Love the atmosphere. Staff were extremely friendly and patient.

Great neighborhood bookstore. Friendly to all tastes, from 0 to God-knows how old.

Great selection of books with the best and most helpful staff.

This charming bookstore has charm and wonder weaving throughout its many rooms. Great selections, staff suggestions, and rare finds will keep you coming back.

Awesome selection and helpful, friendly staff

Such a great local independent store with a friendly staff, and one of the treasures in the Hyde Park neighborhood

Wonderful store. Extremely friendly, helpful service. Coxy atmosphere. It is both smaller than a corporate store yet larger than you imagine when you first walk in. Great neighborhood find. It almost feels like a place that is hidden and only the locals know about it.I will definitely return, with or without my children.

The staff is so knowledgeable, you can tell they love the written word, and are grand stewards of the same...

Great book selection and atmosphere! The staff are very friendly and always have great book recommendations!

Wide selection of a variety of books for children and adults.

If you want a place that has employees that arent just working for a paycheck and trying to up sell you every time youre there, but just love & know books. This is it.Not to mention its got the cool underground super secret spot feel to it.They dont have. Theyll get it.Books you didnt know you wanted to read. Theyll find it for you.Cool events. Check.Places the president of the United States would go to. He has.Ability to buy a book, walk a block and find a cool place to eat & read and not feel like some wanna be hipster. Yep that too.Basically all around awesome-sauce as far as book stores go.I gladly buy my tomes here instead of the big boxes or Amazon. The world would be a worse place without this store & of course; it would make pandas cry.

This bookstore lives up to its historic reputation. Ive been a fan of Howl since I was a teenager, so the see the store that brought it to us, and fought for it, and won was high on my list of must-sees in Chicago.

The experience was courteous, sincere interactions from each person-the very beginning to everyone in loved n the process.

Known as Barack and Michelle Obamas favorite bookstore while they lived in Hyde Park/Kenwood, this quant subterranean spot has everything you could want and more! Like most great bookstores Ive been to, its a place to get lost in and wander over to hear a compelling poetry discussion while youre at it. You leave with a book you didnt even come in for, and then you make an excuse to come back for the one you came there for originally. Its that kind of place, well worth a visit!

Great selections! :) I love the place and the staff is really accomodating!

One of my favorite bookstores of all time!

This is my favorite bookstore in the world. They have a fantastic stock and selection of contemporary and classics, adult, fiction, and non-fiction, and terrific areas for both young children and teens/young adults. Staff is friendly, outgoing, and knowledgeable. They offer a wonderful membership with regular discount and frequent members-only sales. And the space is charming and easy to navigate.

Great book selection! Kids area was fantastic as well. Staff were very helpful and it was cooking in there!

This is the last of the best thing in bookstores. The bookstore culture. A staple in Hyde Park. Really cool vibe, fantastic titles. Even the Chicago history section is more unique and in depth. Great tee shirts. Some of the best sections. Please go to this fabulous Chicago spot!!

This is the best bookstore in town. Their selection, service, and dedication to helping people find books theyll enjoy is 2nd to none. It feels like youre stepping into a cozy home when you descend the steps. They also run the best story time for kids in town. Thanks so much to Franny and Kevin for making it an amazing place, as well as, the rest of the team.

This bookstore feels like a second home. It’s underground and feels like a little secret lair, which I love. (Don’t worry, there’s A/C and heating. It’s not ACTUALLY a pit.) Each room leads to another, it never ends. The books are great obviously, but trust me, you won’t get this vibe anywhere else!

Amazing place, its like your Alice in Alice in Wonderland. Excellent variety of books and great for kids to stop in and learn/fun activities

One of my favorite book stores. Basement shop with a fair amount of selection. Good sale selection. Worth a drive over from main area of Chicago if youre a book lover.

Best book store in the world. Kind and helpful staff, great selection, wonderful place for meeting friends and neighbors

This place is my favorite book shop. It is so cool. Great variety, and the owner has impeccable taste in products.

57th Street Books is a neat place with a rich selection and - a big plus for a used bookstore - plenty of turnover. Im a big fan of their sidewalk sale, their calendar selection, and their ample supply of discountered remainder books. The staff is friendly and helpful as well. Always worth a stop when you find yourself on Valencia.

This bookstore is one of my favorite places in Chicago. Browsing the vast selection is a pleasure..its well laid out and not only are there comments about best-loved or fascinating tomes written by staff posted on the shelves, but the children*s section is like a grotto in the city. I am terrible with names, but the people who visit and work here are well equipped to assist with finding any title or subject you are searching out. And you are only steps away from the larger collection, the Seminary Coop Bookstore, which now has a cafe and a podcast. Dont miss it! Your only regret will be the heaviness of your bag as you depart.

My second favorite bookstore in the world (#1 being Powells in Portland). This place feels like youve been invited into the personal library of a really smart, witty person. The selection is broad and eclectic but somehow feels personally curated at the same time. Not to be missed.

One of the coolest book stores Ive ever been in and surprisingly large. Very interesting, very cozy, very cool.

This is a lovely bookstore. I always wish I had more time to browse. A great place to duck into on a hot summer day. The staff are friendly and helpful, but not pushy. They have quite a variety and a nice childrens section.

A bit maze-like, but for some people thats half the fun. Theres nothing like browsing a physical, eclectic collection to find things you never would have otherwise.Get the the free membership if youre going to go there regularly; it gives you 10% back in store credit.

Its a really nice, cozy book shop. Its slightly below ground, in the sublayer of a building. They have a nice selection, good recommendations, and a pleasant staff. My one gripe is organization. The sections seem loosely divided, and finding a specific book is a bit hard. Though, Im sure the staff can get you what you need.

I would give six stars if I could. We came late because the hours listed on Google were incorrect...the guy at the counter explained that its been really difficult for the business to get control of their Google listing :( but he was EXTREMELY helpful, looked up the book I was searching for, and when they didnt have it in stock (right after Christmas!), called next door at Seminary Co-op where they had it, and asked them to hold it for me after hours! (Both stores were closing at 6 on Sunday night)

Great staff. Ive loved this bookstore all my life. intimate. Great selection. Will order of out of stock to arrive in more days. Events. Great staff.

Wonderful book selection. Helpful and well informed staff. A store with a soul.

Had a nice little visit a few days ago. The staff is super friendly and helpful. They have five rooms filled with books and book related items. Coffee mugs, bookmarks, magnets, pins, etc. It’s a great bookstore and I look forward to visiting again soon.

Great selection. Awesome knowledgeable staff. They do childrens books readings regularly. Just a nice, independent bookstore. And it has that awesome book smell.

Great selection of books and carefully curated staff favorites! Its impossible for a book lover to visit and not walk out with a new read. I love this neighborhood book store!

Amazing book store. Its a book maze with 5 rooms filled with books. They have a good variety and many events and recommendations.

Wonderful selection of books. Their customer service is great.I went for a story time with my daughter it was almost magical.

Quaint, basement bookstore that could captivate hours of your day before you realize it. Great sales. Nice staff. Nice vibe.

Love everything about this bookshop. The decor, the selection, the staff, everything. This is a favorite stop for my family

This is the best book store. It feels great to support a local place. Great to go hangout and read there.

Excellent bookstore/resource. Staff are processional, personable. Has reading area for adults and section for childrens activities. Part of a co-op; a favorite of U of C staff & students. Parking is terrible, but worth the effort.

This store has closed due to COVID exposure dangers.No proposed reopening date, or procedure has been physically listed.Suggest visiting their website for detailed information, and purchasing information.

It is really nice here. Quite cozy environment and staff is very helpful. Book prices are same as other places.

This is hands-down my favorite bookstore in the city. There is a nice selection of books, very well curated. There are also some puzzles bookplates journals stickers and other stuff you usually find in a bookstore. The staff is very helpful.

A lot books to choose from. I like romance and action story so I bought three good books here. Really neat place. Looks small from the outside but bigger than expected. It took overthe whole basement of thw building. The only issue is their bathroom. Needs a little bit of renovation.

Excellent brick and mortar bookstore in Hyde Park. It looks very inconspicuous from the outside but is nearly sprawling on the inside! Beautifully organized, super friendly and knowledgeable staff, an overall great place to buy books and other neat gifts.

I absolutely love the 57th Street Bookstore. Its part of the Seminary Co-op and sells more popular books than the academically oriented Co-op. Every year I buy Christmas presents for my nieces and nephews here. They ( nieces and nephews) think that I have good taste in books, actually its the bookstore staff--I describe the kid and they find the book. They also do free gift wrapping, which makes it a one-stop shop for Christmas shopping.

This bookstore is like a dragon cave if dragons hoarded books instead of jewels. In words, its what book shops should aspire to. The staff are also friendly and helpful. Highly recommend.

Fun stacks to wander, always find something to read, friendly staff, well stocked magazine rack, and they always have local authors books (directly across from cash register). Plus Im often checking the window for posted local events as I walk by.

A huge book store in Hyde Park. We could see a childrens program going on with so many kids filling up the childrens section. The reader used great expression in reading to them. I didnt buy anything during this visit.

Wonderful, warm, intelligent, my daughter and i loved it! Its our new store to enjoy ! Not to mention we learned from a GREAT Employee, Mark that they are celebrating 35 years! Loved it!

A fabulous neighborhood bookstore that I should support more

Very interesting interior space. If you like books, this is a must visit store!

I enjoy the feeling of a neighborhood bookstore. I can always lose myself exploring the many books. I do enjoy this place; its a gem in the community.

The staff is incredibly friendly and the book selection is fantastic.

I will always find a bookstore. Always. This is a good one. Visit. Support.

57th Street Books is great bookstore in a neighborhood of great bookstores. Hyde Park probably has the highest density of excellent bookstores in the U.S. This one is sister store with the Co-op Bookstore and focuses more on kids books, fiction, and general interest, though everything is represented. It is cozy and has a friendly, bookish, knowledgeable staff.

This is probably my favorite bookstore in Hyde Park. The collection is large and varied and the staff are very well informed about all of it. I also like the structure, with cosy rooms and reading corners tucked away in places. The childrens section is great -- on my numerous hunts for books for kids of different ages and preferences, it has never let me down. I always enjoy watching families come in. Its wonderful to see parents and children discover new books and read out to each other.I also love the staff recommendations posted throughout the store on the shelves. Ive taken one or two and they have been great decisions! In general, a visit to this store has never been just a way to get new books (although that in itself is awesome enough), but also a good way to have a conversation about books and to feel that youre in good company -- that of people who genuinely appreciate books.

One of my wife very happy places. Im not much of a reader but Im pretty sure its her favorite book store of all time. She owns more than 5,000 books

A community-focused bookstore in the heart of Hyde Park, 57th Street Book offers an excellent selection of new releases, fiction, and childrens books. Their schedule of events is enviable--I wish I still lived in Chicago so I could attend them all!

Great, well-curated bookstore. A lot of extremely interesting and slightly off-beat books. How many bookstores would give prominent placing to galway kinnell?

They have an amazing kids section at this store. It was so nice to see so many kids book with characters that looked like me!!

If you go be prepared to search, I love books and this store has a lot 1st editions. Im giving it 5 stars because its an antique.

Great place to browse. I dare you not to find a book or two you must have. Good selection of old and new and unusual.

This bookstore has such a whimsical and cozy feel, and is great for wandering. The fact that the store is underground also adds to the appeal. The selection is immense, and well organized by category. I really like their cook book selection and the staff recommendations.

We have just been there a couple of time. We always find something. The people there are very helpful.

This is a classic and cozy gem in the community! The staff is friendly and polite. I plan to make many more trips in the near future!

The people there know books and give great suggestions.

A wide variety of new books organized by topic. Worth taking the time to explore the different rooms to see all that they have to offer.

Large and densely stocked bookstore with a good variety of books in many fields. A nice atmosphere, makes you want to stay there all day and look for stuff.

I love this store! The employees are super helpful and friendly. And great selection. One thing I especially appreciate is that they have a service where you can select and purchase a book in person and then they will ship it for you for like $5 or so (plus free gift-wrapping!). I buy gifts for my nieces and nephews so I ship several books a year. I like to choose the books in person rather than online so I can flip through them. They dont do expedited delivery but I dont mind - saves me a trip to the post office!

Cute little bookstore with all kinds of knickknacks. Great place to buy a gift for someone

Great environment for children.

Coolest bookstore with a massive collection. And no, they dont only restrict to popular books like Amazon. Way cooler!

My fave underground bookstore in Chicago! And they have a great selection of books!

Great local bookstore. Excellent place to find gifts and good literature and kids books. Go to the Seminary co-op bookstore on Woodlawn for textbooks.

Its the perfect neighborhood book store for all ages.

This place is great very close to campus and great staff, even though they are a very small book shop the staff told me that they could get me almost any book i was looking for.

Great selection and very helpful staff. The comfort food of bookstores.

Great community focused independent bookstore. Small and well curated. Always a treat to go there.

Love this bookstore for a quick visit or lengthy browsing. Good comic book selection. I hope to come back some day and sell some of my collectibles here. Good people work at this place!!

Great selection. Great atmosphere. Great employees.

The cozier cousin of Seminary Co-op Books - with just as juicy a display of everything you ever wanted to read and never knew existed, plus lots of clever cards, calendars and eceteras...

I love the layout of this store. It is like an adventure as you walk deeper and deeper into the store. I could be in there for hours. Great underground book store!

Very unique old building. Great selection and vibe.

Cute little book store, but surprisingly wide selection.

Absolutely the Best Book Store in all of Chicago. Serves the community and cares deeply about its customers.

Quiet out of the way bookstore near university campus. Excellent selection but a little cramped. Friendly staff.

57th Street Books is a throwback to a time when bookstores were plentiful and before the internet invaded every inch of our lives. They stock pretty much everything and are very helpful. May this book store continue to delight its customers for many years to come!

We were in from out of town and visited this wonderful store twice during our stay

This is an awesome bookstore! They have a great selection of books and the staff are very helpful.

Amazing underground book store. It looked small from the outside, but turned out to be huge, with plenty of rooms and alleys to explore. Im sure it would be one of my to go stores if I lived in Chicago!

This is the real deal! You will never get this type of service and consideration from an online book seller. WONDERFUL staff!

Bookstore with a great vibe tucked off in a cozy residential neighborhood

Fun bookstore. A bit pricy but fill of hidden gems. Dont be fooled by the store front this book store is bigger on the inside ;)

Fab book store! Very helpful staff.

Splendid bookshop, fabulous staff. I can spend many happy hours here