Half-Price Books

No, the title of this post wasn't just meant to lure you in. I forgot to write about the first two bookstores I've stopped in as part of the Chicagoland bookstore exploration I mentioned here. I have yet to make a journey into a neighborhood like Lincoln or Hyde Park (that is, a neighborhoos with bookstores at every intersection), but I hope to before the month is up. For now:

1. Half-Price Books, Records, and Magazines
14 Countryside Plaza
Countryside, IL
(708) 579-1770

My family and I drove out to Half-Price Books a couple of weeks ago after my mom and I stumbled upon it on an earlier pilgrimage to JoAnn's Fabrics. It's well-worth the drive (although they have five locations in the greater Chicagoland), because sprawling suburbia allows for the store to have a massive inventory. They buy books whenever they're open, but beware: I only got $4.50 for a stack of unread paperbacks and I ended up spending almost $30.00. They ainno stoops at Half-Price, but all their books are in excellent condition. I left the store with a hardcover copy of "Martin and John" (Dale Peck), a hardcover Modern Library first-edition of Richard Wright's "Native Son" (only $4.95!), "How to Be Alone" (Jonathan Franzen), a $2.00 copy of Ian McEwan's "Saturday," and a like-new edition of "The Polysyllabic Spree"--how fitting!

2. A.C. McClurg Bookstore
at the Newberry Library
60 W. Walton
Chicago, IL
(312) 255-3520

I've been taking that class at the Newberry for four weeks now, and it wasn't until I had shown up an hour early for class yesterday evening that I finally had the opportunity to browse through the McClurg Bookstore. I wasn't aware of their lofted second floor, and was glad to spend nearly the entire hour up there in the quiet space. What McClurg lacks in its amount of literary fiction (I'd say only 1/10th of their inventory), it makes up for in selection--and they're always willing to place an order for you. I found the environment--a library--to be especially pleasing. Few spoke above a whisper, and there weren't any pesky employees looking over my shoulder. I'd recommend a visit to the Newberry any day, but be sure to stop by the Bookstore when you do.