Belmont Books — Local services in Belmont

Autumn and bookstores is a favorite pairing of mine and so I decided to reclaim the voracious reader of my twenties & embark on weekend trips to new bookstores. Belmont books was my 1st stop on my unofficial Literature tour throughout Boston's surrounding areas and it was a weak start, to be kind. They have books and a cafe, which is why I gave three stars. Normally, one of the best parts of a bookstore is engaging with the staff, who tend to be quirky or at bare minimum: warm. I inquired where the bathroom was and while I received a response, I have been more pleasant to homeless people asking for change. Neither of the two people at the counter seemed to be happy and sometimes once people begin speaking, the tone softens...nope. The bookstore is adequate [with a children's floor upstairs] but not worth the public transportation trek, particularly when you feel hesitant to ask questions. I am not from MA and am unclear if this is the spirit of Belmont-this was my 2nd time in Belmont in 11/12 years of MA residency and 1st time in Belmont Center. I was struck by the designation: Center typically indicates a bustling Downtown vicinity .... This is a block. Even the dogs were not vocal. I assumed it would be quaint and the people equally so, but I was naive to forget this is a state where the moniker for residents is "Massholes". While I will continue to traverse through bookstore explorations, I cannot recommend this will be the cozy place of your Fall ZEN [or any season ZEN, quite frankly]. Brookline Booksmith [Coolidge corner] and Trident Booksellers [Newbury st] are both still the best options, thus far. On...

I am ambivalent about giving a negative review to one of the few remaining book stores, and one that's generally well managed and organized at that. However, the non fiction section--particulalry History and Politics--is so unbalanced that I think a review is warranted.

Virtually every book on every shelf depicts the U.S. and its political order through a hard left lens. The usual buzzwords, "racism", "injustice", "inequality", etc., pervade the entire non fiction collection. Books by Tim Alberta, Rachel Maddow, and of course, Ibram Kendi, are given the most prominent placement, while mainstream authors appear to be entirely excluded (I say "apparently" because it's possible I may have missed one buried in the corner of a lower shelf).

Anyone interested in a non-sensationalist, dispassionate history of the U.S. would be hard pressed to find anything remotely resembling objectivity; every book is ideological.

It's unfortunate that the owner/manager chose this route. Perhaps the choice reflects their own political views or maybe they think customers aren't interested in books by mainstream historians like David McCullough and Gordon Wood or right-of-center political analysis.

Whatever the reason, the glaring omission of non-neo Marxist non fiction is a black mark against an otherwise...

An interesting store. It is very beautiful, local, and well thought out for a particular set of readers. For looks and comfort competes with Beacon Books in Boston. The cafe is grand. Well, if you are not diabetic, that is. But this is Belmont, not to many overweight people here. So that’s OK.

But the book selection is narrow. The audience is educated, liberal women.

Not much real world enters here. But if that’s what you want, this place is for you. And it does this very well.

I almost never see men in here. I never see ratty shoes that have been in use for extra year or so.

But, why would I, of all people, write a review like this for a badly needed local store? Today’s quote is a Martin Luther King quote. It is one of the quotes that implies that peace will never be possible. That there will always be bad guys and the bad guys are white. And you know something, every single customer is a wealthy white, upper class, expensively dressed, woman. All of them. Even I feel uncomfortable here (I’m not from Belmont). I cannot imagine the local metco students shopping here. I certainly do not expect to see any of Belmont’s many cleaning...