Market Block Books

What is my favorite thing in downtown Troy? This bookstore by far! I love the building, they have a great selection, and the staff is amazing. People, when books come pre-​priced by the publisher, why would you shop at a big box store? There is no cost savings by shopping at the mall. But Market Block Books has a rewards program that earns you money towards books and the rewards program is FREE, not $ 25 a year like they charge you at the mall. Shop small at this bookstore — they are fabulous!

I’m all for buying local. This is the only place my fiancée and I buy our books, even if it means waiting a few days for what we want to come in. This is from a girl who fell in love with Barnes & Noble at 18, and who needed convincing that buying local improves the local economy in ways that are relevant to me, and my family. Isn’t buying local a friendlier, cozier experience? Yes, for the most part. My fiancé spent more than 300 $ in this shop on Christmas Eve this year, in addition to the stacks of books we purchase throughout the year. My car needed a repair, a band aid actually. It won’t shift out of park unless it’s fully warmed up… a remote starter would correct the issue without having to spend much. It’s right after Christmas, so things are tighter than usual. He bought me several books on Christmas Eve, but books won’t start my car. Given the hundreds and likely thousands of dollars, we’ve spent here, I didn’t anticipate a problem returning 2 of the many books purchased that day, with a receipt, and having been purchased using a bank card (we don’t use credit cards, lady!) We’ll it was a hard ‘No’ for returning the books. They were happy to offer me merchandise credit (I HAD A RECEIPT!!) I guess buying local is all well and good until you need to return something, and then their «policies» are far less friendly than a big company’s would be. Barnes & Noble would have returned those books on the spot, no questions & no snotty attitudes. Why would a neighborhood bookstore have more hard nosed policies than a big seller? Left a bad bad taste in my mouth, and brought to mind the few times I was sitting and reading and got the whole «are you gonna buy something or what?» vibe — like the money I do spend there isn’t enough. I’m going back to B&N. Buying local just got too unfriendly for me.

I worked in an independent bookstore for almost four years, and this was the first bookstore I’ve visited since I moved that really felt like *home*.
I love the cozy, intimate, personal vibe of this place. It’s tidy but not sparse, with displays and shelves neatly and thoughtfully curated. While they don’t have the largest selection (a few of my favorite lesser-​known authors were not represented on the shelves), you can tell that they only stock books that they believe in and love. A staff recommendations shelf greets you when you enter, full of handwritten shelftalkers with enthusiastic praise. There was a good selection of sci-​fi, fantasy, and mystery in addition to regular fiction; and nonfiction sections like travel, architecture, crafts, local history, and politics. Their kids’ and YA sections were wonderfully plump as well.
While I often enjoy looking through bookstores’ selections of non-​books like candles, toys, and cards, this place had 99% books and just a few souvenirs — just right for a small shop like this. Ask for a frequent buyer card! We put all of our purchases onto one and left it with my brother, who goes to school here. Everyone in our party found something they wanted and we left very pleased.

I could live here. So many amazing books and a great atmosphere and lovely owner! I love the commentary people leave on certain books, it really helps you get an idea of what the books are about and what others have gotten out of them. Couldn’t leave without purchasing something, and the owner had commentary on all of the books we checked out. Love.

I love this gem. The staff are knowledgeable and there is such a nice variety of literature. It has such a warm feel.

It gets a couple of stars from us just for the shape of the store. And then another for an incredibly comfy couch in the window and the odd armchairs around the joint.
We’re more familiar with its sister store, The Book House (and the Little Book House) so it’s not surprising the vibe here is much the same. The Market Block is a lot smaller, and somewhat disappointingly does not have the comprehensive local history section that The Book House has. But it’s a friendly, browsable, reader’s bookstore with a mixture of titles and surprises, and while at market prices, they do honor the same discount card that The Book House uses, so you can get $ 15 off every $ 100 you buy. That’s always the price these days for the civility of a bricks and mortar bookseller.
Then there’s the Mystery Date books: wrapped up in plain paper, with only a category as a clue, at a cheap price, with proceeds going to charity. We were 2 for 4 on «hits» of the books we bought, but the 2 we hit were pretty awesome books so it was an excellent little game of roulette. I don’t know if this is a regular feature but it ought to be at every bookstore everywhere.
It’s not quite a destination bookstore, nor one you would go to if you have to pick up something particular or need to browse through multiple titles in a given topic area, but as a co-​destination for a nice dinner or another event in Troy or on the way to or from something it’s a worthy diversion.
Four worms out of five.

Yikes! After walking in the door I suddenly realized how long it had been since I was in an actual bookstore. I felt dizzy and confused. The smell of ink and paper made it impossible to think.
The shop has a very good sampling of new fiction, classics, and new non-​fiction in view. Arranged with some spine showing and some full covers showing made for easy browsing.
The employee suggestions pulled out in each section felt legit, and having local authors clustered in one section with signage helps to make this store «local» instead of just another Barnes and Noble.
I think I bought the first book I saw. My son did the same. Books stores are so rare where we live that I think we both were afraid that someone would shutter the windows and turn off the lights before we could make a selection.
Sure Amazon might have the same book for $ 2 less than I paid (actually about $ 4 more with shipping), but it won’t have that same experience of feeling the covers and smelling the glues and ink that are part of the reading experience.
I noticed that the RPI bookstore did not have any trade book available. I certainly hope the students there are familiar with MarketBlock Books.

Excellent bookstore. Easy to get seduced by all sorts of titles, from literary fiction to YA to non-​fiction and local interest. The design of the interior and the designs of the book covers play to each others’ strengths – intriguing, variety, great storytelling! –and enhance the quality of the browsing experience. A great reminder of the value of independent bookstores. We happily bought several books and began reading the same day.

If you aren’t local, the hours will probably be inconvenient. If you’re looking for an enormous selection of books at deep discount, this store is not for you. But it is one of my absolute favorite places in Troy. The employee recommendation cards highlight books you may not have otherwise thought to explore, and the displays are beautifully set up with special interest displays scattered throughout so that while there may not be as many books as in a larger chain store, you can enjoy browsing through these much more. The employees know their stuff and clearly care about both books and their community, and the store often hosts local authors, which is cool.
It’s kind of cheesy, but Market Block kind of reminds me of The Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail. Honestly, I never realized how different an experience buying books could be til I came here. I don’t purchase books very often these days, but when I do, I try to find them here first.

This place being an independent book store, I was expecting more Used books, actually there wasn’t any. Would have made this place awesome. Whatever the price is on the book is what the price is. They do have employees suggestions on the shelves, which is a nice touch. Small selections on certain genres but I would go here to support a local shop, rather than Barnes and Nobles.

Knowledgeable staff. I forgot the name of the book and the author, but I had read the first chapter and I remembered the cover. The staff member was able to figure out what book it was based off of my description. You will not get this same service and knowledge at any book store. This is a unique place.
Beautiful interior. Fairly large selection of books, a lot of books by local authors, about Troy, Albany, and things that greatly interest people in this area.
While I was there I heard another staff member trying to help a little girl figure out what book to get, based off of her interests.
The people that work at Market Block Books really read books! It’s not just a job to them it’s a passion.

I always go to this quaint and comfortable neighborhood book store. The staff are very helpful and courteous and I never have a problem finding what I need.

It is so wonderful to have a neighborhood bookstore, especially one that’s run by people who actually read! The store is in an older building with comfy chairs and shelves of awesome books! The store has the wonderful smell of books and not the burnt coffee smell of the nasty stores at the malls. And it has huge, huge windows so you can read your new favorite book by natural light. Awesome

I’m a fan, and I have the membership card ;)

It is going to be an adjustment going from Borders to a local shop. The selection here and the hours here were even less then it’s sister store at Stuyvesant Plaza. Again they don’t carry my favorite NYT bestseller political thriller writer. I don’t want to order books. However, they did have a copy of Trial of Bat Shea, which when I finish the stack of books I have I will be going back to purchase.
This is going to be a hard transition, but I am willing to give you a shot.
I’m going to be really frank: I hate your hours. I understand its a catch 22, but they are seriously limited hours. I would forgive the limited hours if they had a better selection.
They get the 3 stars because I understand the difficult circumstances they are working with and i loved the guitarist playing in the front window during the farmer’s market.

Prices cannot compete with the volume that online merchants can sell at. However, it is the best place to stroll through. Best of all Stanley works there! What more can we ask for?
I always find the best gifts in there and the customer service is amazing!

Love this bookstore, its so cosy and I like that it has a lot of the best sellers, and if it doesn’t have the book your looking for they can order it. Amazing. They also have a book club card that you can get stamped for every purchase and then eventually you can get 15 $ off your next purchase. The people that work there are extremely friendly and helpful. Sometimes with the lure of Amazon I forget how incredible bookstores are, Im fairly certain this place will bring me back to being more local and stopping in more often.

This bookstore is a pleasure to stroll through. The layout is warm and inviting, with an undertone of new book smell and seating everywhere for people interested in sitting down with a book for awhile. The displays are enticing, and the selection is great. I could easily walk around in this store for at least half an hour.
Now that most of Albany/Troy’s bookstores have been pushed into gigantic shopping malls, going to a local bookstore like this is like a breath of fresh air.
Market Block Books is owned by the same people who own the Book House in Stuyvesant Plaza. You’ll feel good about supporting a local institution.

Nice interior, interesting selection of books. If you go there looking for a specific book, they probably won’t have it (they’re pretty small), but they can order it for you and have it within a few days. If you go just to browse around, you’ll probably come across something you like.
The staff is nice. There was this one bearded guy who would just stare at you with the deepest paranoia when you asked for help, but I don’t think he works there anymore.