Chamblin BookMine

Love this bookstore. Could get lost in there for hours. There are comfy seats in quiet corners so you can peruse a book before buying and the sheer magnitude of selection is mind-​blowing. And not just paper books… they have movies and audiobooks as well.

What a great book store just over the RR tracks near Ortega they have rows and rows and more rows of books, but once you find the section you’re looking for there’s tons of choices if you are browsing. Good luck finding something specific. They are all half the regular price unless the price is written inside the cover. It’s got the really old book store feel. I got 2 poetry collections for 13 $

This place is amazing. You will get lost and unless you’ve been there a few times it may take a bit to find your section. Just have fun and plenty of time to explore. It’s worth it ! This is where our old books go to live again. Warning though some books that are still in good condition won’t be much cheaper only by a few bucks than a store but one it’s still cheaper and two you’re helping this place stay here forever. Come trade in books and buy ! Some kid movies are dirt cheap and I love coming here for my daughter.
Their kid section and teen section is tucked in the back. It’s massive and you’ll be sure to find something you want. My advice is bring your phone look up your author and it’s all alphabetical so it’ll be easy to find. If you already know you’re favorite authors still good ! Just be aware of what you want or if you’re trying to find that right book make sure you have time to spare you’ll spend forever in here because it sucks you in with its massive book hug

This bookstore is an experience. In all my bookstore-​going days, I have never experienced anything quite like it.
Imagine you are in a dreamlike labyrinth, with rows and rows of books as far as you can see. You turn the corner and it’s only more of the same, just thousands of books, piled around each other in almost no discernible order. It’s like Shakespeare and Company meets Olivander’s meets Costco.
Being completely overwhelmed by the wealth of titles hitting my eyes, I was impressed that when I asked the workers for specific sections, they had a library recall of where to find what I wanted. Everything is ordered into numbered sections, ask for what you want and then go off hunting, just remember to leave yourself a trail of breadcrumbs to the front door.

Insane amount of books. Half off full price is about the best bargain you’ll get. The rare stuff was pretty highly priced. Still highly recommended.

Wonderful place to escape reality for a few hours. The first time so ever went to this place I was over whelmed the all the books! It’s just rows and rows stacked to the ceiling of books!!! It’s wonderful! I took my rebellious 3 year old daughter with me to look at kids books and I now have to invest in one of those kiddie leases because if you take your eyes off a crazed 3 year old for 2 sec and they book it… Well they are gone forever lost in the mines… Ok ok I found her quickly but it’s not a place for younger kids I learned. Just my personal opinion. The kids section is fantastic! It’s just the winding isles to the very back of the book store getting there is nerve racking. We love this place! Great prices! They find what you are looking for and will have it ready for you if you call them or go online. Great place! Will continue to use this as my book store! They will buy back book from you. Store credit is the way to go! Out with the old in with the brand new adventure!

You can definitely lose track of time in the rows and rows and rows of books here. And then you can get lost in the rooms connected to other rooms leading to other smaller rooms deep in this book jungle.
I still love the feel of an actual book so this place is a secret sanctuary for me. But then I start to think about the potential fire hazard and how I could get trapped in their extensive book maze. And I quickly get what I came for and head home.
You can usually find me in the self-​help, occult, metaphysical, esoteric, spirituality section sitting lotus-​style on the floor. ;)

Wicked lot of books over there ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would recommend. Smells like books, too. Easy to get lost in, so be careful out there.

Love love love this place. Booklovers in Jax, this is the place to go! I’ve been buying my books from here for years and their system of trade ins for credit is wonderful.
I have nothing bad to say, I tell all my friends about Chamblins!

I wanted so badly to write a review but I don’t have words for the adoration I have for this place. You walk in and suddenly surrounded by walls and walls of books. Some new some used. It’s so beautiful to me to find books with little messages left in them, especially old books who have been through many hands. I do have a warning, which I believe adds to the charm of it, but you can so easily get lost in here. But, really, is that an actual problem?

Wowza. This place is just… Wowza. When visiting a friend, he knew I liked two things: breakfast food and books. So we went to the Metro Diner, then walking to Chamberlain Books afterwards.
I was completely unprepared for what befell my eyes.
It was a book-​browsers paradise!
Rows and rows and rooms and rooms.
My heart sped up – boom, boom, boom.
SO now that that’s over, I doubt I can say anything that hasn’t been said before by anyone else. I wasn’t expecting such a sprawling mass of books, relatively well-​organized, albeit confusingly so. And the reason that is, is because the books are shelved, categorized, and placed in bookshelves (well-​organized), but sprawled throughout thousands of square footage and somewhat random (confusing). You’ll find Horror right next to YA, and separate sections for YA graphic novels/​mangas (YA section) and Adult graphic novels/​manga (right next to the register). And I’ve been to dozens of used bookstores, in various states, that had nowhere near the organization this place had. So yes, comparatively speaking, it is fairly organized, albeit a bit sprawling.
(Some) Prominent authors have their own linelisting and are sometimes on their own bookends (Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, Murakami, etc.). There are new books mixed up with older books, and you’ll know they’re half-​priced if they have a stamp inside. I found some pristine (cue: actually mint condition, brand new books) with said stamp, so that made me happy. I don’t mind paying a few bucks for a slightly beaten up version of a book, but I also don’t mind buying something half-​priced if it’s brand new, by an author I enjoy.
That being said, I think if you were looking for a particular author, you’d have much more of a chance of finding something like that than a particular book. And every author I went looking for, I found at least one of their books. For all their organization, my favorite part about it was that there was a Beat section. Every time I go into a used bookstore, I am on a mission for Kerouac books. I can say I’ve looked specifically for him at about a dozen different bookstores, but this was the first place I’ve ever been to that had Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burgess, and so many others right where I could peruse them all. It was awesome!
The cookbook section was also very fleshed-​out, with a lot of new books (at 10% off) mixed in with older books. I found a few (Julia Child, Nigella Lawson), and I even comparison shopped on Amazon and found that the prices were comparative for those particular books.
PROS:
An absolutely ridiculous assortment of every kind of book and author you could ever hope for.
Two hours in this store, and you won’t even have explored ¹⁄₅ of it.
Some new books at 50% off original price, but in brand new condition.
Charming, with a decidedly old-​book smell.
They have enough sales associates that you don’t have to stand in line for forever. Fast and efficient.
There was a Beat specific section, with a ton of Beat writers! Yay!
CONS:
Small, cramped isles. Two people can’t stand side-​by-​side.
More expensive than other places: lots of books are only 50% off their cover price, even if they were made in 1998. (For comparison, MOST used bookstores offer cheaper pricing for older books, or books that have been in the store the longest.)
Organization is a bit wonky – YA is near Horror, for example.
Sales associated are sort of brusque, but I no doubt imagine that’s because this place gets busy.
THE VERDICT
This place is great for the browser. It’s got every kind of genre, but the genres aren’t really in any logical order. Things are spread across several thousand square feet, so you have to do a lot of digging, looping back, or just straight up questioning the sales people. I would really encourage doing that, instead of saying a genre or author wasn’t there, but never having actually asking a sales associate. And it is «kind of» expensive. I say that not to discourage, but to let you know. If you frequent used bookstores, you get a feel for the prices and books that are old (cue earlier15 years) are generally a couple bucks. Here they would be about twice that.
That being said, I walked out 2 hours later, with 6 – 7 books at about 70 $. The bookstore I went to previous to this one, I left the bookstore after 2 hours with 18 – 20 books and $ 60 out of my pocket. But I had entirely scoured that bookstore, and I hadn’t even touched the tip at this place. It really is a little bit of an overwhelming experience: you don’t know where to go next, you don’t know what to look at. It’s sensory overload of the best kind. The only reason I didn’t rate it 5 stars is because of the more expensive pricing, and because it’s a bit of a mess to navigate, so it’s not exactly «as good as it gets». It’s probably closer to a 4.5 star review, in my book.
RECOMMENDED FOR:
Browsing, people who like new books for ½ off, and for wiling away a couple of hours.

Gosh, where to even start! Chamblin’s looks really unintimidating from the outside and it’s kind of off to the side and junky looking, but as soon as you get inside, it’s like a sensory overload. I heard that this Chamblin’s has over 1 million books in stock. It certainly has more than its younger sibling, the Chamblin’s that is downtown. The shelves go on forever, and it’s really easy to get lost in the labrynthine interior of this place. Not only that, but the aisle themes are endless. It’s honestly really hard figuring out where you wanna go. You should plan ahead before you come here, because if you aren’t sure of what you’re looking for you are going to have a hard time making decisions.
Chamblin’s buys books, cd’s, movies, etc. You can redeem stuff for store credit or cash. The difference is that cash is 40% less of the value in store credit, but you can revert store credit to cash at any time. Their prices are reasonable. Half off most used books. they also sell new books, though it’s hard to tell in this store which ones are new and which ones aren’t.

Good bookstores seem to be a rarity in Jacksonville. Heck, even our library situation seems to be sad at best. I was really hoping that I’d immediately fall in love when I opened the doors to this massive bookstore but the love just never happened. Let’s be clear about one thing: they carry just about any book you could possibly imagine! The problem is that the store itself is just so dang uncomfortable and overwhelming. I’m not usually one to get anxious in tight spaces but I felt very claustrophobic here. In fact, everything is organized so tightly that it feels like books are going to tumble on you and send you to an early death. Suffocating in a book store is a terrible way to die.
The store itself is very confusing to navigate. Small paper signs tell you what’s immediately around you but nothing really leads you to areas you may want to go. Don’t bother looking up to see signs pointing the way because the complicated labyrinth of shelves quickly traps you in a corner. This would be a great place to host a haunted maze.
This is the type of bookstore that is a hoarders paradise. There is no lack of good books. In fact, there’s too many. This store needs to be simplified quickly.
Apparently a lot of people enjoy their bookstores like this because I appear to be a lone whiner among many fans. Take it for what it’s worth, I felt uncomfortable here but it’s definitely worth a visit if you need to find something that you might not be able to get at Books-​a– million or B&N.

These days, I don’t read actual books anymore that you can hold in your hand. No, I download them all from Barnes and Noble and read them on my iPad. Yes, it’s definitely cheaper to come here to Chamblin and buy the book, but it’s much more efficient for me to have ALL of my books on my iPad and that way they’re with me all the time. So, I’d just rather give Barnes and Noble the extra dough.
Now, having said that, I’ve been coming to Chamblin since I moved to jacksonville in 1997. I have purchased more used books here for myself and youngest daughter (never could get the oldest daughter interested in reading) than I can possibly begin to count. I also think it’s great that we can bring the books back in for store credit. I had fun times with my girls here as they were growing up, we three would browse for a couple of hours at a time. Even though the oldest didn’t like to read, she always found something she promised to read (she never did) and I’d buy it for her anyway.
Hubby and I use to come here all the time too until we each got the iPads a couple of years ago. He still pulls me in here every now and then. He loves the place, but I always hate him coming in here because he has severe allergies and the dust in this place has him sneezing his fool head off for the rest of the day/​night after he leaves. I’m really serious about the dust. You can smell it when you walk through the door.
As other have said, there are books everywhere you look piled from the floor to the ceiling and this place goes so deep you may think you’ll never find your way up. But piled right along with all those books is dust, dust, and more dust. So a warning to those of you who have allergies: If you are going to enter here, you may want to take an allergy pill before doing so!
Someone mentioned in a review about how well organized Chamblin’s is. ROFLMFAO! Ummmm… NO! They can point you in the general direction of where you may find a book. And the sections are kinda-​sorta labeled. Good luck in your search!
I agree with Jo El. It’s best to come into this store not looking for anything in particular and just spend some time browsing around. You never know what you may find and then you’ll be a happy camper. If you come in here looking for specific books, you may likely leave disappointed. Again, I have to echo Jo El: Was the book there? Did I overlook it? Maybe… Maybe not.
So, come with no expectations, come with an allergy pill if dust bothers you, and come planning to spend at least an hour or so here. If you do that, you’re certain to love this place!

I love the smell of book musk in the morning. I’m impressed by the selection and even found a few out-​of-​print books that I lost long ago. The poetry section was particularly rich. This place is a treasure for sure, but I did find myself yearning for some wingbacks to properly try on some pages.
Play this game: choose a book by its cover that you have never heard of, from a writer you are completely unaware of, and buy it! See if «don’t judge a book by the cover» is legit or not.

If you’re ever in the mood to get lost in a good book, then this is the place for you (Or should I say get lost in the store)! This store has tons of books in every genre you can imagine, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find something it read. Although, I suggest going in with an open mind, as it may be difficult to locate the title you’re searching for unless you know where the genre is located and even then it can be hard to find, as the signs can be a little misleading and well, after a while all the dusty shelves filled with books look the same. It’s a wonder that someone as directionally challenged as myself, was able to find his way out.
Some of the employees are helpful, others not so much (is really too much trouble for you to lead me in the right direction).
If you’ve got books that you have no use for anymore, don’t throw them away, as they will give you store credit for books (as long as they don’t have too many of that title and it’s in good condition).
Over all I enjoy coming into the Chamblin bookmine, as I love to get lost in a good book (or in this case stack of books)!

I’ve been visiting Chamblin’s since I was a little kid (WAY before the back building was open). These days they take less books as trade ins but it hasn’t stopped my love for visiting. The selection is insane and there is no better place to spend an afternoon browsing.
The only thing that could make me love it more is more parking (which seems difficult/​unlikely) or a café like the downtown location (also unlikely). It might be my favorite place in all of Jacksonville.

I am absolutely convinced that one day when I’m in Chamblin’s Bookmine I’m going to find a book with a golden snake intertwined on its leather cover and it’s going to magically transport me to Fantasia or suck me into Fushigi Yuugi world! It’s going to happen.
Until that day I’ll settle for feeling like Anne Shirley «flying on the wings of anticipation» and desperate to dig into a pile of new books!
I either leave Chamblin’s ELATED over my bargain treasures OR so frustrated over my failure to find the books I’m looking for that a black cloud hangs over my head for the rest of the day.
Chamblin’s works BEST if you aren’t going there with anything specific in mind and you purposely let yourself wander in the mythical book store. The deeper you enter, the more the store feels like it burrows underground to the point where you could SWEAR you were in a Hobbit’s pantry; but in lieu of seed-​cakes, scones, and tea, books are squeezed tightly together from floor to ceiling. I frequently load up on the VERY generous section of Orson Scott Card books!
They have the most obscure and random book themes that you would never find at Barnes and Nobles as well as *some* new novels that are slightly discounted. The discount and pricing system is rather convoluted and I always have to keep running back to the posted «prices» sign located many aisles away while mentally tallying the price per book. The price depends upon whether it’s a USED hard back book vs. NEW hard back book, used older published paper back vs. newly published paperback and other factors. It’s confusing for this anti-​Mathlete. It would be more helpful if the price was listed RIGHT in the book (some are, some aren’t.)
I also can’t give Chamblin’s 5 stars until they update their cataloging system either. They don’t keep records of the books they posses so asking, «Do you have Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross?» They will say, «I don’t know but I can tell you what section you can find it *if* we do.» Trying to find a particular young adult novel is like searching for a needle in a haystack. There are several different «young adult sections» to search through (hard cover section, paperback section, older juvenile, younger juvenile etc.) I went in there a month ago with a list of ten books and only found TWO on the entire list. Maybe they had them, maybe they didn’t? I left utterly frustrated with the archaic system.
So again, it’s best to go to enjoy the EXPERIENCE of the magical bookland instead of hunting in the mine-​shafts with a list. I guarantee you’ll leave happier.
«You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.»
– C.S. Lewis

My first experience was awful. Some random guy kept on following me everywhere! Every time I turned around he was there. It was very creepy and uncomfortable. I had to have someone escort me to my car since he followed me out.
Second time was a much better experience. I roamed around the whole place. It is an amazing bookstore. I love the variety, and most of the used books look brand new! I would definitely recommend this place! Will come here again.

I L O V E this bookstore! Been here a handful of times, it’s a little out of the way for me but I happen to be in the area this past weekend and there were a couple of books that I wanted. I called before I went just to make sure they had a used version of what I was looking for. The very friendly lady that answered the phone said… Of course we do! Would you like for me to hold it for you!?! I say yes, and she says it will be at the front counter when you get here. I got both books for less than what I would have paid for one! Yay!
Five minutes later, we pull into the parking area and cars were everywhere. I walk in and people were everywhere! The place is busy for sure. There are books stacked from floor to ceiling as soon as you walk in. There is an organized chaos in this place. I love it! Plenty of employees to help you find something or to make your check out speedy.
This visit I didn’t get to walk around… we were in a hurry. However, last time I had the chance to browse and get lost in the sea of books. It is truly amazing what you can find in this place. If you have some time to spare… stop by and appreciate this gem!