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February 2024 by Dave F.
20% off Yelp coupon had us buying 2 books because the used books was under the $10 minimum. Sure the books are already a bargain. The selection was stacked across 2 floors... and covered the stairs between floors. The man gave us the 20% off with no attitude. This was an enjoyable bookstore to browse and purchase at.
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December 2023 by Holly Kent
The STL area is so lucky to have The Book House! It is such a charming space--two entire stories of books, complete with shop cats! (What more could a book lover ask for?) The Book House is a great place to linger and explore--it has a really warm, cozy, and inviting atmosphere (with huge shelves, books stacked on every available surface, it basically looks like every charming indie bookshop you see in movies.) They have a wonderful mix of new, used, and special edition books, and a nice selection dedicated specifically to STL-focused books. They also do a nice of spotlighting local authors, which is a welcome addition. I would say their on-ground selection skews more towards new books than used ones, but their small, dedicated used book section has lots of treasures, there are used books to be found throughout, and their online site also offers a lot of options in a range of price points. A delightful indie bookstore which is a cozy, welcoming place to spend an afternoon!
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October 2023 by TG
If you compare to a store like Half Price Books, the Book House isn't that good. In the Book House, the books are far less organized and the sections aren't very clear. Also, I could be wrong but the books seemed overpriced. I may go to this store again in the future, but I would not recommend it to people. I recommend going to Half Price Books
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September 2023 by Brianna H
Absolutely amazing bookstore with the best staff. They have so many books and so many great recommendations. I loved walking around looking at everything and playing with the cat staff. I highly recommend coming here to pick up a book or just to look around.
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August 2023 by Ian Drinnon
Like a bookstore from the old days! This place is absolutely perfect. Both old and new book many hard to find books. The collection in the store is so large you can browse for an hour and hardly scratch the surface.
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August 2023 by Olivia Partlow
Love this store! Tons of books. The clearance section is my best friend. My only wish is that they had a larger used book section.
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July 2023 by Heather G
It was then, when another customer approached the owner, begging her to stop screaming, I realized two things: This wasn’t her first anger rodeo and I’d be penning a Google review about this . . . .Having recently been hired to teach American literature at a nearby university, my wife and I set out to explore the various bookstores the region has to offer. The Book House was one of the first on our list.Bibliophiles are immediately met by floor-to-ceiling shelves and are literally knee-deep in yet-to-be-stocked volumes. While making inventory notes for my book-hungry graduate students, I pulled a new copy of Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five for my wife. During my perusing, I’d struck up a conversation with an employee, Dave, who had yet to read Don Quixote. Happy to spread the literary gospel, I bought the book and gifted it to Dave before wishing him a good day while handing my wife her surprise.Two weeks pass. My wife arrives home to report she had finished the novel but the binding had crumbled in the process, most likely a result of having been stored in a distributor’s warehouse with poor climate control. I called ahead to ensure The Book House stood by their product.Upon arrival, we were greeted by the owner, Michelle Barron. She was midway through lunch, a half-eaten container of hummus summiting a mountain of books piled on the front desk.I first asked whether Dave was available so as to inquire how he was enjoying Don Quixote. She stated he was at lunch before turning to my wife, who was holding her disheveled edition of Vonnegut.“Oh, it’s you,” Michelle grumbled before haggardly getting up and, while sauntering to the back to retrieve a replacement copy, emphasized she rarely allowed returns.Confused, my wife relayed, “But you said over the phone you’d had this problem with the publisher before.”“Yes, but if I do returns, you need to bring the book back in 48 hours,” Michelle rebutted as she pointedly slung the new paperback down before my wife.My wife apologized, “I’m sorry. I work a hectic job [in ER] and didn’t have time to read it immediately in case it fell apart.”“So you read all of it?” the owner asked, incensed.“Yes.”“You misrepresented the situation!” Michelle literally yelled, spraying hummus on the books laid out before her.Because God has a sense of humor, it was then that Dave returned from lunch.“Dave, did you sell this book to this woman?” Michelle spewed at her unsuspecting employee while jutting the loose leaf volume into his chest.Understandably confused—glancing from the book, to me, to my wife, and back at me—Dave wagered, “Yeah, I . . . uh. Oh, you bought me the copy of Don Quixote.”Now enraged because Dave hadn’t unhesitatingly sided with his employer, Michelle began screaming incoherently at the top of her lungs. It was eerily reminiscent of the Red Queen’s segment in Alice in Wonderland, so much so I half-expected Michelle to demand “Off with their heads!”My wife left.At this juncture, another customer appeared (the store is small and Michelle’s yelling could be heard throughout), who implored the owner to take a breath.Michelle persisted, displaying emotion not typically seen outside a Trump rally.I informed Michelle that my wife was no longer in the building, that the particular article of business was closed, business which had nothing to do with the customer standing before her (me), and politely requested she quit screaming.She stopped. I asked whether she had regained her composure. She said she had.I began to explain I was a newly hired literature professor looking for a local bookseller to direct my graduate students. However, before I could utter the latter half of the sentence, like a petulant child, Michelle mimicked bowing down and mockingly chanted, “Oh, great expert.”I was speechless that an adult could be so belligerent.I left.Glancing at other reviews, it would seem my experience is far from an isolated instance of someone having a bad day. I would not recommend The Book House.
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June 2023 by Roy Sher
neat bookstore with a range of new and used books availablequite an assortment of books ranging from gardening to children's to historypretty unique and nice to explore the different sectionsthere is a bargain area as well with some of the books on sale in one corner as well
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June 2023 by Linda Schwieger
Stopped in today for the first time... SO MANY BOOKS!! Could spend hours there! My granddaughter got books, loved on the cats & climbed the bookcase ladder.. Highly recommend!
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June 2023 by Jim Peterson
This place is very nice! I've been here many many times and I love losing myself in there. Definitely worth visiting for sure.
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June 2023 by Magic Michael Myers
I don't understand how this place is surviving. Y'all have used books priced as new. Every single book I looked at was cover price. Why on earth someone would shop here and not go online or Walmart even is beyond me. This is exactly why mom & pop stores fail. You can't over charge to simply stay in business. You're ripping people off just bc it's more convenient than waiting on a book in the mail.
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May 2023 by Nichole Sullivan
This is possibly one of the best book stores I've ever been to, and that's saying something because I've been to a lot. What strikes me most about this store is how much it has, but how easy it is to find stuff. The vibe is fun, the layout is fun, the selection is amazing. The sci-fic section is huge. A must visit.PS there is a bonus store cat!
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April 2023 by Kelsey Schultz
The Book House is possibly the greatest bookstore I've been to in St. Louis. With the space that they have, they've crammed the most books per square foot I've ever seen. The shelves are full, so make countless stacks on the floor! Why not? Though I did trip a few times when browsing. Despite the over-full space, staff has maintained a very orderly setup.The Book House offers new and used books of every genre as well as collector's editions and very old volumes. There's comfortable seating throughout, rolling ladders that customers can use, and a bright children's section.On the wall leading downstairs are several author autographs after they presented or signed books for an event. I'm eager to go back and continue exploring.
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March 2023 by BreakingRigsby Stl
Loved this place. It looks the way a book store should look. Like if the library of congress fit inside a one bedroom apartment. Wall to wall books. So many authors and subjects that i felt i was among old friends. Great place
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February 2023 by Matthew Weld
Cool vibe, and they certainly have a lot of books! The new titles are mixed in with the used books. I didn't find any good deals, and they didn't have the breadth of offerings in the Fantasy/SciFi section I was expecting with so many books due, I think, so repeats of many titles. I'm always on the lookout for independent bookstores, and will definitely be back to support them.
