Carroll & Carroll Book Sellers

The other reviews are right– the owner lady is super rude. But that being said, I could spend an entire weekend in here. There are a ton of books on a wide variety of topics. My wife and I walked out with bags full of books that we got for a pretty good price. We even snagged some really cute baby books for our daughter’s Christmas present.

The lady who owns this store is one of the least friendly people I’ve ever met. I had just spent over $ 600 at a used book store in Niantic CT the day before. I went in ready to spend. My wife told her how much she liked her store but no reply. She then asked if she was the owner and got a grunt of a yes. When my wife mentioned how eclectic the store is she got a «It’s organized» out of the lady. She really should just stay home and read books as she has no idea how to run a business or how to deal with people. Books are very expensive for used books and lady — It’s NOT organized. What a mess. Books double stacked and piled up high on the floor so you can’t hardly get in close to the shelves. Selection and variety was actually excellent but I would never give such a pompous proprietor a penny of my money. We left and went down the road and spent another $ 200 at a used bookstore the next day.

Beautifully cluttered, yet still with enough room in the aisles to kneel down and peer through the rows (and stacks on the floor!) of books. They have a great range of books, both non-​fiction and fiction, and you never know what you might find, either used or new. Go in and explore! (Just don’t expect Barnes and Noble-​type order.)

I have to be honest — every word of the previous review about their selection and «totally cool» factor is true. But… the woman who has been there both times I’ve gone in, who I assume is one of the owners, is one of the least friendly, most pretentious people I’ve ever met. When I described a book to her she actually said to me «*I* wouldn’t have anything like *that.*» I felt very dissatisfied after paying for my purchases and definitely won’t be going there again. (And yes, I tried really, really hard to be as polite and gracious as I could be, hoping that maybe she was just having a bad day. She wasn’t — she’s been equally imperious and unfriendly both times.)
Also, the prices are not entirely ideal for a used bookstore. Some of their items are as little as 10% off the cover price, presumably because they’re in excellent condition. (Which, incidentally, those books are — and the poorer the condition the lower the price, which seems fair.) But why would I bother to save fifty cents when I can purchase a new copy from Amazon at a greater discount? I’m all for buying local and supporting small businesses, since I own one, but that seems to be asking a lot.

Cramped, cluttered, and a joy to behold for genuine booklovers. If it weren’t for the fact that they’re usually pretty well-​stocked with recent releases and best sellers, you’d almost think you’d ridden a time machine back to pre-Amazon/Barnes&Noble days. The inventory, which includes both new and used books, has amazing depth for such a small store, with strengths that you’d expect (children’s books, fiction, sci-​fi, cookbooks) but also surprises (more poetry, world history, philosophy, and religion — the serious theological stuff, that is, not the walking-​with-​angels crap that sells well at Wal-​Mart — than I’ve seen in chain stores ten times the size of this place. Be forewarned: that depth of stock in such a small store comes at a cost — not monetary (new books are usually 10% off cover price, used 50%), but spatial: most of the stock is doubled-​shelved, sometimes even triple shelved. This can make for some awkward sprawling in the aisle if you’re looking for something in the back row of the bottom shelf. I confess, sometimes I’ve given up searching just because I didn’t feel like digging that hard. And while the owners claim to be able to tell you what they have in stock, I’m always skeptical of how accurate their knowledge of such near-​chaos can be – though many’s the time I’ve inquired about some obscure title or other and they’ve been able to beeline right to it. But serendipity prevails here anyway: this is the kind of bookstore where I walk in with a list of 5 or 6 «wants,» find none or one of them, but still walk out with a full bag of books I never knew I wanted. As I’ve implied, the Carrolls are helpful (with none of the smarmy, insincere obsequiousness you often get in modern retail, that is when you can get any service at all), colorful, and deeply knowledgeable about books. And I have to love shopkeepers who let me bring my dog in (after first extracting a promise that she’d…you know, «behave» herself). My parents live in Stroudsburg, and I when I stop in to Carroll & Carroll, I always joke that if it weren’t for the store my parents would see a lot less of me … but it’s only partly a joke.