CPL's Book a Week Challenge discussion

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope this week finds you well and with many great books to read. Let's talk about one of my favorite hobbies - buying books! It's such a wonderful thing, going to a bookstore, wandering around the shelves, discovering possible new reads, and then walking out with a handful of books. And whoever said buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies is entirely correct, lol.

What are your favorite local bookstores to shop at? I admit to being a bit sad because Chesapeake doesn't really have any "local" bookstores. I'm a frequent flyer at our Barnes and Noble, though (I actually reactivated my membership there back in February because of how many books I'd been buying). My roommate and I discovered a wonderful used bookstore out in Virginia Beach - Book Exchange. It's by the Lynnhaven Mall. They sell used books for half-off (they also buy books); the setup is great because they're split by genres and such. I don't go there often, but Prince Books in Norfolk is a lovely little bookstore. It's in Downtown by Waterside and I highly recommend visiting if you're ever there.

If you ever travel to the Peninsula, 2nd & Charles is another nifty bookstore. They sell used books (in addition to dvds, video games, etc.) but they also sell new books. It's not local (it's a chain) but it's a lot of fun to go in.

And of course, there's always the library.

Do you have any favorite local bookstores? Tell us about them. I always need more places to go buy books!

I have usually been able to purchase any books I need from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. I regret to say that I have not been able to really spend anytime in local bookstores.

I really like AFK Books & Records in Virginia Beach. I used to live within walking distance, which was dangerous! One year for Banned Books Week, they wrapped books in brown paper and wrote the reason it was banned on it. If you guessed the book correctly, you got a discount. I was apparently the first person they'd had guess mine correctly (it was Go Ask Alice, and I was so excited about the discount that I promptly went and grabbed another book, haha!).

Book Exchange in Williamsburg was a really good bookstore, which unfortunately has closed. Zeno's is good for science fiction and fantasy (not sure about their mystery collection). We should go on a book store field trip, so we can tell people all about them (should we get reference questions). :)

i frequent afk books too.... zeno’s is great for used books but also comic books and graphic novel... trilogy on princess anne rd has a large selection of comic books and manga... and a few regular books.... not a book store but ollie’s is one of my favorite places to get books super cheap