Bookends & Beginnings

Best bookstore. Very customer-​oriented, prompt orders, charming, bright space, I’m ready to move in.
Can’t wait to take some of their writing classes!!!

It is like a secret oasis tucked away from the hubbub. While I want to tell everyone about it, part me wants to keep it to myself. On one of my own store’s busiest days, I took a break and went over for a book signing. It was the most delightful break I’ve had in months. The store is charming. It has a great selection of books. I wish I had time to read them all. There is just something about turning an actual page that can’t be replace by an electronic device. Thank you for being there!

The place looks nice. I’ll give them that. They did a nice job of updating from Bookman’s Alley. However, the service is lacking. I found the owners to be rather rude. They were impatient with my questions and finally said I might find one of the books I wanted online (very weird behavior for an independent bookstore). They were pushing people out an hour earlier than their sign indicated. I bought a few new and used books and then found some of the same used books for ¼ the price at Half-​Priced Books. I normally want to support independent book stores rather than Amazon or Barnes and Noble but the staff at B&N are friendlier and more informed.

This place is so cute! They deal mostly with newer, more recent books, so I can’t understand why this place smells so musty. But I love the little descriptions they put under some of the books; announcing that such-​and-​such novel is an employee’s personal favorite really makes me want to read it!
I would drop by frequently, but probably in short visits, because I am hypersensitive to that smell.

This is a wonderful bookstore just down the street (and into the alley) from the Barnes and Noble. What I love about this bookstore is that they have found every book that I’ve wanted. When there was a run on James Runcie’s Grandchester mysteries, they got the first book in the series for me in a mere 5 days when I couldn’t even find it on Amazon. Again, I ordered Johanna Basford’s wonderful coloring book — Enchanted Garden — from this store and they got it in about a week. Once again, this book was almost impossible to find anywhere else. They have a fabulous children’s section, a wonderful section of cookbooks and many other sections that are just as great. Every time I go in, I find glorious books and have fun just browsing around the store. The owners are lovely, helpful people and frankly, it feels good to support a local business and a local bookstore. I highly recommend this excellent business.

It’s like stepping into another world. If you have a bit of free time, this is a fun place to spend an hour or so browsing. My two favorite parts of the store are the extensive cookbook section and the children’s corner. There are a couple sheep you can sit on and a large Peter Rabbit sitting in a rocking chair. Even as young adults, my friend and I had a lot of fun just sitting in the kids section reading picture books.
They also do storytelling for children at 10:30am on Saturdays. When I stopped by, the owner was in the middle of reading to a group of kids. She’s very talented with the animal noises. Highly recommended!

Just stopped in here with my teenage daughter after a bike ride along the lake front. We both loved this place. This will be our new «go to» book store. We loved the hand written comments about the books, and the food and jewelry from local Evanstonians. This will be a great place to take out of town guests.

I was so glad when an independent book store opened in Evanston. They order any book I want if they don’t have it in stock. They have a great selection in stock. I hope everyone in Evanston will support this great store.

My husband and I stopped in here looking for a baby Christening gift — didn’t feel like going to a big box store. We found a great little blanket, a fantastic book and a gift for his older sister as well (introduction to Picasso for the under 5 set). It’s a small-​medium sized store, and as others have indicated it has a fun jewelry selection as well. I highly recommend them if you’re looking for a good cookbook; I literally had to pull my husband away from the racks — there were at least 10 we almost bought.
I also liked the small section they had on local lore/​books, the wonderfully cozy feel, and the handwritten reviews. As another reviewer wrote, they were very helpful if you don’t have anything particular in mind. They also have a frequent customer program, and you don’t even have to keep a piece of paper or card in your wallet.
Shop small — stop in!

What a great replacement for Bookman’s Alley! It fits right in with the Evanston vibe – quirky yet more modern than its predecessor. It got some getting used to, but I really like that they mix the new books with the used books on the shelf and just categorize by subject and author. The store is well organized and the employees (owners?) were very friendly. I got a collection of poems today for $ 3.50, definitely a great find! Come when you’ve set aside a chunk of time to relax – you could probably get lost in this store for hours!

I’m giving it three stars but that’s an average-​I really liked the old place that was there-​just perfect old school stuff and always had stuff I was really looking for and wanted and couldn’t have been happier there.
The new place is designed for a different audience and I give them credit for it-I’m sure they’ll be successful and I like they’ve still kept some of the older stock-​used bookstores near elite universities have some of the best stuff coming from old and retired professors and I hope they’ll continue to buy it.

Awesome Store. Very happy to have a bookstore back in this place. The folks who run the place are very nice, on my first visit it felt like I was seeing some friends, they have a great way with customers and are very friendly.
They have a great selection and tons of unique and special sections that make independent book stores like these so wonderful.
I hope this store does well here they are a great successor to Bookman’s Alley and definitely deserve your patronage.

This is a nice bookstore, a worthy successor to the long-​beloved Bookman’s Alley which retired from this space in January. It’s not really a used bookstore, more like a medium-​sized independent bookstore with a few remainder tables and a sprinkling of some used volumes among the regular stock. That is my only complaint – that there are not many used books, maybe only about 10% of the inventory. If I want a new book, I would rather buy from a place like this than a corporation, but then again, when list price for a two-​hundred-​page paperback runs up to fifteen or sixteen dollars, that seems kind of steep to me.
Anyway, it’s a great store for browsing. They have familiar bookshop features such as a section highlighting new items and bestsellers in the front, a children’s nook in the back, and numerous staff recommendation cards. For the most part, you can expect all the usual sections but bizarrely there is also an entire case of early twentieth-​century German books. Also, they boast a large cookbook selection for the size of the store.
One cool thing about the remainders is that a whole table is devoted to New York Review of Books publications. I love that series, but on this particular visit, they did not happen to have any in which I was interested. However, most were favorably priced at $ 7.50.
Near the front there is a display table of really handsome book boxes, which are not real books with the pages cut out to form a hollow compartment (thus making a cramped and flimsy container), but wooden boxes formed and decorated to look like books. They feature beautiful artwork such as celtic knots, maps, various abstract patterns, Japanese prints, a few recognizable works such as Le Chat Noir; they come in three sizes; and they snap tightly shut with a magnetic closure. They are very sturdy and quite handsome. My wonderful wife gave me one of these decorated with ships for an anniversary gift. Magnifique!
And one more note: Bookends & Beginnings offers a membership rewards program, in which one receives a $ 5 coupon after every $ 100 spent.

On a Sunday afternoon, I stumbled across this bookstore. It’s hard to find, because it’s tucked away in an alleyway in downtown Evanston, but it was really neat. Of course, there were new, used, and old books like any independent bookstore I’ve been to in Evanston, but what stood out to me were:
(1) the handwritten, short book reviews taped onto the bookshelves alongside the reviewed books. The comments were fun to read and convinced me to pick up the books and read them.
(2) the the jewelry exhibit by Die Kunstwerkstatt Berlin Franchise. The jewelry pieces were made of (a) polaris beads which are light plastic material which get a sheen when in contact with skin oils and/​or (b) Swarovski crystal elements which get their shine from the special cut and finish.
If you’re looking for a quaint bookstore for a quiet afternoon to explore books and/​or jewelry, I’d recommend this place!

This is the best bookstore.
Everyone who walks in agrees after two minutes.
New, used, bestsellers; the interesting, the most literary alongside the very readable.

Maybe this should be five stars just for the current owners having opened up in what had to be Evanston’s most deeply loved used book store, tucked away in a downtown alley. The atmosphere is a little different now. Brighter, more elbow room, fewer curios. There’s a sizable children’s corner, and a sparkly bit of jewelry too.
I sort of miss the sheer breadth and treasure-​trove selection of Bookman’s Alley. It seems to be a more tightly curated selection now, and probably stronger on contemporary literature. Even a few exclusive things you won’t likely find elsewhere.
It is still an excellent place to find a used (or new) book you’ll want to read. I wish their business very, very well.

Through the alleyway, you’ll find this treasure trove of a bookshop.
For those who remember the good old days of Bookman’s Alley, you’ll be delighted to know another bookstore took it’s place, and it’s just as wonderful.
Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by one of the lovely shop owners behind the counter, who told me what has changed since the prior owner and where to find used books, the kids section, and their prized cooking books.
If you’d never been to Bookman’s Alley before, that’s okay. In fact some of the visitors behind me were students who didn’t have a clue what was there before. They also received the same history lesson and explanation, which I thought was very cool.
Step inside to discover a cozy wonderland of books and findables. I was immediately drawn to these fun reading-​themed buttons at the register and picked up a few of them for a friend. Then I noticed the jewelry, some cool yarn gifts, cards, magnets, and then the cooking section, and then further on back the kids section stopped me in my tracks… or maybe it was the giant stuffed giraffe.
Memorable Finds:
— Kids section features a selection of books in other languages
— My new favorite spaghetti book in the cooking section. Skinny like a box of noodles.
Advice: Do not come here in a hurry. It’s a place to come and stay.

Great indépendant book store. Just what you would hope for… nice topical sections. Helpful staff. I will be back often

An independent book store, as good as they come, where it’s all about the books and the local community. Enjoyed my first visits and started ordering my books here instead of Amazon.

I love this gem of a bookstore, which is tucked in an alley in downtown Evanston. They sell used and new books, as well and some jewelry.
I’ve heard that they’re known for their cooking books. But for me, the real treasure is the children’s section. It’s curated well, with a fantastic selection of beautiful books I haven’t seen elsewhere. They also have children’s books in several languages and in translation. Plus, a cute reading spot with little rockers, etc.
The people who own the store are very welcoming and helpful. They also gift wrap books.