Book Stores in Gainesville, FL

“Books, and SO much more! This bookstore is a Gainesville treasure! It's absolutely everything a bookstore should be. Filled (almost literally) to the ceiling with books. They have a vast collection that goes far beyond the fiction section, with quite a selection like photography and art books, biographies, religion, philosophy, geographical and historical books, and every other nonfiction you could possibly think of. But what really makes this place special is there non-book offerings. Such a variety of homemade knick knacks and trinkets has made this my go to for gifts for quite a few years. Handmade boxes, whether it's carved wood or painted glass, the most gorgeous and unique earrings you'll ever find, tote bags and scarves, jams and jellies, accessories meant to make everyday life easier and mugs! Mugs that are of the artistic variety, ones with inspirational quotes, or ones that are just down right funny. This place is absolutely perfect if you find yourself at a loss for what to gift somebody. I seem to find myself here for every birthday, mothers day, Christmas, Hanukkah, you name it! Their gifts never fail to miss the mark. (And did I mention cards? Their gift cards are actual works of art, I've had people frame the cards I've given from here, they're that beautiful! And again- handmade!) Their offerings go so far beyond what I've listed here, the point being that you certainly won't leave here disappointed, there's something for everybody!I could go on, I absolutely adore this place, from going there everyday after highschool, to now when I went to search for a highschool graduation gift. As for the atmosphere, it exudes the feeling of bookstores past, a real gem like this one is hard to find in today's day and age. I was absolutely shocked when I read other's reviews about disliking the atmosphere. But if you crave a rather impersonal experience, where workers will neither engage you or each other in conversation, and run-of-the-mill gifts that you could find at Walmart, then yes perhaps Barnes and Noble is the best for you. Come to the Gallery, you won't regret it!”

“It's a bookstore, of course I loved it!
Well laid out and more spacious than others I've been to.
Always like finding unique gifts here.
Joe Muggs had new drinks that drew us in as well.”

“Intimate and thoughtful. I felt connected to the town of Gainesville as soon as I walked through the door. Local artists and authors were on display as well as books that had relevance to what was happening in the community (Fest!!) Please go.”

“Great choices, not cheap but cheaper than the Alumni store in the city. No military discount, no student discount, lol. We all found something cute to buy. Loved the Gator embroided Lululemon collection. Way too pricy for me but very cute.”

“I haven't been to the Friends of the Library book sale in a while, so going was kind of an experience. I didn't really have a goal in mind for what I wanted, so just going through the stacks and browsing to see if anything caught my eye was the basic plan. Lots of people lined up, but I got through the line pretty quickly. Inside, the books are arranged in a reasonable order, and the different sections are easy to identify, so finding areas that interested me was not a problem. Coming across the cooking section, I found that there were a number of smaller cookbooks that I like to term as "Wive's Club Cookbooks" which can be some of the best/most entertaining cookbooks you can come across due to the nature of the recipes that are contained in them. You never know what you are going to find in them, though recipes from the 1960's are prevalent and gelatin comes into heavy play. Good stuff there, and I stocked up on them. Overall, the Friends of the Library book sale is always a good thing to go to!”

“I always come here for a good book! They do have pretty good sales every so often. And they have a huge variety of genres and stuff other than books. They try to do a good job to keep the shelves well organized. Super clean and great mixture of new and used books!”

“I'm a charter bus driver. I brought a group of kids from Hollins High School in St Petersburg Florida. To tour the school to help the kids decide where they want to go to school. From what I've seen it looks like a nice school. I know some kids use this as a stepping stone to get to UF!”