Shake Rattle & Read Book Box

Shake Rattle & Read is one-​of-​a-​kind. A unique store with a great record selection, and lots of eclectic stuff in general. Stopped in recently during the 50^th anniversary sale, in which used records were all 50% off. Major deals to be had, I saved about 20 bucks. Although Uptown seems far away, i’ll head there just to visit this shop from time to time. The owner Ric is a friendly guy and fun to talk to.
They don’t make them like this anymore, enjoy it while you can. I’m sad that it will be closing this year.

As a long time customer and fellow freak (like the owner and staff) I am so sad that he is retiring in 2016. I will truly miss the place.

(This review is about the books, as we weren’t there for vinyl.) We popped in here Sunday and were very impressed. While not huge, the sections are well organized and there were interesting books in every section we looked at. (The hubby pointed out a section of vintage girlie mags that I hadn’t noticed.)
The vibe of the shop is comfortable and relaxed, a place to come and chat with the owner, while listening to some tunes and browsing the shelves.
I was thrilled to find two Perry Mason books for my collection that I didn’t already have. I also found a scholarly book on early Taoist theory. The owner, Ric, was very friendly and gave us a good price for what we bought.

Love, love, LOVE this place! Truly an Uptown gem and unofficial Chicago landmark. Every time I walk out of there I have a stack of books!
Ric is great, too, and is very knowledgeable of his trade.

A fantastic little nugget in Uptown. Cornerstone is one way to put it. Gem is another way.
Having been a journalism student the past four years I’ve had to do a fair share of video stories on local establishments. One of them was Shake Rattle & Read. The store is small but rich with content (and surprisingly well organized /​archived). Ric, the owner, has been around town forever and knows everything about Uptown. I asked him a lot of questions about changes in the neighborhood, the Theatre, the music scene, how he started the bookstore. To each question he answered with ease and friendliness — it was simply incredible being able to talk to Ric. He has a certain charm that you hope may rub off on you. During the 4 hours I spent talking to him, many regulars would come in and say things like, «Hey Ric, how’s it goin?» or ask him questions about his book selection.
I’m a big supporter of local bookstores and friendly businesspeople. I wish only good things for Ric and SR&R, and if a positive Unilocal review will do it, then so be it!
5 stars.

Shake Rattle ‘n’Read is a Chicago Institution. A cornerstone of Uptown, along with The Green Mill and the sonically challenged Aragon Brawlroom. The Borders store in the old Goldblatt’s building was no threat to Shake R’n’R’s power and strongth (Yes, STRONGTH.). One reason why Ric Addy was not taken in by a Yuppie coup attempt was because he was a good enough businessman to know that having a far larger and more lavish book store down the street only meant people would buy new books there, then bring them around to him when they’d read them. That, and there’s just the fact that Ric could have taught them plenty about making their store space — efficient. I ‘d venture to say he had more books in his store, which is about ¹⁄₅^th the size of the former Border’s store.
You have to hit Shake R’N’R often, if you’re looking for something in particular, as their stock changes around on a regular basis, especially books and records. It’s always fun to find something new, and even catch up with something you may have taken a pass on, but, find yourself wanting it, more, now. It’s true, records, CDs (And even cassettes and 8– Tracks.), DVDs and VHS are all further down the bill from books and magazines (Largely music, movie and nekkid mags .), but, you never know what you’ll find. Shake R’n’R has also been carrying more new vinyl (The plural of vinyl is vinyl… or records.), as of late. It’s just fun to hang out there, too. As a few people have already said, it’s the kind of place to drop your guard and actually have a conversation with someone you don’t even know. Addy and his staff are always helpful, and Ringmaster Ric is always there with a joke, a story, or just some encouraging words to customers, new and old. He has a passion for his business that’s rare, today, but, business, for him, means making things affordable, and making someone’s day with a bargain. Seriously, anyone with a small business (Or, even a larger one. Borders did’nt learn from Addy, but, he learned from them.) should study him, and learn. The old school ways still work.
Look him up on You Tube to see what records just came in. Don’t forget the Dollar bin.
To Ric Addy: The Mayor of Uptown.

Wonderful little shop. As far as used book stores go, the place is remarkably well organized and tidy. No stacks of books piled up everywhere, cramping the space. The books are organized by category, and by author in the fiction section.
The book selection is of excellent quality, and the books are in great shape too. It’s not just a hodge-​podge of whatever garbage books people were clearing out of their attic; these guys take care to fill their shelves with good stuff.
The owners are very friendly and helpful too. Really, it’s a lot like shopping at a regular bookstore, but with better prices and a friendly neighborhood vibe. I think that’s as much as anyone could ask for in a used book store.

Not the biggest selection, but you can definitely find some worthwhile reading material here. The store is a bit cramped and the layout isn’t very intuitive, but perusing the records and old issues of pop culture magazines, this is a great place to come in and find an affordable treasure.

Fun environment that makes you want to look around for hours. However, I must’ve gone at a bad time, because I didn’t find anything I was looking for in the record section.
My main complaint is that the prices are unreasonable. It’s a used goods store, so the prices should be discounted. I bought a book that was originally marked for $ 18.85 by the publisher and the store put a price sticker over that for $ 20! In the end they only wanted to sell it to me for $ 20. I find it ridiculous that I had to pay MORE than the original publishers price for a used book.
I will probably not return to or recommend this store because of this.

This place is a browsers dream come true. There’s a wide variety of (mainly) older titles and some newer ones. If you’re looking for something specific, this may not be the place for you. If you do manage to come across something you want, it’ll be very inexpensive. I found some random things that I just had to buy due to the low price. It’s mostly a book store, but it has some solid records and a lot more porn than I expected. The DVD collection is super small and pretty random. All in all, it’s a nice place to kill some time and find some interesting reads.

Are you looking for a book? a VHS? a CD? a vinyl record? or even a cassette? Well, you will find all that here at Shake Rattle & Read Book Box. This is a cute neighborhood store in Uptown. It kinda smells weird in there, but they have the cutest bookshelf with the ladder. I am a sucker for stuff like that. If you are looking for something old or rare, you might find it here.

A book sellers of rare or old tomes should be honored; because they bring attention to the very words we need or neglect the most.
Do not judge a book by it’s cover, next to the massive landmark Uptown Theater in Chicago is a diminutive 12 foot wide storefront that is almost as extraordinary– Shake, Rattle, and Read. This used bookstore is a browser’s paradise. I love perusing the shelves and always find something captivating. The prices are really fair. The owner is patient and thoughtful in his service and suggestions. I also enjoy supporting a small local business.
Besides second hand books they also sell vinyl, DVDs, CDs, old magazines, and rare comic books. Please be advised, people can trade in their own items if they are in good condition and interesting. Not only is that frugal but trading/​donating books and buying vintage is green!
Book mark this place for a visit of your own. I wish I was there write now.

Second time going here to trade in some books, first time was to trade in some vinyl records.
Ric the owner is a personable, easy to talk to. AND REALLY gives a VERY FAIR trade in deal for books and gives an even equal deal for vinyl records prices.
Will keep going there to trade and now to buy stuff.

This place is awesome! It was my first time in here today and I not only found what I wanted but a few extras and a book for my Mom. The owner is really nice and helpful. I highly recommend it and I am definitely coming back with my friends very soon.

This is a review of just the VINYL RECORD selection at Shake, Rattle & Read…
As others have said, the record collection here is very nice. It is not the largest selection of records, but it is well curated, so although they might not have as many records as shops like Dusty Groove or Reckless or Dave’s, what they do have is so tasty, they make up for the difference with selectional greatness. In particular, I thought the Jazz and Classical sections were great, but the Rock/​Pop, World, and Folk sections were also quite nice too. As was also mentioned in earlier reviews – the $ 1 «you clean ‘em» record selections are also a great addition to the shopping experience, as well.
Overall, this is a very nice place to get you some vinyl. They have a very nice selection, like I said above, and the guy that runs the place seems cool too. Give this place a whirl – it’s easily accessible from the Red Line (via the Lawrence stop).

Simply put, this is my favorite shop in all of Chicago. If you’re a diehard music fan and collect memorabilia, this is a can’t-miss place in the heart of a musically-​rich neighborhood. Surrounded by the closed Uptown Theater, the Riviera, and the Aragon Ballroom, if you’re in town for a concert, you have to hit it. I always walk out with an armload of old magazines. There is no better place in town, or anywhere else I’ve seen, for that matter, with a comparable selection of rock magazines. The prices are unbelievably reasonable. I’m almost afraid to gush too much about the virtues of this place, in fear it’ll get hit by a swarm of music fans and the inventory will be sacked the next time I go. Nevertheless, my wish is for it to remain open until the end of time, so I implore you to help keep it open by giving it the business it so deserves.
Shake, Rattle, & Read sells a bevy of books and vinyl, as well, and you could literally spend hours thumbing through the treasures. The owner is awesome, too, and I wish I’d had more time to chat him up and hear his stories about his days as a DJ.

This place is something you probably would notice, but may not go in– it’s lined up against some weird swanky-​looking places, followed by a now defunct theatre, but when you’re inside, as long as you can handle dust and maybe some black mold– gotta love old paper you’ll be nerd heaven– prices are fantastic– i’ve picked up so many inexpensive books there– some even out of print for next to nothing– also good place to find random records. The owner I believe is really nice and laid back as well. I wish I went in there more, but it seems like I am never able to get the hours right– that’s my problem though, not the store itself.
If you don’t mind digging, like reading, and like good deals oh can’t forget magazines and records, it is really worth going to, you never ever know what he’ll have!

The used LPs and magazines set this place apart from other used bookstores. Also, science fiction, western, horror, and and old pulp novels comprise a large portion of their book stock. I’m not interested in any of those items, so the strengths of the store are lost on me, but I can appreciate the niche.
They do have a great «classics» section in the back left corner – two tall shelves full of many of the usual suspects, including a strangely complete offering of Vladimir Nabokov. Some are decades-​old paperbacks for cheap, some are plastic-​wrapped new paperbacks, and some fall in the middle. Prices range from $ 2 to about $ 10 – 14 for the new-​condition volumes. I’m not keen on paying only about 20−25% less than list price in a used bookstore, but these types of businesses may as well get my money rather than Amazon. I found a volume of Tolstoy short stories that I’ve had on my wish list for a while.
The proprietor is really friendly too – speaking candidly about competitors’ pluses and minuses, discussing musicians and writers, directing customers to the appropriate part of the store and how to get the best deals, and most importantly, thanking them graciously for their business (which he must really appreciate in times like this).

Came here while a bunch of us were walking the neighborhood, and oh my heavens, I loved this place. I should make a disclaimer that I love books, I find bookshops and libraries very sexy, so factor that in. They had an interesting (and at times amusing) selection of books, old magazines, vinyly, and cassette tapes. I definitely want to go back and spend some more time really poring over the shelves and hopefully buy some books.
Bonus: they had boxes of free books outside for the taking (I scored «Little Men» by Louisa May Alcott)

This is one of Chicago’s greatest second-​hand porn magazine shops. Their selection of softcore through the ages is second to none. All nicely wrapped up though so you don’t know what has been done to the magazines before they pass through your, um, hands as well — sad. Some people like to «browse» before they buy.
Wait, this is a bookstore you say? The hell it is! *checks notes* Wait, you’re right, this is a bookstore. I just got distracted by all the porn (it happens).
Alright, I guess it has books as well (and DVDs and records and tapes). Actually this place really seems to care a lot about their books. The truth of this shop lies somewhere between an antiquarian book store (they have some nicer editions wrapped in plastic, which is a great plus for collectors) and a garage sale (whole rows of bent up, well loved mainstream paperbacks and magazines of all stripes from decades past).
I found nothing that I would have been slightly looking for, though it’s a browser’s paradise (especially their record collection which contains some amazing 12″ singles). Their organization of their groupings in both fiction and non-​fiction is sort of odd. But I can’t help but love a store that has the beatnik and 60s counterculture authors all by themselves — and next to music biographies. In some mental map (maybe mine and definitely the owner’s), that has to make sense.
If you’re looking for a certain title, this probably isn’t the place (though if you find it here, it will be really inexpensive). Maybe not even if you’re looking for a used book (the selection is much larger at Myopic). But if you’re just looking to get lost in a classic book store in a classic neighborhood for hours, this place is a wonderland.
A wonderland with lots of classic porn. And wouldn’t that maybe be the best kind?