Renaissance Books

I can see why people think the vibe is unwelcome. John, the owner, seems distracted. But I found that he was quiet yet pleasant. I asked for an espresso and he didn’t even charge me coz he was out of milk and sugar. I scored some great books. If you can’t figure out how the books are sorted ask for recommendations based on your needs. I did and got some great suggestions; picking up manga, humorous and light easy reads: $ 20 for about 10 books. How can you go wrong?

I got great service!
You loose a star bc I wandered around and around and cant for the life of me understand how the books are organized…

There’s not much to like here. Everything about it is shabby, with the mismatched furniture and shelves/​racks. There aren’t really any interesting displays to highlight the stock, and the distinctly unwelcoming vibe I get doesn’t encourage me to browse. The «coffee bar» is a laugh, and since they have it there, they don’t let people bring in their Starbucks or whatever while they look around.
They try to be «renaissance» by having music events and classes and suchlike, but they should probably just take a good hard look at their store and their selection and focus on being a good used bookstore.

Awesome book store with a section for cook books of older Company Coming titles that peaked my interest. There aren’t a lot of gems, however, if you’re looking for nothing specific at a decent price, this is your go to place.

I would go here from time to time at their old location, I liked buying the old comics for 25 cents each. I always tried to find something in the books, but never did. Their new place is bigger and offers coffee and places to sit, so it must be better, right? There are a few gems to be found in the mess of Anne Rice, Daniel Steele, mystery novels with beat up spines, harlequin romances and old cookbooks, like any other used book store. It seems a lot messier than their previous location and the new set up with the coffee looks like a real wreck. The furniture looks like someone picked it out from a back alley. Really, all in all it’s a typical used book store, nothing at all special about it. Not a good place to sell your books either, you’d expect with the selection they have they wouldn’t be picky, but you’d be wrong. They’re strangely choosey and yet somehow it isn’t reflected in the shop the slightest bit! Sure, if they reject your books at a place with a great selection, like Pulpfiction, it’s one thing, but here?