Mac's Backs-Books On Coventry — Local services in Cleveland Heights

Mac’s Backs is an excellent, excellent bookstore. If you want to drop in and buy a good book, you can do that here with zero effort, because Suzanne et al curate the selection with a vengeance. All killer, no filler, as the kids say (I think they say that. I don’t really know any kids).

Here’s the other, deeper thing: if there was some kind of UNESCO Heritage Site designation - but for Cleveland - Mac’s Backs would have that status. This place is a critical piece of the city, one of the reasons Cleveland can say with a straight face that it offers cultural amenities comparable to larger metros. The staff has a genuine and deep knowledge of local literary history as well as being broadly well read; the whole operation is unique and irreplaceable.

PS: quick plug for their website, which makes it easy to find and order books for pickup or ship elsewhere as needed. There literally could not be an easier way to spend your money with a place that’s wildly...

Decent bookstore. Not for people that deal with social anxiety and paranoia like me. The reason I say this is because the place is very cramped and it can be hard looking for a book without bumping into someone or people constantly trying to get by. Other than that, I do enjoy their used sci-fi and fantasy books upstairs.

Oh, be warned. If you’re going to trade books in and get store credit, it is not how typical store credit works. You still have to pay out of pocket if you did not go over your store credit limit. Books that are marked with a price on the inside, and that are used, will cost half the price. So if a book is marked $4, you’ll be responsible to pay $2.

Other than that, the store is worth checking out and there are a lot of good local eateries in the area. Will return if I’m ever in the area in need of...

Clearly, Mac's Backs has a storied history that everyone should be proud of, which explains why I was sorely disappointed to hear, how can I say, a biased and unreasonable view expressed by a long time worker at the book shop. She stated that Amazon was an "enemy" to the bookstore. She subsequently declined to order a book for me from Amazon. I can understand that Amazon may be considered an economic competitor or even an opponent -of- sorts... but an enemy? Really? This kind of opinion perhaps reflects a "small shopkeeper mentality." I suggest that Mac's Backs moderate such partisan opinions and just order me the book. Besides, the other indie bookstore that I cycled to was happy to...