Blue Willow Bookshop

This is the best bookshop, bar none. Not only can the staff make a recommendation for any genre or age, but they’re always hosting author events. I’ve met some of the coolest authors over the years here.
Plus they’ve got story time for the little kids and they host a couple of book clubs for adults.
And aside from all that, they are major supporters of the three big book festivals in town: Bookworm for the elementary kiddos (February each year), Tweens Read for middle schoolers (October), and TeenBookCon for the teens, obviously (in April annually). Their support helps keep all three of these events free to the public every year.
All in all, Blue Willow Bookshop is just a wonderful resource for the literary minded Houstonian. If you haven’t been, go!

Best bookstore ever! Doesn’t matter if you’re coming for a one-​time event or coming every week… Valerie and staff will treat you like family! Bonus: they’ve actually read the books they recommend!

Saw them at couple of different events few years ago and thought they were different and wanted to support local book store instead of national so I’ve started going there. People there were nice and store is very cute. Until I wanted to reach out to the owner about couple of ways to support our school. (I know our teachers uses them and I also wanted to get them more opportunities to work with school instead of the national brand) but no one reply back. I’ve sent two different emails at two different occasions and no one even bother to reply back. I personally believe how you do anything is how you do everything. This just shows how they are doing business and doesn’t support the community. Never step a foot into that store ever since my email was never returned.

Adorable little bookstore. Attended the Jenny Lawson «Furiously Happy» book signing and it was my first visit to the store. The staff was really nice and well organized. The reading and Q&A took place behind the store on what Valerie referred to as her «back patio» and while it was a little warm, it was nothing Texans can’t handle. The Bloggess was amazing and hilarious and the whole experience was really wonderful. The staff did a great job organizing the large crowd and keeping everybody moving through the signing to meet Jenny. If I lived closer I would definitely frequent this shop, but I will make the trip out anytime they have great author visits like this for sure!

Blue Willow is an unusual independent bookseller. And in a good way.
There are plenty of kids and young adult books, and almost an equal number of adult fiction and non-​fiction, but not the usual mass-​market paperbacks. Instead, BW carries some popular authors and titles, primarily in hard cover or the large soft cover, with limited space for a B&N-size inventory.
It’s a thoughtful collection. It’s a family store.
Like most bookstores, Blue Willow carries some games, greeting cards (not the common variety cards), stationery and miscellaneous small gifts.
It has a personal feel, catering to a specific clientele trying to escape the big box jungle, browse a manageable collection of reading materials, and support local business. Although I found Blue Willow a store oriented toward children and young adults, there was just enough to keep the adults occupied while waiting for the kids to explore.
That’s not a bad thing, and this isn’t a bad place to take the family and spend some time browsing. If you need a book, they can order it. If you need help finding something, they point the way. If you need recommendations, they can help with that, too. It’s a family bookstore with a small town feel. In a digital age, it’s a throwback. Go books go.

EXCELLENT independent Bookshop!
The Owner and Staff are VERY friendly & EXTREMELY knowledgeable… They are great at helping you make selections and if they don’t have the book you’re looking for… they’ll order it for you and have it within a few days! Personally, I just have never really gotten in to the digital version of reading… I still love the smell and feel of a real book!
For parents… you can’t really beat the Children’s and Tween’s sections. What a great way to get your kids to enjoy and appreciate the printed world of books!

Great little bookstore with a knowledgeable and friendly staff. SBISD staff even get a discount on their purchases. #supportsmallbusinesses

This is definitely a Mom and Pop bookstore. Yes, it doesn’t have a big selection compared to a Barnes and Noble, but it makes it up in customer service and personalization.
One should stay in the loop with this book store there always seems to be something happening… An famous author visit or book discussion.

I frequent this book store often– love the selection, especially the children’s items and unique gifts like cards and knick knacks. Also love the staff– twice when I have contacted them about possible donations for a charity fundraiser and both times they have provided items for raffle prizes without batting an eye. I love to support small companies and when I find one that so easily gives back to the community I am even more likely to return and spread the word. You should too!

This place is really great. You can lose yourself with all the books they have. I’ve gone here for book signing. They are pretty organized when it comes to author signing, I just wish they had more room.

Such a cute bookstore! I’ve never been there prior to attending a Smitten Kitchen signing, but it looks like the classic mom & pop bookstore with everything you could imagine. Blue Willow was such a gracious host for the signing, even making treats from the book for everyone. Blue Willow certainly had the author book signing order down pat. Because their book store is so small, they organize people by color, and call in groups to line up for the signing. There’s a nice coffee shop down the way that’s great for hanging out till your group is called. If you happen to miss your group because you were day dreaming (Hi. My name is Jennifer, and I get lost in my own bubble.) They’ll take you up to the front so you don’t have to wait as long. (For the record, I was perfectly happy waiting at the end as my penance for not paying attention.)
Now, this place is not Amazon. So no, they don’t have every book in the world (but they have A LOT), and you won’t get Amazon prices. I’m ok with that to support a local book store to bring authors I really want to meet to Houston =) Bookworms, go check it out!

I work just down the street from this great independent bookstore. It is indispensable for books, games, etc from small kids up through preteen.
They even have complimentary gift wrapping and a knowledgeable, helpful and friendly staff that can recommend great books, great games, for every age. I love supporting independent, neighborhood, booksellers like this!

Track down Valerie Keohler, the Girlboss, she will be the most helpful in a store full of helpful people. It is one of those shops where you will get to know the staff and end up visiting for the company as well as the books. It does focus on women’s issues and has an eclectic selection of books for children, so it is a specialty store in some respects, for me it is just one of those great places, full of character.
Check out their website for events, they manage to pull some fairly big names in for signings, the last one I saw was Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond.

Great bookstore. I love to support indie bookstores. Really helpful staff. Even though I just got a nook I will still patron this place.

I knew the Blue Willow Bookshop was tucked away in a strip center on Memorial, I just had never stopped in. In fact, for the longest time I actually thought it was a Christian bookstore. Not so. And when I saw it win Best Bookstore 2009 in the Houston Press, I knew I’d have to give it a gander.
It’s a quaint little shop, and an independent one, which automatically garners points, but it’s definitely a product of its environs. With Stratford High School around the corner, Meadow Wood Elementary down the street, and a recent book signing by Lauren Conrad, you might guess as to their regular clientele. Half the store is children’s books, and the tops of the shelves are lined with games, so if you’ve got little ones, this is definitely a place to stop. On the other side of the store you’ve got contemporary fiction and non-​fiction with some nice titles to choose from. I didn’t, however, notice the clothbound Modern Library editions I’m usually drawn to in a «new» bookstore (I do love the smell of new books, but it is second to the smell of the old). When I found the «Classics» section, I thought there might be hope, but if the quantity of titles is any indication, you might think Edith Hamilton’s «Mythology» outsold the Bible — until you remember that you read it in Freshman English class. And that’s what you’ll find, plenty of paperback sets of classroom titles. Which is fine, it just depends on what you’re looking for. The «Tween» section actually outmatched the Classics, again reinforcing the idea that students are their demographic. But hey, if you’re going to open a bookstore, you can’t go wrong opening it in a largely residential area with lots of kids and surrounding elementary, junior high, and secondary schools.
Blue Willow is a good bookstore, even if it isn’t exactly your cup of wizard’s tea, gillywater, or butterbeer.

Not a regular patron of this independent bookstore, but went to a book signing here for Lauren Conrad’s LA Candy. It’s a small bookstore tucked in a shopping center on the west side of town. As for the book signing, I can say there was an attempt to make it an organized event… but it can definitely be improved. First, upon arriving about an hour prior to the start, I was surprised to see seats set up OUTSIDE in 100+ degree heat. Ok, I can understand that the 600+ people who pre-​ordered/​purchased books would in no way fit in the small bookstore so I don’t fault Blue Willow in this aspect or for the heat, especially as they provided cold water bottles for 50 cents. Still, it was brutal waiting outside for close to 3 ½ hours to get my book signed (note: I was one who did not pre-​order and I have learned my lesson). An option would be to have fans return at a set time to avoid having to endure such a long wait OUTSIDE. Second, the author was supposed to make a few comments to the crowd before beginning the book signing but decided against it after realizing there would be a security issue: the makeshift stage for her was not cordoned off to prevent bombardment of all her female fans. My initial thoughts were «Really? What could a bunch of girls do?» But after a few hours waiting with them, I realized I underestimated the excitement of a few hundred anxious girls. Not to mention — «Security» consisted of one officer and a few college kids (who were probably just as excited to see the author as the fans). I think it’s great that a book signing was planned at an independent bookstore instead of at one of the major chains… but definitely feel that the conditions can be improved upon.