Island Books

Sabrina Wood

I love this bookstore. It feels very homey. I also love that they work with the local schools for fundraising and for other great causes. Island books 📚 you rock!

Rob Earle

A great bookstore. I’ve lived here for decades and somehow never found my way in here, but I’m glad I finally did. The most pleasant surprise was the excellent science fiction and fantasy section. At so many indie book stores this section is an afterthought; some Douglas Adams, some George R. R. Martin, and whatever doorstop volume in the latest Tolkien retread series is on the NYT bestsellers list. I guess most indie bookstore owners are just unfamiliar with the genre (or worse, don’t think they need to be). Whoever curates this section at Island, though, put some real thought into it, deftly mixing bestsellers, classics, and some new discoveries. I went home with books by two authors that were new to me, and loved them both. I’ll be back to Island Books.

Gaby Sánchez

I was not expecting to find this awesome place in Mercer. On first sight what really got my attention was their exhibit window with lots of international female authors. I love that the staff is diverse and the recommendations they make seem on point. 5/5 I would definitely be back to get more books 🤩

RDS

What I liked: Went for breakfast to Homegrown next door, excellent sandwiches. After that we decided to walk into this local bookstore, after all, local bookstores are one of my favorite places to visit and to purchase books and magazines. This place is bigger than it looks from outside, it goes deep and at the end of it they have a nice kid's area with a good selection of children's books and games. The bookstore has many old typewriters in display which are very fitting for the store and I left wondering if they would sell me one or a few of those. The atmosphere is friendly and very welcoming, the book and magazine selection is great, as it is all the little gifts and stationary. We purchased a calendar, a magazine, a few stickers, and a book. Loved it. Observations: There was a person next to us or very close almost the entire time my wife and I browsed through the store, I am not sure if it was an employee but it felt uncomfortable, this person seemed to be monitoring us while pretending to be looking at something else - and maybe she was, I am not sure but I am just sharing our experience. We'd be back, I am an avid reader and always try to get my books and magazines from local businesses. Also, don't forget the sandwiches next door, they are pretty good!