I come here to get lost in books. You can go in and browse books, and the sales people will not bother you. Unlike chain stores, they don't seem to mind if you borrow the books for a few minutes.... More

I come here to get lost in books. You can go in and browse books, and the sales people will not bother you. Unlike chain stores, they don't seem to mind if you borrow the books for a few minutes. They are open late, which is a really convience. Parking is horrible though, you can never find anywhere to park.
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Barbara's Bookstore is a great alternative to the major chain bookstores. They have a wide variety of books on any topic you can fathom. They have even divided many of the sections into more... More

Barbara's Bookstore is a great alternative to the major chain bookstores. They have a wide variety of books on any topic you can fathom. They have even divided many of the sections into more interesting departments. Also, the magazine section has a vast variety of option for one to look over. There are many titles that one might have never heard of before. Unfortunately, there isn't a cafe or anything for you to be able to sit down and relax with a book, but it is comfortable enough to spend a couple of hours at for some leisurely reading. The staff is also very helpful for the customers.
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Barbara's Bookstore is a nice alternative to the huge chains like B&N or Border's. Barbara's started out in Oak Park many years ago, and they are still going strong. They always have a lot of... More

Barbara's Bookstore is a nice alternative to the huge chains like B&N or Border's. Barbara's started out in Oak Park many years ago, and they are still going strong. They always have a lot of titles in stock, and tend to carry a few more "unknown" authors than you would find at the large chain stores. In addition, they always have some kind of sale going on, so you can find discount books all the time. It's a nice place to go and browse for books.
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