Westsider Rare & Used Books

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chelsearainbow

Joined 2 years ago

Westsider books - read on!. Westsider Books is the bookstore on Broadway that always has shelves of dollar books out front, along with some stacks of inexpensive used CDs and VHS movies. After finding a few great things out front and paying for them right inside the door, I finally took the time to look around the rest of the store. It's a small store and somewhat cramped, with bookshelves going up to the ceilings. I don't think I'd be able to find anything there if I didn't know what I was looking for, but I happened to find some things I had been looking to buy, in great condition for half the original price or less. If you're in a hurry, you should just take a look at the dollar shelves, but if you have more time, it's worth it to take a look around inside.

This place is loaded with tons of old and used books. You will be pleasently surprised to find all these random titles. Old manuscripts, first editions, author notes. Its amazing. The prices are excellent and you can find tons of expensive books for cheap. Sometimes you have to pick an older version, but its still a steal of a deal. Its a bit of search to find what you’re looking for....but they have it all.

Could it be better? It is a gem - lots of books packed into a small space. As to their buying your books, cds, DVDs - they give you a fair price. After all, they do have to make money.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Closed, 2003. In the heart of the ever-gentrifying Upper West Side is a shop-around-the-corner for used books and records.. The Scene
This establishment bears the unique distinction of being several times as high inside as it is wide; browsing here may require some serious neck-craning, or a ladder. But the dimensions also make it easy to miss from the street. That would be a shame. On a stretch of Broadway dominated by Zabar's and a dull parade of chain stores, Gryphon seems like a last refuge of independent neighborhood culture.

The Goods
Close as it is to Lincoln Center, Gryphon has an appropriately healthy selection of theater and arts books and a small but fair choice of records. (More LPs, including many rare jazz recordings, can be found at their 72nd Street music store.) Tracking down a particular book may be difficult, but late-evening hours make it easy to stop by and nose around for long stretches of time.