Barnes & Noble

Big ol' bookstore in the middle of the city. I get almost all my yoga books. holiday gifts and stationary from here. Plenty of cute nooks and crannies to steal away into with a comfy book or magazine. Great way to get away from the hustle and bustle during lunch. more

When you?re looking for a book to read but you don?t know just what you want, Barnes and Noble is the place for you. The have tons and tons of tables of books that you can peruse at your leisure. Last week I stopped in a checked out the ?Summer Reads? table. I needed a few books to take with me to LBI, NJ and I didn?t want anything too heavy or depressing. An associate actually came by when I was reading one of the blurbs and suggested I look at ?What Alice Forgot.? Her suggestion was a great one since I?ve already completed the book and I haven?t even left for the trip yet. I really love Barnes and Noble for just that reason. I love how that store gets me to put down the remote control and pick up a paperback. Barnes and Noble helps Americans, myself included- Read more and watch less. more

This is a great store to look up a plethora of books. What's best is the employees won't hound you unless you really look lost. And there are plenty of chairs which is always a hassle more

Barnes and Noble has had to scale down a bit in terms of locations, as the recession has reduced consumers expendable incomes, but they?ve also grown wiser and the better for it. They now have ?The Nook?, an electronic reading device the size of your palm that enables you to read 1,000?s of books? you can highlight and save text, just like on a computer, and the screen of the The Nook is meant to appear as little like a computer screen as possible (easy on the eyes?.). Amazon and other online retailers have cut into their business, but Barnes and Noble is still the best place for spending free time browsing all the coolest and newest books out there. It?s the ability to browse, to spend time looking through all the new titles that is lacking online. Looking, touching, feeling real books will always be more pleasurable than spending hours online staring at a computer screen doing the same thing (that?s more of a chore, if you ask me). They will also succeed as being the bookseller with the best selection of ?Coffee Table Books?? you know, big books with expensive photography and art work and compelling, contemporary, sexy themes. The magazine section at B & N is also to-die for? while many do not want to subscribe to magazines, who doesn?t want to thumb through them, and who cannot resist buying that ultra-cool art, fashion or style mag. Barnes and Noble is basically like a Starbucks, but more stimulating (and what do you know, many Barnes and Noble?s have built-in cafes that sell coffee too). It?s a hang-out spot, a place with a ?community? feeling, and I have a feeling Barnes and Noble stores will evolve even further in this ?experience?-oriented direction to lure in more customers in an increasingly online/virtual and cash-strapped future. I can imagine them setting up more tables and work-stations for freelancers and telecommuters to connect to free wifi with and use as a temporary office/meeting/socializing place, much like Starbucks does. The stores are always clean, stately, spacious (huge!), cool and welcoming, and many people go just to people watch. They also have a lot of cool accessories, stationary, home accents, etc, that make perfect gifts. Be sure to check the website for daily events and readings that go on within their stores- they have copious meeting rooms for such happenings and it?s a great way to meet an intellectual crowd (hint, hint, COLLEGE-EDUCATED SINGLES) and mingle with the literati. more

If I had a dollar every time I have made my poor boyfriend wander through bookstores with me, we would probably be able to take a decent vacation. Nothing compares to the length of his groan whenever I casually suggest going into Barnes and Noble. I have literally spent close to a third of my life scanning the aisles and pouring over the ?new and recommended?, ?new fiction?, ?new non-fiction?, and ?beach reads? tables at Barnes and Noble. Everyone around me is also silently going through the tables, perusing whatever new Kurt Vonnegut book has been published from beyond the grave. When you live in New York City, finding peace and quiet is difficult to come by, especially when you?re idly killing time. Just last week I had about an hour to kill before I went to work, and I literally sat on the floor of the Union Square Barnes and Noble and read the first chapter of Sloane Crossley?s new collection of essays entitled How Did You Get This Number. It was one of the most glorious hours of my week. Nobody bothers you unless you ask them for help, and everyone minds their own business. It reminds me of what a library is supposed to be like, as opposed to its modern day purpose, which is to house the homeless during the day. I guess everyone needs their own personal time with literature, I just prefer to do mine on the comfy carpeting of the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, where everyone is happy and helpful, and the answer to the secret of life seems just within reach of the next Malcolm Gladwell book. more

In the heart of Union Square what better way to escape than to go to a place that has every kind of book imaginable. This bookstore may very well be the largest one I have ever visited before, and yet, it is so organized and neat with a lot to offer. It is situated in a large, four story building, and neatly arranged in sections with enough room to wander about. There are escalators to get from one floor to another with very large signs from floor to floor to assist you even more. Once you get to the floor you will find what you?re looking for so easily either by just seeing it in the wide clearly labeled shelves, or their computers to help you. Still haven?t found what you?re looking for as you wander about in this gigantic store? The super friendly staff is always willing to help you. They will actually direct or help you find the book, nook, DVD, or CD in any way possible. Even the rarest ones will be located here. Once your book is found, sit back and relax in their Starbucks on their premise. Be sure to order something first, but don?t worry, there will be enough seats in this one for you to sit in. You will find when it is time to purchase your item what a smooth transaction it will be. Lines may accrue but it will go by fast due to the amount of workers behind the registers. This place is a must see whether you are a student looking for a textbook, or a tourist wandering about. more

This Barnes & Nobles has it all. Bookstore, Coffee Shop, Discussion Room and it has 4 floors full of books! Definitely a great place to read, relax and immerse yourself in the book world! Pros: Spacious, Large Selection more

Forget Borders and the rest, B&N beats them all hands down. Complete with a Starbucks and every conceievable book you would ever want (if they don't have it, they'll order it), it's right there. Their selections are impeccable. The staff is usually very willing to help. All in all, they have what you need and want concerning books. Pros: Selection, staff, service, ambience more

OK, it's just one of the B&N empire's outposts, now almost as ubiquitous as Duane Reades, but it's one of the better ones. First, the location, convenient to many subway lines, makes this store's excellent reading series even more accessible. Then, unlike the Astor Place locale, this one's got some room to sprawl so the claustrophobic aspect of so many Manhattan stores, particularly those with so much to sell, suffer from. Stock's respectable and service is usually decent. All in all, quite a good effort for a store that's not the flagship. more