Alhambra Books

Alhambra is probably my favourite used bookstore in Edmonton. I was thrilled when they reopened. They have a fantastic selection of books in a wide variety of genres. We always walk out with more books for our shelves. We haven’t had much luck selling to Alhambra, since they are quite picky. But their pickiness is what gives them such a great selection, I imagine.

If I had to use just one word to describe this place it would be WOW… thankfully this is Unilocal so I get to use as many as I want to tell you all about this cool little store just off of Whyte.
The merchandise here is floor to ceiling just about with topics ranging from poetry to travel and everything in between. I found so many cool poetry, spirituality, and fiction titles today that I would need a car and probably a second job just to be able to take home everything I wanted. The prices were all very fair at about half the original retail price and lower. There also isn’t much here that I found with faded pages or worn spines so you can rest assured you are paying for quality goods!
The gentleman at the front counter was friendly yet laid back leaving customers to browse their massive shelves uninterrupted. I imagine you would have to be laid back as they likely have people in their store for hours at a time just to be thorough about checking it all out.
If your a book fiend like me who is totally uninterested in purchasing an e-​reader you need to get yourself down here and take the experience in for yourself!

Wow! Really any used bookstore should strive to be like this. This makes other stores feel like a flea market.
With books floor to ceiling and in every genre, Alhambra books lets your imagination take control. It is not just the amount of books. It is the breadth and depth of the selection. Prices seemed reasonable, some downright a steal, all marked within the inside cover. It is so old school that they didn’t even have a till. They wrote the titles I bought down into a scribbler and did the math in their head. So cool.

I love this store. They are so passionate about their books.
I was in yesterday to sell off a few of mine to make room for more.
She always gives good deals.
A very pleasant place to shop.
This area is exploding with condos and businesses. I hope they do well.

Alhambra is a little bit off the beaten Whyte Ave path, and I think that’s a good thing.
I was unprepared for how extensive the book selection would be! I have never seen so many categories and disciplines. I can’t imagine a topic that isn’t represented on Alhambra’s venerable shelves. There were a good number of people in the store even though it was over the holidays, just browsing and diving into the fascinating stock.
The owners were very helpful and generous in their purchase of some used books that I brought in. Although they were selective in what they chose (I could imagine with their huge amount of inventory, they must be careful of duplicates), but the ones that they did take I felt well compensated for.
I will absolutely bring used texts here again when I’m ready to part with them, and in the meantime I will be back to browse their impressive selection for purchases.
Alhambra is a great little gem of a book shop!

Alhambra is tucked away from Whyte Ave. and with its unusual name, I think a lot of people pass by the store without another thought. Don’t! It’s one of the best used book stores that I’ve found in the city and has a fantastic selection.

I withhold no praise from this book shop. The staff are generous with their time and expertise but do not bother you if you do not ask for help. To maintain such a huge selection while showing such discretion testifies to their tenure in this business. It makes for the ideal used book adventure – that possibility of spontaneous discovery coupled with the hope that the book you are looking for is there, all while knowing that whatever you’ll find is most likely worth reading if it’s made it onto these shelves.
Strongly recommend.

Terrific selection of Canadian literature; I was able to find the complete set of paperbacks for Anne of Green Gable series for an average of $ 5 each. Prices generally depend on what you are looking for, but generally is better priced and better stocked than Wee Book Inn (the latter being a franchised business). If you want to pick up a new hobby such as oil painting/​cooking/​any DIY projects, this bookstore would most likely have the books to get you started. (In fact, I have to control myself from collecting too many cookbooks from here! Two shelf rows full and counting…)

Love, love, love this bookstore. I’ve been able to find textbooks for University classes here, as well as unique books and classic novels. The enormous history section is enough of a draw for this history geek, but there is so much more that just that at this store. Fiction, non-​fiction, classics, etc. You name it, they have it. I don’t think I’ve ever left without buying anything.

When Unilocal had their Passport to East Whyte Ave week I tried to get down to Alhambra Books, but unfortunately it was closed the only time I could make it down. So I was happy to finally make it down to Alhambra a couple days ago when I needed to find a book for school.
Alhambra is tucked with a couple other businesses a block off Whyte Ave on 81 Ave. I had taken the bus to Whyte Ave and walked, but there seemed to be some parking in front of the store. When I went into I was surprised to see how big, and open this bookstore was. While many used bookstores are in small spaces, Alhambra feels open and spacious, with book shelves that reach to the ceiling. The fiction section was organized nicely in alphabetical order. The nonfiction section had a variety of categories, from history, to mountaineering (really) to philosophy. I was also surprised by the shelf filled with books by Alberta authors, including local authors.
I wasn’t able to spend all afternoon at Alhambra Books, but I easily could have. I found a copy of the book I needed for about $ 9, about half the price of a new copy. I got something I needed, I saved money and I got to support a local business. In my opinion it doesn’t get much better than that.

Okay, my problem with the place is the smell. The musty smell is a little overwhelming when you first step in. Aside from that I think they have a decent selection of books, at a reasonable price. I like the open space and the quiet atmosphere, I just wish they would do something about the smell. But don’t let it stop you from going, the selection and price is well worth the visit.

I absolutely love this store, and visit as often as I can. My favorite area is in the very back, where the movie/​tv section is.
I’m a creative writer, and many of my works center on old Hollywood. This place has the best selection in town of books on stars like Chaplin, Pickford, Gable, etc. Plus hard-​to-​find stuff I have NEVER seen anywhere else. I found an anniversary booklet from some bank in Hollywood with amazing photographs of Los Angeles in the 1910s, and a catalog of silent movie stars and their classic automobiles. I was in heaven. In addition to everything else they have here.
You must come visit. Too many of our treasures like this are falling victim to electronic technology.
Buy a real book. They’ve been around for centuries, and they still work great. What’s going to happen when technology upgrades hit the e-​book market? Will you still be able to read your favorites? You can if you buy them here.

Sometimes I feel that the best things in the Strathcona and Garneau neighborhoods are off-​Whyte. Alhambra reinstates that belief with a remarkably well maintained and fully loaded used bookshop. Of course, every bookshop has a lot of books and tends to have a really good collection in some genres, like I do feel that Audrey’s books (downtown) has an awesome collection of Margaret Atwood books. In this case, I was particularly enamored by the presence of a large variety of Science books, biology, chemistry and math (no physics, strangely enough); engineering books too.
Don’t get me wrong though. It’s not limited to just nerdy science books. They’ve got a lovely collection of literature books and specifically Canadian literature, as well as a huge collection of books related to history. I was also quite impressed by their large collection of cookbooks, from famous classics like Julia Child’s French cooking to modern day favorites related to diet food and vegan living. I noticed that they also had a pretty decent section of reference books (outside of those already mentioned) and many related to the local landscape of things — be it birds of Alberta or a book on pre-​WW I Strathcona.
The atmosphere is more like that of a library with a lot of old, squeaking furniture and books piled high up in bookstands that can barely carry their own weight. A nice smell to the old furniture adding to the potpourri of mould, ages old vanilla, grassy and moist odor of books with paper browned beyond belief etc. A lovely place that deserves a 5 star based on pure empirical bliss.

WOW!!! If I could give Alhambra six stars I would. I can’t believe in all of my years of book shopping and bookstore adventures I’ve never been here before now.
The selection is the most extensive I’ve ever seen… period. I mean, they actually HAVE a chemistry section. And they have books in my FIELD! (Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.) I even found some books by well-​recognized authors on rotational and vibrational spectroscopy. They’ve got lots of cool old cookbooks and an extensive hobby section. And they have a hypnosis section… and even a metal working section! I’m hard pressed to find even ONE book on those topics in other bookstores! And everything was inexpensive! (Toxicology textbooks for ten bucks? Yes please!)
I was just overwhelmed by the sheer number of books in the store, and how many were crammed into this corner and that. Everywhere you turn there’s a pile of books you haven’t seen yet. It’s so exciting!
I only spent a couple hours in the store and already I have a long list of things to buy!

I always wanna swear in my revies to show how superior this store is. So here I go this place is F**king fantastic. Stay away from your corporate book stores, its just the same dribble. Here at Alahambra you can find the book you didnt even know you were looking for. Stock here is great, I have never left this place w/​o 5 books or less. The staff super friendly, great people to just have a chat with. One thing they are missing is the shop pet, unless there is one and I havent seen it. Prices are resonable abd its jus off whyte so parking is never really an issue. Whats got two thumbs up and says hell yes visit it here… THIS GUY

Just what a bookstore should be: stocked to the gills with books and organized in a way that is easy to navigate. My go-​to anytime I’m looking for a new read. I wish more people visited used bookstores — why buy brand new books when they’re made with lesser quality materials and use unnecessary resources (with the obvious exception being a brand new title)? The smell, the helpful but bookish (excuse my pun) staff, the mis-​matched bookshelves, the worn but comfy chairs — I love everything about this place. Sometimes I’ll go just to chill out when it’s been a particularly hectic day.

The Alhambra palace in Granada is also known as ‘Al-​Yana’, or paradise, and this Alhambra is certainly a paradise for old book lovers! Exactly what a second-​hand, antique bookstore should be — filled to the celling with overflowing bookcases and a musty smell reminiscent of a well-​stocked library. An exploration revealed many treasures, including the entire works of Shakespeare (40 volumes!) from the 1880’s. The bookstore also had incredible sections on spirituality, radicalism, cultural studies and more. A great bookstore for serious, non-​fiction readers looking to discover new topics or learn more about favourite ones, Alhambra also stocks enough contemporary literature on the shelfs to satisfy readers who are looking for good fiction, although you won’t find the NYT’s top 100 list here.

Alhambra Books is a second hand bookstore just off Whyte that has an atmosphere exactly the way a used bookstore should have: moderately lit, slightly musty, and filled with books. I head to Alhambra to sell my unwanted books for reasonable rates, and also the check out the stock. Alhambra has one of the best Spirituality sections in the city, hands down, including other independent bookstores and the major chains. I know a pastor who comes here to clean it out on a regular basis. The best thing about coming to a bookstore like this is that you never know what treasures you may find.

Out of all the bookstores around Whyte, I find Alhambra Books pays the best for your old books. I managed to sell two of my old books for $ 6 here, which is a lot better than I fared at Wee Book Inn. Like Old Strathcona Books nearby, they have a wide selection in various genres, including children’s literature, general and world literature/​fiction, sports, poetry, spirituality, and history. What really impressed me was that one side of the store had books all on war and history. So history buffs would love it here. They tend to have more classic and intellectual books here, like Broadvalley Books on Whyte, and less general contemporary fiction.