Anderson’s Bookshop

They pride themselves on being an independent bookstore. Aside from not being a Barnes & Noble, I’m not sure what exactly that means to the consumer. Their selection is tiny, and about half the time they do not have the book I want in stock. Their member club has been an ongoing source of irritation for me. However, they do have a great kid section (though, be prepared to pay top dollar).

I’ve been to the Anderson’s Bookshop in DT Naperville millions of times since I used to live out there. So I decided to head into this Anderson’s to check it out. It is a little smaller but still has the same vibe as a local, small bookshop.
I headed in just to browse and they have a good selection of popular books, games, and kids books. I made my way halfway in to the shop when I saw the greeting cards. I thought «Perfect! I have three family members’ birthdays within the next week that I need cards for!». So I started browsing the cards trying to find the perfect card for each person. There isn’t a huge selection of cards and they are mostly sweet/​sort of funny cards. There weren’t any that were super funny or had any dark jokes. So I bought three cards, even though they weren’t what I would say were the «perfect» card for the personality types I was looking for. But who really cares that much to find the perfect card? A simple Happy Birthday to You will do just fine. The prices are comparable to Target and Hallmark but they didn’t have any $ 0.99 or $ 1.99 cards. They mostly ranged from $ 2.99-$ 4.99.
After the cards, I saw a little game section right near the kids book section. As a new mom, I find myself having to hold back buying things for the baby. But there was a toy that I had been eyeing at Toys R Us for a while. It was $ 26 and I couldn’t bear to buy another toy for that price that she will only play with for a month or two. I found a cute version of the same toy here for $ 16.99! Well, I bought the toy and I will probably be back to peruse the toys again in the future. If they had a kid story hour I would love to bring my daughter here, but I’m not sure they do.
As I went to check out there was a bright and bubbly young woman who was super nice. She also knew the area well and told me a shop I was looking for had closed recently.
Overall a really nice, quaint bookshop. I will be back again soon!

I love the personal attention I get at this bookstore. When I am in town visiting family, it is the perfect piece of solitude I need. The staff will give me great recommendations, they really know their stuff. I mention the authors I have been into and they suggest more to look into for the future! There is a small space that feels like an attic nook. Thank You for providing this great space to keep me sane!
I know book stores/​record store are becoming a rarity = when I visit Anderson’s I wonder how that could ever possibly be true. This (Anderson’s) is necessary for community well being.

Wow! Amazing customer service! I had been all over the Western Suburbs in search of a book for my son for school that he needed «yesterday»! I walked into Anderson’s and was greeted by Max. He went above and beyond to help me find the book. When it wasn’t on the shelf, he went in back and found it in the overstock. i was delighted! The computer said there was one copy left and he made it his mission to find it. Thank you Max!

Small local bookshop. Cool stuff.
Yes, I probably paid a couple dollars more to buy The Lorax book as a gift, but I had my Amex Small Business Saturday gift card to help me out. Buying local means money stays within the community. What a good idea.
The staff is helpful, friendly and into books.
This is a smaller store than Naperville, but nice nonetheless.
Street parking.

This bookstore has been here for as long as I can remember, and for the single reason that it’s fantastic!!! I walked in trying to spend some time waiting for a girl friend and ended up picking up numerous books and reading them.
The owner has separate sections of books devoted to fiction, non-​fiction, classics and cooking! I found an awesome book all about making cocktails from beer.
Check this place out if you get the chance or can’t figure out what kind of present to get someone!

This is my neighborhood bookstore. I’ve been in only a couple of times, but they have a great selection and reasonably priced. I bought my Dad Sodoku books from here as well as a birthday card from their cute selection. The people are helpful and I love that they have book readings for children. It’s located right by the library which is convenient and are open hours I can actually shop.

I must admit to having been a Borders girl. Needless to say, when Borders went buh-​bye, I had to find me a new book store. I have plenty of books, so I haven’t really had the need to go to a book store, much less try to find one. But since I am going on vacation next week, I decided it was time to pick up some new books for the trip. I refuse to go to Barnes and Noble, so my boyfriend told me about this bookstore in the DG. It’s a nice little place with a lot of books. And there were quite a number of people in there! They seem to arrange their books in alphabetical order by author (which is how my bookshelf at home is arranged) but this can be a problem if you can’t remember who wrote the book you are looking for, as they don’t have one of those computers to look it up. When we asked the woman at the cashier if they had the book I was looking for, she led us right to it. Very helpful. I must say I was a bit surprised to find the books I wanted, but I’m glad I did. I’ll definitely make this my go-​to bookstore now. Support local business!

A few weeks back, I was shopping for a particular book (Albert Camus’ _​The Fall_​, if you must know) to send to two dear friends. While I love my Color NOOK something fierce and don’t mind a B&N stop when I’m out and about, my phone call to Barnes went something like this:
Me: Hi. I had a question about whether you had a particular book in stock.
Already Slightly Disgruntled Employee: Oh, okay. A book. Right. Ummm…
…
…
…yeah, so… what title was that you said?
Me: I didn’t, but the title of the book is _​The Fall_​, and the author’s last name is Camus.
Slightly Disgruntled Employee: Let me check. _​Fall_​by Key-​moo.
Me: (knowing damn well where this is going) Just to clarify, the author’s name is Camus. C-​A-​M-​U-​S. And the book title is _​The Fall_​.
More-​than-​slightly-​disgruntled employee: (rising hysterics) We don’t have that here! We don’t carry Key-​moo! I can’t find her in the «K» section! Is she new?! Is this one of Oprah’s books or what?!
Me: …
Employee Reaching the Epitome of Disgruntled: (pause, then light bulb flashes) Oh, well… wait! Did you say Kee-​moo as in C-​A-​M-​U-​S? You know… Key-​moo.
Me: (meekly) Yes.
Employee Reaching a Mildly Euphoric State Believing the Call of Duty is Almost Over: We have _​The Stranger_​. Do you want that instead?
Me: Um, no thanks. But thanks for your help.
Employee Encased in a State of Relief: Oh, no prob-​o. That’s my job! Have a good one!
— - — - — - — - — -
Deep.cleansing.breaths.
— - — - — - — - — -
My next phone call to Anderson’s:
Me: Hi. I had a question about whether you had a particular book in stock.
Employee: Oh, sure thing. What are you looking for?
Me: Do you happen to have a copy of Albert Camus’ _​The Fall_​?
Employee: Let me check our stock for you. Could you please hold for a second?
Me: Sure, thanks.
(15 seconds later)
Employee: Sorry for the wait and thank you for holding. We have one copy on the shelf. Would you like me to hold it for you?
Me: Oh, yes! That would be great! Thanks much for your help!
— - — - — - — - — -
And this… this is one of the many reasons I *heart* Anderson’s. It combines authentic service with the cozy, neighborhood feel, and doesn’t charge you an arm, a leg, and part of a torso. I always vote independent over chain any day of the week and twice on Sundays, and Anderson’s is no exception. Keep an eye on their website if you don’t stop in all that often; they usually have a plethora of in-​store events under way at virtually all times. Even if my husband didn’t work in DG, I’d still happily make the trek to Anderson’s to fulfill my hard copy literary lustings.

Anderson’s is a great family owned, independent bookstore that has continued to survive in the economy despite competing against other large bookstore chains like B&N or Borders, and
. The store is packed full with books, cards, toys, games, and unique gifts. Anderson’s seriously always has the best selection of cards and you can usually find a nice gift to go along with it as well. Since it is a smaller bookstore, they don’t always have the largest selection of books but they are often able to special order books for customers free of charge. The staff is friendly and helpful and Anderson’s is a notable part of the Downers Grove community.

We love this bookstore. It is so nice to shop in a small, personal bookstore. The staff are friendly and helpful and well informed.
It is nice to have an independent bookstore in town.

I had heard a lot of this cute independent bookstore before actually venturing to it. I’m so glad I did. It was exactly what I was looking for: a little bookstore filled with not only books, but magazines, cards, gifts, and toys.
The children’s section was very large (almost half of the store)! The staff was very friendly and helpful. I ended up leaving with exactly what I was looking for AND more. I found two perfect birthday gifts for friends (a necklace and a bag).
Anderson’s also often has author visits (however more to the Naperville location than this one) and it’s got a great reputation for a very good reason.
If you’re tired of the big chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble, take the time to check out this little bookstore.

I’ve now been to two separate Anderson’s-sponsored Neil Gaiman events in the past four years, but had never set foot in the actual store till Saturday.
The events were so well organized, though, that I expected it to be a nice bookshop. And it is. I do find myself wondering if the Naperville location is larger — I expected the DG one to be a bit bigger.
Still, in the modern world of Amazon and behemoth Borders/​Barnes & Nobles, it’s so nice to see an independent doing fairly well. The staff is helpful, the store is laid out very well, and they have a nice, fairly broad selection of books, plus toys, trinkets and gifts. And they bring a ton of authors to the suburbs who might not otherwise grace us with their presence.
Great place that I will continue to patronize when possible, especially when they have Neil Gaiman readings :)

Anderson’s Bookstore was great to go in as a kid — and it’s great to go in now. They might not have everything in stock you need, but they’re happy to order it for you. And the staff knows what you’re talking about.

In a world filled with three story high rise conglomerate book/​music/​media stores, it was rather refreshing to come across this smaller bookstore. I stopped in here before catching the train just to browse and walked out with an armful of books. Maybe not the selection of a Borders, but I was able to find my way around the place without a road map and specific instructions. The place was very well-​lit and beautifully laid out with sections clearly marked, and everything at eye level. They had a humor section with almost a entire shelf and a half dedicated to books that poked fun at President Bush (had to stock up on a couple of them!). They have a very large selection of children’s books, along with non-​electronic educational games (actually the whole back of the store was dedicated to that alone.) What really made me happy was the whole shelf of Mad-​Libs (personal childhood, and to this day favorite!) They also had a large amount of stationary and scrap booking materials. I definitely will be back here when I get another chance.