Brattle Book Shop

Category:	Book Store
Address:	9 West St, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Phone:	+1 617-542-0210
Site:	brattlebookshop.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–5:30PM 9AM–5:30PM 9AM–5:30PM 9AM–5:30PM 9AM–5:30PM 9AM–5:30PM Closed

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 12

Kimberly Green

Honestly, Ive never been into a book store like Brattle Book Shop and I think it has created a monster. Since returning home to Southern California, Ive been on a mission to find any and all bookstores in the area (Ive also purchased a decent amount of books to add to my pile of books I need to read since the trip). The best part about Brattle Book Shop (aside from the number of books) was the average price per book. Having such cheap books available made me want to purchase every book that caught my eye (and trust me when I say there were SOO many books I wanted to immediately sit and read). The alley next to the store with the super discounted books were organized randomly and itll definitely take some time to get through. Once inside, each aisle will have different subjects and themes and will be organized alphabetically by author, but there are so many treasures within all of the rows of books. So if youre serious about finding some good books, definitely allocate a decent chunk of time in your day. I easily could have spent a good hour in one row of books. Overall, this experience has made me realize how much I want to read so much more. It has definitely rekindled a fire I used to have burning for all kinds of books (the fire has definitely died down over the years of being engrossed in technology and work and school). Im so happy that I took the time to visit this store and I highly recommend it to everyone in the area.

Dave Chandler

Greatest book store on the planet. Regarding the folks who complain the staff was rude over the phone, Ive been there many times when people called and asked the clerks "How much is my old book worth?" When the clerk tries to explain the vast number of variables that go into book value (emphasizing that old doesnt necessarily mean valuable) the customer invariably repeats the same question "But how much is it worth?" It is not the staffs job to educate dozens of people every day, although they do the best they can. Especially nowadays it is a simple matter to price a book oneself on the internet. Shop has great turnover in product, including many rare and valuable books at reasonable prices, I would never have been able to finish my own book on African hunting and exploration without their help. Only conceivable beef is the paucity of fiction, which bothers me not one iota.

Jill Silverberg

Every book lovers dream!!!! Been in love with this bookstore ever since I first accidentally stumbled upon it. They have a side lot that is filled with discount books that range in prices from $1-5. There is no really organization of these books so you do have to do some searching but isnt that half the fun? Inside, its just over-stuffed bookcase after over-stuffed bookcase. These are organized into categories which certainly helps with navigating. Will say that some sections are infinitely larger than others. For instance, they have a whole aisle filled with books on different cities in the Massachusetts area. Even so, you could spend hours inside shelf reading without even getting halfway through their entire collection. Although cluttered, this place is not at all musty or dusty. This place is how every used bookstore should be.

Kate Ziegler

Brattle Book Shop is the best place to kill a lunch hour on nice day downtown. Their outdoor clearance lot has thousands of books to browse in the sunshine, all under $5. I can always find something obscure for a friend here: an annotated US Constitution? A collection of popular English holiday verses translated to Yiddish? Marquis de Sades "Juliette," including engravings? Check, check, check. To be honest, Ive never spent much time inside the book shop itself - only long enough to pay for my treasures found in the outdoor lot. Bring hand sanitizer, since an hour of riffling through old books can leave hands feeling icky. They do take cards, but if youre buying a stack of $1 books cash is easier (and, I assume, appreciated).

A Private User

I discovered Brattle while in Boston for 2 days. I spent one day walking downtown and was thrilled to come across it. What a fantastic book shop! The only let down was the very stern woman working (reddish glasses, brown hair). I watched her actively disrespect someone who was attempting to drop off books and then proceeded to be incredibly unfriendly with me as well when I went to go check out. This was back in October, 2011. I certainly hope this person has improved their mood. Theres nothing worse than encountering terrible people when youre traveling.

Alex Hardy

The best and largest used book store in Boston. If you want better, youre gonna have to drive 4 hours to the Strand. Some of the smaller more obscure sections arent alphabetical (like sc-fi paperbacks) and they basically keep bankers hours here, But whatre ya gonna do? The people are nice. The books include really old stuff. The prices are all over the place. You might find a book for less than half what youd find it new, or you might find one thats practically the same price! (Yes Im looking at you, old copies of Churchills Gathering Storm!)

David Iannuccilli

I went there today for an "appraisal" on a book I own. The book is a rare first edition, and retails on Baumans website for thousands of dollars. They took my book and told me they could give me $300 for it. The book is titled "How to trade in stocks" by Jesse Livermore and is very rare. Aside from trying to rip me off the book store was very pleasant, and quaint. It may be a nice place to buy books but youve been warned about selling them to the store. I was hoping for an accurate appraisal not a back room pawn shop offer...

Salena Gao

I loved finding this book shop during one of my last days in Boston. I literally could not get out of there in time for dinner with my boyfriend. I bought an old edition of Vanity Fair for only $1 and then much more. Even though I own an ereader for travelling, it can never beat having a hard covered book in your hands. This place deserves more recognition for it does book lovers like me a great service! <3 Cant wait to go back.

Meriel A. Kelly

Nice bookstore, but finding things is incredibly difficult. There didnt seem to be any particular alphabetical sorting, and many aisles were blocked up by carts of book. Definitely not for looking for mainstream books, they have more historical or subject based books. They also had a pretty big collection of CDs outside, but there was mostly a lot of the same classical music and not much variety- I couldnt even find any Chopin.

nereusmedia reviews

Many of the books in my library were purchased hera at the Brattle Book Shop over the years. Books can come and go fast here, so on each and every visit Ill find something new in my favorite domains of classics, history and philosophy. Skipped eating lunch many days as my lunch hour ran out fast from browsing the shelves of the Brattle Book Shop.

Andrew Cook

Brattle Books has such a wide variety of great books. Ive grown a little bit jaded with Amazon over the last few years and its been great to rediscover the greatness of small bookstores in the area. Plenty of selections, fantastic staff and lots of time to browse. Come ready to spend hours lost in the sea of books they have to offer.

Angel Rivera

My wife and I love this place for book browsing! Great place to find books of all genres and the staff is very knowledgeable. The shop owner is also featured on the Antique Roadshow as an Antiquarian Literature Appraiser- he always has so many great stories and pieces for sale. We highly recommend stopping in and checking it out.