Quail Ridge Books & Music

I have now gotten to the point where I cannot, in good conscience, buy a book anywhere else. There are the usual reasons: supporting local business, saying «damn the man» to big-​box retailers, and the general ease of getting in and out of the shop. But even more than that, I get from QRB much more than I can get anywhere else. The best parts of every kind of bookseller. I get the kind of personal service that I certainly can’t get at any other brick-​and-​mortar book retailer. I get the kind of personal reviews and suggestions typically reserved for sites like Amazon.
Retail is a game of large numbers. Sure, I might be able to scour the universe for a specific title priced a dollar or two less. On average, prices are competitive with any other retailer. But to me, that doesn’t matter. QRB gives me the best of every kind of bookseller, and for this avid reader, that means a lot.

I encountered Quail Ridge at a recent conference where they were part of the vendors’ room — and they were the best part — helpful, efficient, friendly, and welcoming — all hard traits to keep in stock amid the frantic pace of a literary conference crowd. In short, they were awesome. If their traveling offerings are anything to go by, their store must be marvelous.

I brought my kids here tonight for an author signing. We loved it! The event was well organized, the signing line efficient (but no one was rushed!), and I love the store. The kids section is laid out neatly, and a huge draw for the kids. I’m so glad we heard about the signing, and we will certainly be back to the store!

Great store with a great rotation of visiting authors. Go and spend an hour wandering and support local book stores.

It’s a cute books store and the book signings and authors events are really cool but the prices are just as expensive as Barnes and noble and Barnes and noble has more of a selection.

One of the best independent bookstores I ever visited. The selection of books is beyond excellent. The store’s music selection, especially classical, is wonderful. I have been many times over the past few years and the staff has always been helpful and courteous! Love this store!

This is the epitome of a great local bookshop. It’s everything you could want. They have a great selection, the staff is helpful, and they have a ton of events (book signings, children’s storytimes, etc.). I try to shop from here whenever I can, and their selection is really good (e.g., I had a choice of 3 – 4 travel books for my upcoming trip to Peru – while not
, I was really impressed that I easily found what I was looking for). It does feel a little dated in some respects (almost feels a bit like a public library in the structure of the store), but that just makes me feel reminiscent.

One of my favorite book stores in Raleigh is Quail Ridge. The staff is incredibly helpful and they always bring in great authors. They brought Rachel Ray to Meredith College for a book signing event. It was great. I got an autographed copy of Rachel’s newest cookbook and got to meet her. If you are looking for a good place to get a book this is the place!

I love Quail Ridge. My children love Quail Ridge. I buy most of my birthday gifts in the children’s department — staff is always helpful and knowledgeable (and more than tolerant of my children). If my budget would allow, I’d go in every week. Lots of interesting events, lots of autographed copies, staff always happy to find/​order a book if it’s not in stock. You can also reserve books over the phone if an author is coming to town and you want a book personalized, but don’t want to (or can’t) attend the event.

After the incredible experience I had attending a talk/​book signing given by Deb Perelman, the author of the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and blog by the same name, I wish I could give this local bookstore ten stars! I arrived early expecting a big crowd, and even though the friendly staff rearranged shelves and filled up every seat in the house, there were still people standing throughout the bookstore to hear Deb speak. The staff managed the crowd effortlessly and also set up a very easy-​to-​follow line following the talk to facilitate signings. It seems like they have renowned authors and other artists speak here frequently – you can find out more by signing up for their QuailMail e-​newsletter.
This was my first time at the store, but it will not be my last! I managed to get myself to the line dead-​last and was chatting with an employee who was restacking the chairs. He mentioned that if I couldn’t wait, they would take my book (that I had shamefully purchased on Amazon) and get the author to sign it, at no extra fee. I was blown away and readily accepted since by that time it was 9pm and I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. I asked him about two other cookbooks that Deb had mentioned in her talk and he ran straight to the computer to look them up. After three minutes he had both in his hands and directed me to the nearest arm chair to take a peek. Every other employee I interacted with was just as warm and helpful.
With all the talk about food, I was waaay too hungry to stay and enjoy myself, but I did march straight to the checkout line to purchase those books and support this store. This book store has a ton to offer – from a fantastic event schedule to a wide variety of books organized in a very accessible way – I was seriously impressed!
Get here STAT and support your local, independent retail stores in the Triangle!

Fantastic independent bookstore with great staff and a flare for local authors. I did not anticipate that this place would be as nice as it was inside, especially judging it from its position inside a strip mall, but I was pleasantly surprised. The staff was energetic and helpful without being pushy. There is a great section of award winners as well, including Hugo and Nebula award-​winners, which are always near and dear to my heart. I scanned a couple of bar codes to price compare with Amazon, and the prices were fairly competitive. I’d pay a small premium for this service though…

This is a great local book store that deserves to be supported. They have a wide variety of books, as well as some nice «Meet The Author» events every month.
I was out of town and couldn’t attend a book signing myself and called to ask if I could get a book signed anyway. I paid for the book, told them who I would like it addressed to (me, of course), and they were able to have the author personally sign the book for me. When I arrived back in town, I picked up the book with no hassle and it is proudly sitting above my dresser as we speak.
I was VERY surprised with the service I received and I am always checking on if/​when my favorite authors will be around to get signed copies.

Holy crap. I’ve been to Powell’s in Portland and the Strand in NYC and hundreds of bookstores in between and I can safely say that Quail Ridge comes the closest in terms of the sheer volume of its stock of signed books. I couldn’t believe how many autographed books they had, and became instantly depressed at the thought of the number of author readings/​signings I had missed in the last year. If you’re a book collector, or if you enjoy meeting and interacting with authors, Quail Ridge is a must visit.
The staff is extremely friendly. The books are organized perfectly so that you won’t need assistance, and even so, the employees patrol the store looking for folks in need of help. You will be paying full price for these new books and in that way, it’s not as good as ordering online. But if you cherish actual interaction with good and friendly people who appreciate literature as much as you do, and if you want to support your local economy, I’d say full price is a great price. But if you’re looking for a discount and you read as much and/​or collect as much as I do, you may want to consider joining their Reader’s Club to help you save on each purchase.
Thank you, Quail Ridge! It was a pleasure.

Let us all please support rare businesses like this… in this day and age, for an independent book store to thrive is so wonderful! I love that they are constantly bringing in authors, the selection, and the free gift wrapping. Over the years, my favorite baby shower gift is still to give a stack of cool books from here.
Today, I waited in the Christmas shopping rush 10 minutes in line to check out, but was happy to show my support by buying a membership.($ 15 which gives you ten percent off everything and 30 percent off NY Times booklist ones). May I never see the day when the only reading we can do is on a computer. I want to be able to hold a book, turn a real page, and buy this treasure at a real, independently-​owned bookstore.
Continue to thrive Quail Ridge Books! Please!

Ahhh, Quail Ridge — how do I love thee… Let me count the ways:
1. Superior selection of fiction and local writers.
2. Outstanding childrens section with places for little ones to plop down and devour fabulous works of genius.
3. Excellent staff reviews and recommendations.
4. Incredible visiting authors and book signings (I’ll never forget the day that Alice Hoffman signed my prized 1^st edition copy of Practical Magic… oh, just magical!)
5. Extensive cultural selections (travel, photography.)
6. Amazing sidewalk sales.
7. Really super chic restrooms.
6. …And the fact that you jumped right in to sponsor my local nonprofit with a bag of really fantastic books — heartwarming!
As far as independent booksellers go, Quail Ridge is truly, truly, a gem of Raleigh!

I can’t believe there are only a few reviews for Quail Ridge Books.
I think they should have four stars for surviving the onslaught of mediocre McDonalds style Barnes and Nobel and Borders. I used to be a fan of those other chain bookstores until I realized patronizing them often chokes the smaller independent bookstores right out of business.
I used to go to B&N and B because of the diversity and choice. Eventually B&N started to feel like a cheap dollar bookstore and Borders well, just lost their way under their own weight.
But I always came back to Quail Ridge.
Quail Ridge excels at the locavore stuff. Local writers, staff favorites make this a favorite place for me. I also love their cards and postcards as they are unique from most shops.
They also sport a small CD collection. I don’t’ tend to thumb thru the cd’s often when i visit though, too classically oriented. I’m more of a world music person. I think they should carry a few indie DVDS too.
I usually make a bee line for the magazines as I can peruse titles not found elsewhere. And further back towards the bathroom, you can pick up free material, local rags, flyers and such to keep you up to date on local indie current affairs, which is cool.
Oh yeah, the books. A little light on G&L subject matter, which is kinda surprising for an indie bookstore, but not surprising for a southern indie bookstore.
Great selection on southern life books, and southern authors although a bit heavy on the white southern author side.
Great History section as well.
The Children’s section seems to rank a strong presence right beside the adults with a very large area in the back. I have a friend who always, always goes to QR to buy books for baby showers here as she aways finds unusual books for great gifts.
My only downer, is that after frequent visits, over many years, the staff are very unfriendly, they are more stand-​offish than a nun at a nudist beach. Hence 4 stars not 5.

Ah, Quail Ridge Books — a guarantee to reduce the remaining shelf space in this book lover’s home. I collect books and so tend to buy secondhand, since the ones I collect are usually much older, but when I’m in QRB all bets are off. One of my favourite sections is cookbooks, where they offer a selection so much better than the usual ‘Emeril Ruins Thanksgiving’ or ‘Rachel Ray’s Foodie Woodie Bookiepoo’ sort of tripe that usually sullies bookshop shelves; specialist cookbooks get a lot of space here, and local chefs and authors also have a strong showing. As someone whose cookbook collection features a comma in the number, seeing something I don’t own and want to buy new on the shelf is a rarity everywhere else but here!
The science selection helped save Christmas this year, when I won at last-​minute shopping with a book about the creation of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and crafty folks would do well to check out the offerings there, which cater to a wide range of skill levels. The CD selection has the usual jazz/​classical/​blues/​folk/​opera you would expect, but hidden among the typical are gems to the music geek, and if you don’t find it there the staff are always happy to help find and order even the most curious things — I was even able to obtain a fairly hard to find album through QRB at a better price than Amazon had to offer! Magazine selection also appeals to the specialist crowd, and they’re one of the few places locally to find less mainstream magazines like Wax Poetics and British/​European imported magazines.
Events and author readings are spectacular, featuring everyone from the likes of Ian Rankin and Paula Deen to local writers and musicians. The staff are fantastic, always helpful and never looking harried or clock-​watching. It’s a peaceful, pleasant place that I can almost guarantee will have something for anyone who stops in.

Quail Ridge helped my friend’s debut reading/​signing turn into a smashing success!
When WAY more people showed up than had been expected, the QR staff hustled more chairs, rearranged tables, and generally kept it under control so that everyone was comfortable and could hear/​see my friend as she read from her novel. They they gave her «introducer» a nice intro herself – nice touch.
Afterward, they had a good layout for the book signings, and things went very smoothly.
It’s such a warm, welcoming space anyway, but with a happy occasion like watching a friend’s dream come true, it felt like we were celebrating with friends. Well done, Quail Ridge!

I did find out they carry only new books, that is OK. I was greeted when I came in with a friendly hello. I asked the lady if she had the books I was looking for «The Giza Power plant and «The Teachings of Don Juan A Yaki Way of Knowledge ». She looked at me and said no but she can order them. I can also order them,
I walked around the store and they have a music selection that carries artists that you will not find at BB. I was impressed with the CD music selection. Not very big but complete.
The store was lay-​ed out in orderly configuration with a children’s area to the right as you walk in after the music center.
Very helpful and friendly, excellent parking !

I’m such a sucker for two things in life: bookstores and exposed brick walls. While the brick walls were nonexistent here the bookstore did not disappoint!
I had limited time to spend in here but in the few moments I did I was able to walk the store and check out their overall scene.
I was very impressed with the cleanliness and friendliness of the staff.
The events they put on at the shop seem awesome and the staff is very passionate about their jobs, which makes shopping here that much nicer — there’s nothing worse than talking to someone that hates their job and doesn’t care.
There are recommendations strewn across the store and within each staff member if you talk to them. I overheard a staff member suggesting a book to another customer. She did so in such a passionate way the customer was more than giddy when she left the store. I could see in her eyes the need to find a good comfy couch and hunker down with her new found friend, her book.
I was a little bummed to see that there was no separate technology section (as a tech buff I often spend a good portion of my time in bookstores in the tech section). However, when I asked a staff member he apologized for there not being a specific section but told me that there science section held a lot of gems and he would be happy to show me through some titles. Again, passion. Love it.
Sadly, I did not have any more time and I left (although not empty handed — their handmade card section is to die for!)
Also, impressive, was their section for local book clubs. There were dozens of clubs that had their monthly book showcased, labeled and stocked.
I can’t wait to spend some more time here.
This just may be my favorite bookstore in the area.