Downtown Booksellers

Downtown Bookseller's, located on University Road in downtown Rochester, is a store that I stumbled upon by chance. While walking around downtown Rochester, I spotted the Used Books sign from a distance away and practically ran towards the store.

Downtown's was, of course, filled with books, as most used book stores are. The store features old, new, and rare books. To me, what set the store apart from others was its vast collection of old books. And these books weren't just old, they were late 1800s/early 1900s old. Most of them were history collections, like war volumes and encyclopedia sets, but the amount of old books was astounding. There were also old editions of classics- like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens novels. Downtown's also featured a big section of just poetry books- both old and new books.

While the classic and rare book shelves were filled to the brim, the general fiction sections- divided into hardcover and paperback categories- were full as well. There was a decent variety- even the entire series of James Bond books as well as the entire Alex Cross series. Other featured genres that I rarely see at used book stores included religion, sports, and celebrity memoirs. The store also had a combined children's and teen's section, which was small.

The atmosphere of Downtown’s was pleasant. Quiet, classical music- which seems to be the popular background music of used book stores- allowed for peaceful browsing. The service was kind and helpful. Prices were not listed on all the books, so most had to be inquired upon. The prices that were listed varied on the condition and rarity of the book, though many were on the expensive side for used books. The store did offer sale prices on some series that had all or most of the books.

On to Nancy Drew, the books featured at Downtown's were the classics. There were about 20 books from the original series. Many of them were from early in the series; two of them had unique covers that I have not seen before. These covers- which were plain blue with an orange silhouette of Nancy- were from the books published between 1932 and 1937. The insides of these editions also feature four pages of glossy hand drawn illustrations that depict certain scenes from the story. The editions available at Downtown's were missing their dust jackets. So while they were not as valuable as those with dust jackets, they were still an interesting find.

Nancy Drew is well known for going hand-in-hand with the Hardy Boys- the boy detectives to Nancy's girl detective. Downtown's held a large stock of Franklin W. Dixon's The Hardy Boys series. This included copies from the original publishing date-1927.

Downtown Bookseller’s was a pleasant surprise to find. It is conveniently located close by and easy to visit while on the run to other places. While the selection at Downtown’s was unique, I did not find any books that were worth adding to my collection. There is, though, a chance that I will return to Downtown Booksellers sometime in the future.