Downtown Books

Awesome little bookstore right in the heart of downtown! Being a sucker for used books I immediately fell in love with this cozy environment. I love that there were different genres in each room making it an adventure walking through. The staff was extremely helpful/​knowledgable. Highly recommend!

In town from Austin and was itching to get some good reading in. SO glad we stumbled across Downtown Books! This place is out of a time period where the book store itself has so much personality.
The (I’m assuming) owner was very warm, friendly and more than happy to help answer my difficult questions. Someone even dragged the owner out of the store to meet their husband, so it’s clear he has a great relationship with the people.
Maybe it isn’t the go-​to place for the weeks newest releases, but it is a treasure trove of classics, rarities and plenty of surprises.
Not to mention the prices are great!
Definitely worth checking out!

Oh no. I just found a new crack — I mean book — dealer.
I found Downtown Books accidentally and told myself, Ok I’ll JUST park and take a LOOK. I’ll say I’m just looking. I’ll say I’ll come back.
But then as I neared the steps, the smell of book store hit me… (I literally said out loud, «Mmmmm, book store.»)
The owner (?) greeted me right there at the door, and the first book I happened to reach up and touch was an autographed Rudolfo Anaya book. I was done for!
I capped myself at TWO BOOKS but that’s only because I was in a rush and I have a sales price max because I think in terms of Friends of the Library book sales prices. I seriously could have stayed in there all day and shopped.
Large (but random of course) selection of foreign language books. A couple shelves of Spanish, but I also noticed a shelf each of Russian, German, French, Italian, and at least one or two others.
Excellent little bookstore.

We got the $ 10 for $ 20 deal and ended up spending $ 40 worth of books! If you’re looking for a specific book, then I’m not too sure how helpful it is (though, there are quite a few books in the store), but we simply like to get books of various genres and read them. This was perfect for that. The people who work there are also very nice. The prices are good and the layout is great.

Adorable little bookstore! This little gem is rather quaint and full of lovely old books. This place has a couple of modern titles, but it looks like the selection is more of older books. If you’re looking for an old copy of something, this seems like the place to look. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, and the store itself is well-​organized into sections. I rather liked how books were shelved in odd places like an old kitchen sink and some cupboards – added to the charm of the place. Prices are pretty reasonable, and I believe they have a Unilocal deal running right now that would give you an even better deal on the books. Great place to just walk through and discover some cool new reads.

I strongly urge you NOT to support Downtown Books located at 109 8^th SW, Albuquerque, NM. I inherited 6 large boxes of old books from my grandmother. They are classics and in pretty good shape for the most part. Included is a complete, first edition set of the Harvard Classics. I went to Page One, as I know nothing about old books, and they recommended taking them to Scott (the owner) of Downtown books. This is a store that buys, sells and appraises books. Scott was incredibly rude, disinterested and he actually hung up on me! I would understand if my books are not worth anything but he didn’t say that. He didn’t even want to discuss them. I don’t understand a small bookstore owner who is rude and disrespectful to customers. That’s not OK and his bookstore will suffer because of his lack of manners and communication skills. I support local businesses over chains but I will not be taking my business to Downtown Books!

Just what a used bookstore should be… Full of surprises. Small. Choice. Quirky, one-​off-​stuff like a neatly bound vintage photocopied set of instructions on how to build an Alexander Calder-​like mobile ($ 2)…A book of Lee Friedlander’s desert work (?!)…And on and on. The architecture of the building supports the vibe too– lots of little nooks and twists and turns. An Albuquerque treasure. Go there. Browse. Buy. Let’s keep this bookstore healthy and alive!

Great used bookstore. The best one in ABQ, I think. Inexpensive. LOTS of good fiction and nonfiction. Found books/​authors there I couldn’t find any place else in ABQ. So glad I stumbled across it. (Off street parking — it’s dirt and not asphalt — but who cares.)

This is a bookstore for people who like to read. The shelves define eclectic, and there’s a tremendous range — from Voltaire’s «Lettres Philosophiques» (in French) to «Baking Basics (with 101 Luscious Dessert Recipes). You’ll find dime store pulp fiction, author-​signed copies, and full sets of attractively bound novels.
But the real joy is in just being surrounded by a bit of everything — especially if you are transported by the smell of an old book. The owner and his staff are helpful without hovering, which comes in very handy for a guy like me who can spend a couple hours crawling the copious shelves (and nooks, and crates, and closets…) without noticing that time has passed.
Every time I’m in Albuquerque I come here, and if you like books, you should too.

This is not the place to visit with a particular book in mind, but, rather, a place to wander the narrow aisles until you find those gems you didn’t know you needed. Downtown Books encompasses everything that is great about small, locally-​owned used book stores. It’s cozy without feeling too stuffy. The shelves are spaced compactly, but not close enough to leave you feeling claustrophobic. The wonderful must of old books fills the air and the shopkeeper is welcoming and tries to ensure that everyone finds something up their alley. The books are in great condition and there’s a good balance between fiction/​non-​fiction. There’s also a kid’s section, dubbed the «The Kid-​Chen».
Prices are fair for the condition and overall quality of the selections. If you’re looking for deals, the Unilocal promotion of $ 20 worth of books for $ 10 can’t be beat. I walked away with four books (three paperbacks, one hardcover) for $ 11. The closet at the back of the store is where $ 2 classics are kept. Can’t go wrong there.
A local treasure trove worth preserving!

This is a great book store, a gem. As others have said — beautiful books, great prices, big selection, nice layout, cozy but not cramped. Compact and very pleasant. Gentlemen at the desk knows books and is super helpful. I will try to spend more hours here when in ABQ, and I urge you to do so, too.

I grew up around antiquarian books, book, and record dealers. This is a well laid out and organized store. You go in and it has that clean old ephemeria smell. Channels are small but cozy. Prices are very reasonable. Pete was working the counter and he was knowledgeable about stock on hand. He even directed us to another book dealer who is at Winning’s café on Harvard St, when they did not have any Bukowski that dealer is there on Mon, Weds, and Friday. He is a tad more expensive, but has a lot of the lit scene greats.
I had gone in looking for some sic fi writers which are elusive even to find in Barnes and Nobels at times let alone used. Though I did not find all of the selections, I sought after. I had great luck in the Classics closet. I like small cosy spaces and I kind of wanted to shut myself in there with a reading light.
When you shop for used books you may go in for one thing, but keep an open mind and wonder about, and you will be sure to find something stimulating. Even if you do not find anything you fancy, bookstores like this are great places to go talk about subversive, political, and counter culture topics
They even have Theosophical section, not that I am still into that but I was in College. Parking is available for free on 8^th St 2 hour time limit.

This is my favorite bookstore in Albuquerque. While the store doesn’t carry women’s lit or romance, they have almost everything else. The owner is extremely knowledgable about authors and genres. If you have some favorites he can recommend more choices to try out.
The store has an interesting selection of older books that aren’t always available at Amazon. I’ve found some facinating cookbooks. Anyone who collects rare books would definately want to check here.

After a year of running by this place and saying to myself, «I need to go back there when I am not wearing these stupid shorts,» I finally went into Downtown Books. This is one of the best used bookstores I have been to in Albuquerque. There are many solid history titles, a decent art history section, and an interesting fiction section. The store is small, but the stock is well chosen, so you do not have to wade through the compulsory throw away titles by Ann Coulter and Bill O’Riley. A great place to pick up what you were looking for, but also that unexpected gem too.

This is very much a classic used bookstore. Books are everywhere! The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable. Given the size of the store, it’s relatively small, they have packed an amazing number of books in there.

I love used bookstores. Since I’ve been in ABQ I haven’t come across one that I really cared for, but this shop had some real gems. The guy working the front (owner?) was more than willing to be sure we were taken care of and to scour the high and close shelves of books to see if the kinds of titles we were interested in were available.
The prices are good and the quality of the books that I perused was high. It’s well organized and surprisingly expansive. Give yourself time to let your eyes wander over the titles and to read a few pages here and there… it’s worth it.
Help keep local ABQ bookstores like this alive!

I really like this shop and can easily spend an hour here. The selection of books is impressive and I like the shop-​it is filled with nooks and crannies and lots of books that interest me. The variety of books here is what draws me back as well as the staff. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

According to their listing in the Albuquerque Used and Antiquarian book dealer guide, they have a general stock of used & out of print books, specializing in science and technology. I wouldn’t quite go that far, but they do certainly have some old physics & engineering books that could have been up at Los Alamos back in the day.
The shelves are a little narrow for browsing, but the store is otherwise well organized and the owners are friendly. Most items are internet priced, so don’t expect to find many bargains.