All Books

Category:	Used Book Store
Address:	410 Broad St, Chattanooga, TN 37402, USA
Phone:	+1 423-266-0501
Rating:	3.2
Working:	10AM–7PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–7PM 10AM–7PM

Location

Photos 36

Reviews 6

Joseph Jensen

"All books." More like "all shook!" I was in town with my friends, in search of good books in odd nooks, when we happened upon this house of satan. Though my olfactory capabilities are somewhat impaired, I have it on good authority that the place reeked of dog urine (though the odor of broken souls was quite palpable). Secondly, a friend of mine was quite rudely ignored by the nefarious Polly, owner of the store and resident high witch, when she inquired as to wether or not she could use the bathroom. Thirdly, the store was littered with spindles, with which Polly (the maleficent of our story) sought to lure us into the dumb slumber of believing that this store had "charm". Fourthly, Pollys abode was organized in a fashion unrecognizable to even the most intrepid of logisticians (UPS, you havent got a shot). Fifthly and finally, the diabolical Polly placed a hex on me! That night, I am told by my roommates, my teeth chomped and churned as though possessed by demons. Our microwave and lights flickered a shifty and villainous code for no apparent reason. I nearly overheated and died in the hotel hot tub. All of this to say, "all books" is the birthplace of a dream. A dream that promises intellectual stimulation and affordably priced yarns. But when the fog of the slumber burns away, all that remains is a sad and dilapidated stack of common books. A stack soaked in Chihuahua urine.

Abigail Little

I would rate this place 0 stars if I could. Normally I try to stay away from here if I can because I know the lady who works there used to steal books from other stores and resell them here. But its been a few years and I thought Id just check it out. BAD IDEA. When you first walk in you cant tell if its a bookstore or an unkempt storage house. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to her layout. The books are just placed or strewn about wherever; not to mention the horrible quality most of the books are in. They look like the covers have been ripped to shreds by rodents. I will say I was excited to see all the Life magazines but that was short lived by the ladys attitude. She constantly asked us if we were buying anything and finally lost it when we were "taking too long looking through them". She yelled at us to put them back in the right boxes (the "designated" ramshackled boxes and most we found on the floor or shoved in shelves). She looked at us like WE were the ones who made the mess. She also ripped one magazine from my hand and told me I had to pay for it, it was WAY overpriced by the way. Then she proceeded to shove it into my gut reminding me to put it where it goes. My dad and I cleaned up HER mess and then left without buying anything. I will NEVER return here.

Brandon Sharp

This was, arguably, the messiest bookstore that I have ever visited. I expected more from something on Market St. in the beautiful downtown area of Chattanooga. When I first walked in, I thought, "What a cozy bookstore this is." Upon exploring the building further, I found myself unable to properly navigate around because of things, sometime books, thrown all around the store, blocking aisles. The books were placed in no particular order on the shelves, which makes it very difficult to find what you are looking for. When I did find some items that I was interested in, I opened the books up and found that they were grossly overpriced. I saw a Stephen King book for $35 that had no special attributes to it (not signed, not a first edition or a first printing). I could get many of the books I found in here at McKay for about a tenth of the price of books in here. The owner did not seem to care that potential customers were in her store, and seemed more interested in a quilt that was laid out before her. If I were her, I would seriously consider cleaning up the store and marking down my books.

Michael Arrington

What an adventure. Between the dogs in sweaters, smell of meat, smell of dog, completely disorganized set up, and bags of yarn, I did manage to find some pretty neat books. Of course they were hardcover book sets with instructions to not remove them from sleeves. No clue if they were in decent condition or price. It really came down to the owners poor servant, Chelsea (think thats her name). After being told to run books to the back the owner then began calling her back to the front to put a book on the bottom shelf. With many yes maams, she finished in the back. Before she could return the owner threw the book down and yelled for her to put it on the bottom shelf. Once she finished that, the owner told her to feed meat to the dogs. "Just pick it off the bone." She sat on a crate and began picking at the meat. When the owner them started asking her about her claim of being a spiritualist. Thats when I left and never looked back. The 2 stars is because those few books that I found might have been a great find but, I leave that to another adventurer.

Elizabeth Cullum

NEVER go to this store. My boyfriend and I, both students at UTC, went there today. We didnt get 10 feet into the store before the owner bombarded us with questions. Where we were from, what we were majoring in, what we want to do with our major, etc. When my boyfriend said that he was a history major and wanted to work at the Smithsonian, she told him that he had the wrong major, and that the Smithsonian didnt have a point and was a waste of tax money. She then started quoting the Bible, and when we told her that we were Atheists, she was livid. We walked out before she could say another word. Not to mention the actual store: it was extremely messy, the books had no organization, there was a terrible selection, the prices were outrageously high, and there so much stuff stacked in some places that the store should be deemed a fire hazard. The ONLY good thing about this store is that there are 2 dogs in it. But as much as I adore dogs, they do not make up for even a fraction of that womans atrocities. I will never be entering that store again.

A Private User

I called this store to ask if they carried a book that I was interested in. I was met with "what do you want Im on the other line." I made my inquiry about the book and before I could finish saying the title the lady replied no. I am usually pretty understanding of people not enjoying their job and being rude when I ask for help but this lady is something else. Unless she has the whole catalog of books memorized she didnt even try to help me. She may be old but I dont believe that is an excuse to be lazy and rude when someone is polite and trying to give you their business. Obviously running a business isnt what this woman is concerned with, she probably had a husband die and leave stacks of books in her house. That could be why she hates the bookstore and the people who simply want to buy a book and need some help finding it in her pile of unorganized junk. Hopefully her book store is replaced with a Barnes and Noble where people actually do work instead of talking on the phone and waiting to die.