Bryn Mawr Book Store — Local services in Cambridge

Lots of unusual books for very good prices. Every month they have a certain genre half off as well, making their prices even better. The staff are all volunteers, and very kind. Plus it goes to scholarships for Bryn Mawr college in PA.

My favorite section is the science section. They're close to Harvard and MIT so the donated science books are great. They have an impressive selection on local ecology, so if you are looking for a good book for someone new to the area I'd recommend getting them something about the local wildlife or ecology.

My other favorite section is the poetry section. The poetry section is amazing, the largest one I've ever seen. Even if you don't read poetry you should really check it out. It's really quite good, plus poetry often has the benefit of being short so if you hate it, well it's half over!

If you come by be aware they only take cash or check, no credit cards. Parking can be tight on the weekends (it's still Cambridge), but there is a bus stop that goes right there and that bus leaves from Harvard which is very easy to get to from all the major commuter rails. I used to take a Blue Bike (the rentable one's) there after work, as there is a stop a few blocks up.

If you want to see which genre is on sale this month check out their Facebook page! They also post their hours on there, so if you're concerned they're closed (which they are only open a few days a week) you should check there.

I mean I'm biased, I bought 15+ books from them last month because the science section was on sale, but I cannot recommend this store enough. Please, please wear your mask though if they ask! The volunteers are all very kind, but as a rule...

This is a beautiful used book store — a wonderful place to browse, with a diverse and sophisticated selection, especially rewarding for a scholarly audience. But I just can’t stand the cash-only constraint. I’m a bibliophile, own several thousand volumes purchased from locally (Boston and Cambridge) owned stores, and would buy something here every time I shop at Formaggio’s Kitchen across the street, but I never, ever have cash on me, and there’s no Bank of America ATM in walking distance. In my case, at least, the store thus loses at least a few hundred dollars in sales each year, and I can’t imagine I’m alone. Given that credit card processing fees are around 2% per transaction, or about 30 cents for a $15 book, I can’t see how this makes a whole lot of sense. And indeed, this is the only locally owned used book store in the area that is cash-only, to my knowledge (Raven Used Books in Cambridge isn’t, Commonwealth Books in Boston isn’t, Deep Thoughts in Jamaica Plain isn’t). In any case, if you do happen to have cash or just want to browse and not buy, do make...

Anyplace you can get a copy of the complete works of Oscar Wilde that's almost a century old for less than three figures has to be pretty awesome. The sci-fi section has some classics (Vinge! Van Vogt! Clarke!) and some new books mixed in. It's one shelf, but it's got a surprising range. The fiction section is vast and well stocked (to someone who only dips in occasionally, anyway). The science and math sections are small, and don't always have something interesting, but there's enough turnover for a thorough search to be rewarding. I've found some gems in there -- mostly historical interest, but I've found enough to be extremely...