the books that I saw). I didn't really pay too much attention to hard back books just because I didn't think I had enough space to bring that back in my luggage. During my visit, I wanted to use the ladies restroom but needed a staff to unlock it for me since it is locked. The employee I asked to unlock it told me that he already had unlocked it for another person and for me to just wait by the door until that person comes out. When that person eventually came out, I was surprised to find that there were 3 restroom stalls inside and not one. I don't know why the employee was being so lazy (honestly these 2 employees behind the counter weren't doing anything and were just talking to each other... I'm sorry I interrupted your important conversation...) to let me in. This annoyed me but whatever. Anyways, overall, I did enjoy my visit but have been to other used bookstores that have a large discount on their books. But being that there aren't too may bookstores in Anchorage, this is the best one around for what it is. read more

Amazing store!! Love everything about this place including the helpful staff! Would recommend this store to any book lovers out there.

We come here for cookbooks mostly but Richard always takes some time to look for Rock & Roll, R&B even Classical Music CD's! Today he bought a Greatest Hits by Aerosmith, Definative Rod Stewart Collection, Best of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles then Classical Vivaldi and a CD he owned years ago that he left behind at a restaurant he worked at in college he refound: Water Music by Handle the exact CD he left behind! He was estatic! So today's score was cookbooks with Fondue recipes, smoker recipes, we just bought a huge new smoker, so yeah need expert recipes! Others too like the Nobu Cookbook that has amazing Asian recipes from a culinary master! We spend a couple hours looking for the right book and a new recipe well use right away! Richard also picked out a writing book for my 78 year old mom for a gift too! read more

Title Wave Books - Board Games! - Bookstores Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

See all

Trashy store to be honest. Staff was rude to my girlfriend over what she was wearing and her book choices, making jokes and just being shitty. So save yourself the hassle and go somewhere that isn't going to make your buying experience bad. read more

Title Wave Books - Actual photo of the business and its staff - Bookstores Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

I've been shopping at Title Wave since they were in Spenard....boy that was a long time ago! I'm a huge fan of the written word and have always loved that that books have the opportunity to find a new home. I was recently in there in search for a specific book, but no luck. I did ask the nice young man at the counter and another chimed in to tell me where it would be if they did have it. I had already looked, but looked again with no luck. I decided to peruse a bit more and was pleased to find a new cookbook on game meat, so it wasn't a complete loss. I've been disappointed in the past with having brought in books in impeccable shape, only to be turned down for purchasing them. I get that some books have an over abundance for the topic, but it's still a disappointment when you want incredible books to go to a good home. I enjoy perusing, and also like that I almost always find an additional book that I wasn't necessarily looking for when I'm there. When in doubt, give them a call and ask if they have the title you're looking for! read more

Title Wave Books - Bookstores Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Very nice independent book store with a ton of deals on used books. Nice Alaska section plus some cute souvenirs and merchandise. They also have CDs, DVDs, and vinyl records. Being in a strip mall with other great local businesses like Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Yaki & Yeti, and Middle Way Cafe is a bonus. My only issue with Title Wave is the lack of organization, specifically in the fiction section. Books aren't always in alphabetical order and the subsection labels are easy to miss. When I asked an employee if a certain book was in stock, they said there was a copy in one of their "what a deal" sections, of which there are several in the store. They had no idea which one so I checked all of them to no avail. It's possible the book already sold and their records weren't up to date. I hope they'll consider reorganizing because otherwise this is a great book store. read more

I'm not a used bookstore 'afficiando' but I do like to Spelunk! I look for older 1st Printings of books I'm interested in Math and Astronomy/Science-wise and for fun Cook Books. WE LOVE COOKBOOKS! Cajun, French, Chinese/Asian , Seafood, Smoking, gluten free and Paleo. We have a good library of James Beard Award Winning chefs and books. Collecting recipes for years and years and all you need to find is one Gem! The book pays for itself. I didn't even get to the Alaska Cook Books! It's on a different isle. So definitely going back. Fun! Very fun and a lot of the books look almost in-unused & perfectly New condition! read more

Title Wave Books - Astronomy Books! - Bookstores Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

See all

First time visit yesterday and I'd move to Anchorage just to be able to regularly visit this store! It's still well worth the 2+ hour drive from Kenai. HUGE and organized selection of books, movies, records and more. I could spend hours browsing and the prices ensure I'm always leaving with a handful of books. Accepting trade-ins, this place should always have something new for me to grab each stop! I will totally be back :-) read more

Got two 2024 calendars with dogs exclusively as telephone TWB prior to arrival. However, not as much discount as might of have been expected mid-year. Still, exceptional service. read more

Everything about title wave is amazing friendly staff, great selections for books/vinyls/dvds, amazing value; especially with the trade in-credit and they always have cute, unique items! Love it, honestly if they had a coffee shop inside I'd probably spend a whole day there read more

A pretty big selection and a lot of books on Alaska. It was pretty busy while we were there, around 3:30. Nice place to spend a little time browsing. read more

I hate to admit it but this was actually my first visit to a brick and mortar bookstore in a very long time and boy was I in for a surprise! This store is HUGE! They have a wide range of books available in every category. We went in looking for gardening books and we found useful books. There is just something about going to an actual bookstore versus looking online and this store sure gives you that something. read more

Quite disorganized. Smells musty but that's probably because it's filled with books of course. Now while I know it's super petty of me but at one point the cashier said "if you have any books at home just collecting dust..." Sorry but my house does NOT have dust.. ew read more

Lots of peeps have told me about this place and recommended it. I finally made it. And it's lucky I had a limit on my time. Otherwise I would have spent hours here. Here's the reasons: 1. 1.99 bookshelves with GOOD books on them. 2. 3.99 book tables! 3. Well lit, very clean, terrifically organized bookshelves. 4. DVDs 5. An LGTBQ section. 6. Just all around great prices for gently used books. 7. Friendly and engaging staff. 8. A place to sell your books and an option to receive store credit. 9. It's close to Kaladi Brothers so grab a coffee before you come to peruse. I was quite impressed with their selection though be forewarned, they won't have every book you may be looking for. read more

If you are looking for an alternative to the big box bookstores in Anchorage, this place is worth a visit. They have a mix of used and new books, as well as other bookstore gifts. Prices are very reasonable. They have a large selection of Alaska-related titles and works by Alaskan authors. The selection of children's books is extensive. For those of you who are a bit old-school, they sell CDs, DVDs, Bluray disks, and some vinyl. read more

Title Wave Books - Bookstores Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

See all

If you can find a better bookstore in Alaska, then you aren't in Alaska. This place is AMAZING. It makes the my favorite book exchange back in Jerz look like a closet. The selection of Alaskeana is awesome. I only made it through FOUR rows of this book store. I was enchanted by the Alaskan cookbooks section, which includes tons of those little cookbooks made my churches and civic books. It's only in places like this that you can find recipes for moose lasagna and bear burgers. Did I mention this place is ginormous? And I found a book that I've been looking for forever about the local flora and berry picking in Alaska for only 5 bucks. Yay for me! If you're not from Alaska and you want to find gifts for friends back home, this is a good place to start. read more

Powell's is to Portland as Title Wave is to Anchorage. Big-ass independent bookstore with lots of used and new stuff and a special focus on all things Alaskan-y. They've got a ton of used stuff and lots of comics/graphic novels/whatever-I'm-supposed-to-call-them. If they don't have it here, they probably don't have it in Alaska. I've even been referred here by AMH when looking for climbing books! Bonus points for being linked into Yak & Yeti. read more

I absolutely love this place! They have wonderful books. I had several books shipped to my house and they arrived well packed and in excellent condition. Thank you read more

I came in today to drop off some extra books, audio CDs, and TV shows I had no interest in keeping. Title Wave will take these for you and give you a generous amount in store credit, but not so much when you're selling them. If you decide to sell your extra books or DVDs, the offer amount to purchase will effectively be cut in half from the store credit amount. The TV shows that you originally paid at Best Buy or Target for $30 or $40 will only come up as $4.00 or $5.00 when they purchase them, barely a fraction of what you paid for. The final offer also depends on how new the show is and if they think they can sell it second-hand. If you need to sell your movies or TV shows, Bosco's can give you a better offer for the deal. If the purchase amount for your movies or shows are at a significant amount, $30.00 for example, Title Wave will issue you a check while Bosco's will pay you cash up front. In all honesty, this isn't exactly the first place you should go if you need money to pay the bills or the rent. Aside from that, this is generally a fun place to visit if you're an avid reader or if you need a place to study for a couple of hours. The atmosphere of Title Wave is a lot more relaxed and pleasant compared to the chaotic, crowded environment of Barnes & Noble. This is a great place to organize a meeting with a group of friends to play board games or socialize in their seating area and like some other reviewers have stated here, this is the ideal setting for an Unofficial Yelp Event and meet some of the people behind the reviews. Most of the employees are very friendly and approachable although some of the younger employees seem to be a bit standoffish or appear that they don't want to help you at all if you have a question. Hence, the four stars rather than five. This is one of my favorite places to go to find TV shows on DVD. I can usually find newer shows for $10.00 apiece and if I'm lucky, there are complete seasons in the clearance bin for as low as $2.99. (That's not a typo.) I scored a great purchase on Mad Men season 1 and Lost Season 1 at $2.99 apiece. That is incredible and you will never find a price that low at the nearby pawn shops up and down Spenard especially at Walmart nearby. The clearance bins that are lined up by the entrance are usually the first ones I approach for the best deals before going to the back to find other good deals on TV shows. Study materials for my computer courses are very affordable here however I could only find the older editions of the books I needed which may be obsolete for test exams as I stated in my earlier review of Barnes & Noble. I would happily be a devoted regular here if Title Wave could do one thing: Please add a café in the store as an alternative to Kaladi's or the Yak and Yeti next door and this place would be THE place in town to spend an afternoon studying or hanging out. read more

Check out title wave before heading to Barnes & Noble. The books are reasonably priced and there is always someone to assist with inquiries. Great selection of children's books and there's a coffee shop inside. read more

I'm so thankful to have Title Wave--it's an excellent store for used media, new stationary and sundries, and even hanging out. In addition to books of all genres, ranging from children's to cookbooks, sociology to erotica, they have music and movies for those of us who like our old school wares. They have community tables that groups can schedule. Game nights (maybe only during the winter) like Scrabble. A community chess/checkers table. The best part is you can buy and sell used to recycle and enjoy new titles regularly. They are fair in their pricing and accept a wide variety. Conveniently located in Spenard, you can drop off books, run errands, and come back and shop, which is what I'm doing here today. Thanks for filling a much-needed hole in the Anchorage scene, Title Wave! read more

See all

Title Wave is a great book store! The staff is generally friendly and helpful. I love cleaning out my mom's basement and taking all the books she doesn't want to Title Wave and then getting store credit! There are tons of titles to choose from. A large travel and Alaska section. It's also super affordable if you buy used books. Kaladis Brothers is just a couple doors down so you can enjoy your recent purchase over a cup of coffee. read more

I very much enjoy Title Wave Books. Workers are kind, helpful. They've taken time to call me and notify me a book I wanted has arrived. I like that the price is nice and I can sell my books back to them. Win win! read more

Second only to the immortal Powell's in my eyes, Title Wave was one of my highlights of my time in Anchorage (and Alaska provides a ton of highlights if you spend a couple of weeks there, let me tell you). Trust me when I tell you that you could "waste" a whole day of your undoubtedly-too-short Alaskan vacation perusing their voluminous shelves for bargains on popular titles and hidden treasures. It's the kind of place that makes you want to turn into your grandpa, and tell everyone you see there "cherish it, because they just don't make 'em like this anymore." And, at least in my major Eastern Seaboard city part of the lower 48, where in most places the local shops have disappeared and the Barnes & Noble is the only large "local" bookstore of note left, they sadly really don't. read more

If you are a book lover this is the place! Huge used and new bookstore. Awesome selection of Alaskana. Helpful employees and they have a mailing service for purchases. Lots of parking and in the same complex as Kaladi Coffee and Yak and Yeti restaurant. This store is enormous, make sure you have plenty of time to browse. read more

Let me start off by saying that I do not collect or purchase expensive, rare, or highend books in any case. I aslo do not trade in books here for cash. It is always store-credit so I cannot comment on the price for cash back. This is also a used bookstore. I really love this place.. it is definitely a bookstore you could call "home grown" as it does reflect, in my opinion, alaska. It is not your Barnes and now type of store. This has a more personal feel and charm to it. The staff is, at times, somewhat unfriendly. I understand it is a bookstore but part of the charm about bookstores are the staff. They employ various people which I like but the customer service as far as when checking out or asking if they have specific books, could be a bit better as far as friendliness. Overall, the store is great. I find that they have a lot of titles for cheap prices. I have bought books there that were 15-20$ at Barnes and noble and paid about 4-7$ at Title Wave. I prefer to spend less amount of money on books. Very rarely do I ask for a book and they don't have it in store. Great place to go and it's close to Kaladis, middle way Cafe, and other various restaurants/businesses. read more

My boyfriend and I went on our first date here. Want a great icebreaker? Read the back of the poorly written erotic romance novels and try to find the wackiest cover with your date. We came across a choose your own adventure romance book which inexplicably ended with a pink monster truck called the fist. Good memories aside, I'm not a huge fan of the way this place is run. The "no backpack policy" is discriminatory. They're very strict about shoplifting, which honestly, what would people even take from here? Do they really think I'm going to steal a used pulp romance novel and sell it on the black market? I walk/bus everywhere, so I have to have a bag, and I honestly don't trust the staff to watch my belongings. Sometimes they're helpful, but I've had many encounters where they were just plain rude. It's a mixed bag. Sometimes I walk out of title wave with an armful of cool and quirky books (that I assuredly paid for) and no trouble at all from the staff. Other times the selection is extremely poor, the staff is rude, and there are loud and annoying children in sections that clearly are not for children. Most of the books are fairly mainstream, which if that's your ticket, go for it. I much prefer the occasions they have musty old leatherbound nonfiction and classic lit, but it's really hard to find. I personally don't like how they have their selection laid out. Maybe I'm just accustomed to dewey decimal and library of congress. read more

I was not impressed about the buy back books. They will give estimate time to check if for cash back or store credit. Based from my two visits to sell my textbooks and children books, I do not recommend my fellow book lovers to bring your books and collections for cash. Take a time to sell your books in amazon. Because it is a waste of your time and gas to drive to Title Wave to get $1.00 for books. Employees have childish attitudes. They are unkind. I thought they are closing for good. smh read more

I appreciate the fact that Title Wave has a great phone message that they use for people to call who have questions about things! Thankyou Title Wave! read more

I used to love this store. It had lots of books, gifts, bags, beautiful stationary and calendars, fun and pretty doodads galore. There is a coffee shop and bakery next door. When I went to Title Wave Books, I would spend hours checking out every nook and cranny for new merchandise. Also, the gifts and doodads were sold at good prices for Anchorage. Every town I've lived in had a Title Wave Books type store and I was really happy to have found one here in Anchorage. Unfortunately, except for the coffee and bakery shop next door, the rest is no more. Title Wave Books changed its focus to almost only used books and DVDs. All the great doodads, gift items, purses and bags, calendars, and stationary are gone. Now the store no longer draws me in for anything other than books, which I can get elsewhere. The ambiance is much less warm and sophisticated, and instead feels overlarge and cold. I won't be shopping there much anymore. read more

I was visiting Anchorage for an academic conference. Yeah, real nerdy. Got it. Anyhow, to top off my nerdiness, I am always (and I mean ALWAYS) down for a good used bookstore. Borders is good for selection; Barnes and Noble for overdressed employees playing professional; used bookstores, readers of books and eclectic collections of persons and interests--plus, the smell of old printed pages (take that, KINDLE!) I walked into this place and my mouth dropped in awe at the sheer size of the location to mention that selection! Aisles upon aisles of books and subject sections so vast that they were broken down to the most deductive levels. I walked out of this store with 8 new (well, used anyhow) books in arm. Each book was in pristine condition (I don't know how they do that!) and I was able to locate many out of print texts that i have been on the hunt for. Honestly, I was beginning to think that I was in some sort of dream. The staff was very helpful and the prices were incredible considering the printing status of some of the texts in particular. I cannot wait to re-visit this place, when duty calls me back to Anchorage, AK. read more

When I lived in New York, I'd buy every book off Amazon.com because it was always the cheapest. I could get two day shipping for free by being a member of their yearly "prime membership program." Life was good. And then I moved to Alaska. Guess what? Amazon doesn't do Prime to Anchorage. In fact, shipping is expensive and your book arrives whenever it feels like. So what was I to do? I love reading and my fail-proof Amazon had failed me. Enter Title Wave! It took me awhile to get to them, but once I did I was stunned! It's no surprise to me that this business has thrived for so long. The aspects that differentiate it from other used book stores are: A) The books may have been read, or even occasionally highlighted by the previous owner, but it doesn't look like they were abused. B) It's organized! We're talking Barnes and Noble organized without B&N rip-off prices. Considering how many people are straying from paper books, I would imagine Title Wave will thrive even more because Barnes and Noble can't compete. That said, No, you won't find every book here. Spoiler alert: You don't find every book anywhere (except maybe Amazon.com). I can't count how many times I've looked for books in Barnes and Noble only to have them say, "we don't have it in store, but you can buy it online!" Yeah, that means you don't have it. To reassure the skeptics, I was looking for a few obscure psychology books and I found them quickly with help from the front desk. So the selection is certainly not limited. Final glory note, some books are as cheap as $3.99! Get your butt down there, start reading, and I promise you'll thank me. read more

Oh, Title Wave, how I adore thee. I've spent countless hours browsing through these aisles. I've always found multiple treasures to take home and enjoy. The collection is extensive, regardless of the subject that you're interested in. The place is actually clean and well lit up--plus they have aisles that are big enough so that you're not feeling cramped and claustrophobic. The workers aren't always the friendliest, but the best part of a bookstore like this is perusing the aisles and seeing what catches your eye. I definitely would recommend coming in here to kill some time and leave with some new best friends. read more

To my mind, the point of the indie bookstore is better ambience, better service, and a better selection in stock and recommendations. Title Wave is -- sorry -- pointless. The feel is kind of indie-Hallmark -- shiny floors, an awkward layout, and loads of tacky crap. Not a place where I'd want to sit down and take my time. The staff may not be as dour as others in Anchorage, but if you've been to a few Borders stores in other places, Title Wave is only as friendly as and slightly less competent than the average. Featured selections are the typical combination of standbys, bestsellers, and now-a-major-motion-pictures, with a few hipster obscurities thrown in. But to be fair, the better motion pictures. I might have given this independent the benefit of the doubt and three stars, but here's my one-star bias. I came looking for graphic novels, which I used to find by browsing the graphic novels section in my old indie bookstore. Title Wave has no such section and no such category in their system or their staff's sensibilities. If you don't know what you want by author and title, you won't find it. If it's not in a Borders, they don't have it. Hick, a little. If you're after used books, Title Wave is a reasonable go-to for Anchorage. One star for that, one star for existing. 6 Feb 2009: Do the Title Wave hipsters read Yelp? They now have a Graphic Novels section . . . but have yet to move Guy Delisle's Pyongyang out of East Asian History? read more

The biggest and best used bookstore in the state of Alaska! They have an extremely friendly and helpful staff that will take their time to show you around and answer any questions you have. Of course you can bring your used books into the store and they will give you ample store credit to use on more books within an hour or so. Excellent buyback team with great reimbursement. Plenty of selection of new and used books well organized with good prices. Love the employee picks section for finding your new favorite author. If you like to wheel and deal in used books, Title Wave won't disappoint! read more