The Book Corner

Are you a bookworm? A bibliophile? Do you even read (Bro)?
If so, Have you been to The Book Corner in Niagara Falls? If you haven’t-why haven’t you? Go!
Go now !
Likely the most unique book store in the Buffalo Niagara area. It is HUGE, and so incredibly cool.
New books are on the ground level. Now, the selection is eclectic. Not a lot of everything, but a little of everything and then some.(I bought a paper doll book of horror movie icons-​top that.)
The «Loft», is an incredible space with rooms and rooms of used books, some vinyl, plenty of seats to sit and read. It’s like going into your Grandmas HUGE attic and finding endless treasures. (the bathrooms are on this level as well-​you will need to ask for a key).
The basement, another treasure trove of a space. Room after room of used books and some vinyl again.
I am so thrilled to have such an interesting place to shop in Niagara Falls, NY-​where people think nothing of significance exists outside of the Falls and the Casino.
Being such a large old space-​they generally turn lights on in the upper and lower levels only when you are going to those floors to conserve on energy. You will understand why.
The Book Corner is an experience. As I’ve already said, go !

It’s sadly getting harder to find great bookstores, especially those with a decent selection of used books. The Book Corner has been an institution in Niagara Falls for decades. They have a huge selection of used books on the top (fiction) and basement (non-​fiction), and the ground floor houses all the new books. The books are extremely affordable, with my husband and I coming away with two bags of books (roughly 14 or so) for about $ 60, including several new books as well. Used books seem to run roughly $ 1 – 5, and new prices are obviously priced by the publisher and vary widely.
This is a solid place to find a gift for the hard-​to-​shop-​for person since they have so much to offer. Truly books for every interest and budget, including math, religion, nature, children, and even coloring books. This place offers a nice selection of local history books as well. If you want to check out the top or bottom floors, simply ask the owner and he will gladly turn on the lights and give you a quick tour, then let you wander the huge rooms. Really great place to check out – they have interesting artwork, lots of seating and even host music events as well. Parking is free and plentiful right out front. They do accept debit/​credit cards, and even offer gift wrapping. The owner is a really nice guy and cares deeply about the community, and the history of book selling.

This shop is one I’ve gone to for a few decades now and it used to be a favorite. Which makes writing this review difficult and not entirely comfortable.
I am a serious book lover and so I am very much inclined to support any reasonably good bookstore, in an economy that has made the pickings lean for bookstores. At the same time, I expect that their part of the bargain is for the the experience to be reasonably pleasant or for their book stock to be interesting… preferably both. Let’s look at how those two criteria match up to The Book Corner as it stands now.
Atmosphere — the family that owns this store have always been on the brusque side but not unpleasant. That seems to have changed for the worse. Several times, family members have commented on the current owner being downright rude and the experience was the same for me during a recent visit. I don’t require that people working in bookstores be buddy-​buddy but there is no reason to tolerate the owner being an outright sarcastic prick. I know the business is hard these days but be fricking PROFESSIONAL, particularly when dealing with long term customers. It’s not as if helping the number of people I’ve seen in the shop would be particularly taxing.
Selection — yeah they have a large stock but it seems to be getting more and more stale. Further, at least on the day I visited the upstairs and downstairs areas were shut up and only opened if the owner chose.
I debated whether to rate the store at 1 or 2 stars. The deciding factor was when I asked myself whether I’m ever even mildly interested in visiting the store again. The answer is No.

If your allergic to cats do not go in, but other than that they do have amazing books.

Amazing bookstore! We found this on accident after visiting niagra falls. Owner is great and super helpful!

The Book Corner has been an institution, the foundation of bookselling in Niagara Falls for over 50 years. The original location was just a few doors away from the current one, to which they moved in (I think) the early 80s. This is a family business, and Jeff, the manager, grew up selling books with his Dad. My favorite gifts were always from the Book Corner. It is old, it smells, and it contains more treasures than you could ever imagine. Jeff will track down a rare, out of print book for you. If you want a big box chain store with coffee and cookies, don’t come here.

My favorite book store for thirty years. Awesome. Simply awesome. Huge used selection of vintage. Only small room for romance! Three floors of joy! Religion, history, mystery. Keep this in business! Best of the Falls.

The review of The Book Corner above by Aich K is pretty accurate, but don’t be put off by the owner. He’s a bit bohemian, perhaps somewhat intense, and maybe even quirky, but definitely helpful. Many of the great bookstores are staffed by such people. The gentleman is quite respectable, though maybe not the epitome of refinement. I understand he is a well-​known part of the community. When I visited the store, he greeted me and asked me if he could help me, and he did. He is rather knowledgeable and helpful, which is important in a bookseller.
I visited the store today looking for a very esoteric title that I need immediately, and decided to head to this Niagara Falls shop because in doing an online search, I was unable to locate any store within two hours driving distance that carried the book. If anyone would have this particular book nearby, it would be this store.
Although no luck for that title, I DID see several other books that I was interested in that I bought. Normally, I extremely finicky and do not purchase used books, but the used books at Book Corner are in excellent to near fine condition generally speaking. And the prices were extremely fair, maybe even a little low.
The books are well-​organized and clean. Compared to my stop before The Book Corner, I visited the book outlet store in the Wurlitzer building in North Tonawanda, but I had to leave it because I started sneezing from all the dust and it was hot, humid and stuffy.
Selling new books primarily on the main floor, and pre-​owned books in the well-​lit basement level area, The Book Corner stocks a wide variety of local history books that you will be hard-​pressed to find many other places, perhaps even online. The owner was not kidding when he said you could spend a day looking through titles in the rabbit’s warren basement maze of books.
Because the store does not have heavy traffic, I am guessing there is not heavy turnover of stock, so therefore the lucky ones of us who check the place out will find a nice treasure that the zombies under the spell of sterilized cookie-​cutter mainstream commercialism and who only shop Barnes and Noble or Amazon will miss out on. I am so afraid to share this fact that I almost did not mention it: I want the selection all to myself!
The store also has a very nice children’s section at the back. Lots of military books, biographies, film books, science, philosophy, fiction, classics. .. if an avid reader can’t find anything to his/​her interest, there is something wrong with the person, not the store.
You will not pay extra for ambiance because although it is no means run down, the location is rather old. However, what you WILL get is SELECTION. It’s stock honestly rivals the Erie County Public Library in downtown Buffalo, as well as the Niagara Falls, NY main library located about a mile west of this shop.
I would not be concerned about the somewhat blighted surrounding area. The City of Niagara Falls Police and court are located one building over from the store, and there is always a spot right in front of the shop so you don’t have to walk too far. This is the main business district, and there are other fine established businesses in the area (including DiCamillo’s flagship bakery store on nearby Linwood Avenue near Main Street. A must stop for marvelous cakes, pastries, and, for my money, the best doughnuts there are.) Really, it’s safe. .. and I am a big coward generally.
PLEASE NOTE: The only reason why I give this location four stars is because I do not want readers to have this notion that The Book Corner has the grand ambiance of a store out of the Victorian age. Its functional in that respect, but clean (even if the owner does have a cat. .. I personally happen to like cats very much.)
If you are a bonafide reader, and not a poseur who likes to be seen in a bookstore rather than find something truly amazing, you are better off keeping your loyalty to the major chains. But if you like real experience in your life, check out The Book Nook.

Cornered!
I cant say enough about the Book Corner. They have so many books’, and many of them are in the building of which I went. There’s a whole room for romanses, although I didn’t see «Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel.» Maybe someone bought it? There are lots of books’ in the basement to, but it smells a little like cat pee in the summer. And the spring. And the fall. And the autumn. And the winter. Its the best thing on Main Street! Which isnt saying much, but even if there were other things, it would still be great. I needed help once, and I dont think I’ll ask for help again. I think the owner may have gone to the Mordor School of Customer Service. Plus, he might be a tad deaf. He yells like Gramma.