Jacksonville FL Bookstores to Visit
As a bibliophile who reads over 50 books yearly and as a book collector, I try to visit bookstores in every city I visit. There’s something about finding a book to pick up as a souvenir of my time in a city or adding to my to-be-read list. Here is a list of bookstores to visit in Jacksonville, Florida. I’ve visited these bookstores personally and can tell you more about them in their sections below.
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Address: 220 First St, Neptune Beach, FL 32266
Hours: 10 AM to 6 PM Mondays to Saturdays. 12 PM to 6 PM Sundays
This independent bookstore in Neptune Beach is a great spot to go and visit if you are planning a beach day. The bookstore sells new books only and is highly curated by their staff.
There is a mural where you can take photos with a manta ray and other underwater scenes on the side of the store. It is very beach-themed, in line with their location a block from the beach!
Don’t miss out on their clearance section. They have great bundles available for great prices and have something for everyone. This location also offers author signings and talks. Check out their event page to get more information about who the authors are and when the signings are.
Address: 215 N Laura St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Hours: 8 AM to 5 PM Mondays to Fridays. 9 AM to 4 PM on Saturday. 10 AM to 5 PM Sunday.
Are you in the downtown Jacksonville area and want to visit an Indie bookstore? Maybe get a coffee too? Head to Chamblin’s Uptown. This is my go-to Jacksonville bookstore hang-out spot if I am in the area.
Two floors of used and new inventory and shelves upon shelves of books. The shelves are so high, that you may need a ladder or tell an associate to retrieve a book you want. There are DVDs and CDs available in the store, but it is a really small collection. If you’re lucky, you can meet some authors if you are doing a signing on the day you visit.
Address: 4551 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32210
Hours: 10 AM to 6 PM Mondays to Thursdays. 10 AM to 9 PM Fridays & Saturdays. Closed Sundays.
This is my favorite local bookstore in Jacksonville. It is a huge space filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves of books. The bookstore conveniently offers a map for those who do not know how to navigate the various rooms and book genres the store has on offer.
The children’s section is equally impressive. Tucked away in the last building, it has books from juveniles, to early readers, and young adults. There’s a book series wall where you can pick up a copy of a book series you are a fan of.
My favorite section is the history books. Located close to the cashier, it is categorized according to the countries or regions. There are so many shelves and books, it’s impossible to finish them all in one lifetime.
Every October, before Halloween, Chamblin’s Bookmine offers a night of book hunting using flashlights. The store turns off the lights except for the emergency ones. You are left to book hunt using flashlights (bring your own or borrow one from the store, subject to availability).
Want Chamblin’s merch? Both stores sell them. You can even opt to sell books you don’t want anymore for store credit in both the uptown and Bookmine locations.
Address: 1971 San Marco Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM.
San Marco Books is located across the river from the Downtown area. The plaza is full of indie stores and cool finds. San Marco Books sells mostly new inventory, with curated books. They have an extensive Florida selection and also sell a small number of used books.
Take a photo of the store from the outside, the decor is pretty neat. The exterior is shaped like a bookshelf with various book spines lining it.
Address: 2766 Park St. STE 1 Jacksonville FL 32205
Hours: Wednesdays and Sundays 11 AM to 4 PM. Thursdays to Saturdays 10 AM to 5 PM. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
This bookstore is fairly new, having opened only in 2020. They have a unique concept, where they focus on selling books from minorities, LGBTQ+, and women authors. I found a few Asian authors they carry, and am excited to come back and browse some more.
The bookstore only carries new inventory, and they also have a website that sells books that you can buy and pick up.
Address: 3435 University Blvd N Jacksonville, FL 32277
Hours: Open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 12 NN. Saturdays from 10 AM to 3 PM. Fill-a-bag day hours and dates vary.
Located beside the University Park Library, the Friends of Jacksonville Public Library Bookstore is the headquarters of affordable used books in the area. The bookstore sells donated and ex-library books. The shelves are organized according to genre, with fiction in the inside room, and non-fiction on the shelves closest to the cashier.
The best deals to be had are during the paper bag days. For $15 per paper bag (provided by the bookstore), you are free to fill the bag as you wish. If you are a member of the group, you will get a free bag for everyone you fill.
Monthly deals are advertised on the website and the email list. These deals include a certain percentage off the price of a certain book genre, making it even cheaper.
There are multiple branches of the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library. These volunteer-led groups take book donations from the community and also ex-library books and sell them to the public on book sale weekends. The book sales are usually advertised on the Jacksonville Public Library website (or email newsletter if you’re a subscriber) with different branches hosting.
The book prices are reasonable, ranging from $1-5 for regular books. Collectible and special edition books are more expensive and the price varies. The fill-a-bag sales are the most popular. It costs $15 which the store would provide, and you can fill it up with any book as long as it fits in the bag.
Address: 4972 Town Center Parkway Suite 100, Jacksonville, FL 32246
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10 AM to 8 PM. Sunday 11 AM to 7 PM.
2nd and Charles is owned by Books A Million and is easily my favorite bookstore in the Southside area. Located in the St Johns Town Center area, this huge space sells pop culture collectibles, toys, and books!
The books they sell are new or used. You can tell from the tags which books are used. Just look for the orange tags! White tags are generally new books and are MSRP.
On Wednesdays, clearance books are buy one, get one free. Some deals rotate like buy 5, get 5 free, buy 1 get 50% off, and 50% off the top 10 bestseller books.
You can even trade in previously read books or other pop culture items for store credit so you won’t have to spend much on your hauls. Of course, the trade-in credit won’t be much but is still good if you need to unhaul some items while clearing up space.
This bookstore is a chain and can be found all over the US, but every single store caters to the community they sell books. There are two Barnes and Noble locations in the Jacksonville area, both on the South side of town.
Address: 11112 San Jose Blvd Ste 8, Jacksonville, FL 32223
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10 AM to 9 PM. Sunday 11 AM to 7 PM
Located in a strip mall with Trader Joe’s and Party City, the Mandarin Branch is a great place to get books. There’s a Starbucks inside this branch, and the usual clearance aisles can be found here. What surprises me is that the clearance items in one store may not be the same in another store.
Barnes is our go-to spot for grabbing brand-new books, especially signed exclusives that are only available in-store.
Address: 10280 Midtown Pkwy, Jacksonville, FL 32246
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10 AM to 9 PM. Sunday 11 AM to 7 PM.
The St Johns Town Center branch is located within an outdoor mall called St Johns Town Center. It also has a Starbucks inside the premises.
This store is always busy, and it is hard to find seating in the area if you arrive in the afternoon. The children’s section is pretty big (and impressive), and events are happening sporadically in the branch like midnight releases.
If you are in town, you would likely see our family pop by on a rainy weekend, when we need a reprieve and to get out of the house.
While the Books-A-Million branches are not in the city of Jacksonville per se, they are located in 2 cities close to us. These bookstores are pretty huge, and they sell new books.
Our favorite shelves are the clearance shelves. You never know what you’re going to find, and there are a ton of them, across different genres. There’s always something for everyone!
Address: 738 Marsh Landing Pkwy, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
Hours: 10 AM to 8 PM Monday to Saturday. 11 AM to 7 PM Sundays
Located in the Jacksonville Beach area of town, BAM Jax Beach is big. Though we have only been there once, the bookstore stocks new books and the clearance finds may not be the same as what you’ll find in Orange Park Mall.
This is a great stop to do after a beach day in the area and is the biggest and closest bookstore to the Ponte Vedra area.
Address: 1910 Wells Rd, Orange Park, FL 32073
Hours: 10 AM to 8 PM Monday to Saturday. 11 AM to 7 PM Sundays
Located inside the Orange Park Mall, the BAM branch here is pretty big. There’s a cafe inside and two entrances: one that leads from inside the mall and one to the parking lot. You can enter Orange Park Mall from BAM and there are always plenty of parking spots.
If you are in Clay County, this is the closest and biggest bookstore in the area. Another alternative would be B&N in Mandarin, which is across the river.
Here are 10 Jacksonville Bookstores you have to visit if you are in the area. Hopefully, this article helped you find a bookstore to visit and pick up some books to entertain or educate you whether you are visiting or living in the area.
If you can only go to one, do not miss Chamblin’s! That is an absolute treasure trove of books.
Did we miss any bookstores in the area? Feel free to let us know in the comments below! Happy reading!
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