Seminary Co-Op Bookstores
Category: Bookstores [Edit]
Neighborhood: Hyde Park5757 S University Ave
(between 57th St & 58th St)
Chicago, IL 60637 (773) 752-4381
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
50 Reviews for Seminary Co-Op Bookstores
My favorite bookstore ever. I love history, and their selection is fantastic. I found so many books which I haven't found in any other bookstore. I haven't found any of the books there which I wanted to get in the Stanford Library system. Absolutely essential to visit Seminary Co-op if you're in Chicago.
If there were a God, the Seminary Co-op would be proof that He loves books.
I feel no shame about buying most of my books online (now that I live in a building where recieving packages is not a pain in the neck), nor about doing most of my browsing in large chain bookstores with incredible shelf-stock. The number of bookstores in the country that give the serious reader something he can't get at Amazon or Barnes & Noble is very small. This is one of them.
The selection of academic press books is simply incredible (in both breadth and carefulness of selection), and includes huge numbers of things that I had never heard of, would never have known about, but suddenly could not live without. A friend of my family's continues to take a trip to Chicago at least once a year to browse here, saying that there is simply no better way to keep up with the literature in his field. I don't know if I would go that far, but I don't that I wouldn't.
This is one of my favorite bookstores, ever. This bookstore was built as a bunker capable of protecting all within from a nuclear holocaust / fallout winter for the preservation of all tomes and annals pertinent to the survival and continuance of human knowledge, post destructo. Navigate through the subterranean store using their unique cold-war-era-color-coded-huge-arrows-on-the-floor system that lead you to the section you want to get to. I've only gone once and not been able to find the book I was looking for. I can't even begin to explain how vast each section is because I am not that smart. However, I will be after the ICBM's start falling, because when this happens - the Co-Op is where I'll be at reading myself into my very own new world order.
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When I visited UofC while trying to decide whether to come here, everyone told me to check out the Sem Co-op bookstore. I listened (read: I got lost and ended up in front of it, so I went in), and when I got back home to Providence I talked about it more than most of the rest of the school. It's a true nerdy scholarly book paradise. There's a back section where UofC course books are stashed, but the rest is a glorious labyrinth of different subjects.
The books cost what they're listed at, but if you think you're going to be back it's worth it to become a member and save 10% every time you come in... especially if you're buying course books that cost $49 a piece (often arbitrarily).
I even love the smell of this place.. that awesome new book smell. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. I've had to ask for help finding sections a few times. There are chairs tucked in various corners and theoretically you could sit there and read for hours without anyone noticing.
It's a basement bookstore. No windows! This makes it more like a labyrinth. Avoid the beginning of the UofC trimesters if you can, because you'll have to check your bags outside in exchange for a closepin. (You have to check anything larger than a small handbag anyway inside, but it's faster there.)
Full disclosure- sometimes I can't justify paying Co-op prices when Amazon used prices are so much lower... particularly for text books and as a poor grad student. I'm hanging my head in shame. On the other hand, with Amazon used you generally get marked up (as in "written in") books, so I've decided in the co-op's favor before. (Oh, and you can get the exact text book everyone else in the class has, which is useful during class time.)
For bibliophiles, I'd say this is worth the trek if you don't have the great fortune of living in Hyde Park ;)
Great bookstore for the academic community it serves. Ambience gets an A+ and you could get lost in this cozy basement (literally and happily!) for days. They make a big deal out of texts written by UC profs and have a lot of hard-to-find books. The staff is also generally very courteous and knowledgeable but they also leave you alone so you can peruse.
They have only two weaknesses: 1) They are always completely swamped at the beginning of each academic quarter at UC (late September, Early January and Mid-March for those of you not a part of the University) because of the mad textbook rush. Anticipate waiting in line for at least 30 minutes at these times. 2) Their collection of lighter-fare reading is a bit weak. If beach paperbacks or how-to books are your thing, check out this bookstore's sibling, 57th Street Books, a couple of blocks east.
humble place, in a humble neighborhood.
GREAT independent bookstore, I happened to be in this neighborhood yesterday and after reading the reviews, I decided to stop in and check it out myself and the reviews are spot-on. Really easy going, relaxed atmosphere, great vibe, well-lit, a true bibliophile's paradise, clean, knowledgable and well-read staff, and not a whiff of cookie-cutter corporatism decor anywhere.
I know if I lived in this area, this would be where I'd be buying my books all the time.
Worth it!
This is basically the best best best bookstore ever, and I've been to a lot of them. I went to the University of Chicago and majored in a science, so I never technically had to go here to get any textbooks-- but I still found myself down in the catacomb-like aisles of books all the time. They have an amazing Neuroscience section!
If you love books, you MUST visit.
My little brother kindly referred to it as "swanky," however I don't think that's what it's going for, nor is it what it is. The Sem Co-Op is definitely one of the better bookstores I've been to. It's Judaica selection is pretty outstanding, and they usually have whatever I'm looking for. My only beef? The prices. I mean, they're book-list prices, but sometimes you hope and pray for something cheaper. Luckily, you can buy into the co-op for 30 bucks and get 10 percent off each purchase, which is nice. And you can even sell the stock back after a certain period of time. The other downer? This place is in a basement and thus it gets SUPER warm in the summer and it doesn't have handicap access. This is too bad.
In a crunch, the Co-Op is my go-to over Amazon.
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4.5 stars
An amazing bookstore in a beautiful building and filled with an amazing collection of books.
It was love at first sight, when I walked into this place! It's everything you could ever want in a bookstore and then some! I just wandered around the place in awe, finally resting in the psychology corner. Defiantly become a member, you can't beat the prices (especially if you're a student). Try to go in knowing what you're looking for, the place in dense and gets crowed easily...although you can always grab a book and just wait it out.
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New social science and humanities publications on display all over the store, and the largest philosophy section I have ever seen in a bookstore. Wow. Bookstore philosophy sections are often a bit of a joke for anyone actually studying it, but this one is quite serious. They had a lot of what I was looking for, and a few things I didn't expect or hadn't heard of.
You have to know what you're looking for, though. This is a very narrow, dense, easily crowded store in a basement, with a labyrinth of bookshelves. Not for relaxed browsing, and certainly not for 'hanging out' like the bright, large chains it competes with.
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You can find most things here, and if you can't, the friendly people working will quickly get it back in stock. It's a great place to go to keep informed of new releases in academia - a boring feature for some, but as a proud shareholder, I strongly approve.
Unless you become a member/owner (which I strongly recommend, as it involves a significant discount along with feelings of awesome) you will pay full price on most books - but even as a poor student living loan check to loan check, I would rather give my money to an independent well-run bookstore over some silly chain filled with less exciting books. (And you better believe the books here are exciting. Oh man.)
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Great bookstore! They have a lot of works from UChicago professors, and you can find books here you can't find at Borders or Barnes and Noble--obviously.
Great store.
On prices - with a membership, (which you can sell back at a later date) the prices are really reasonable and are at or below Amazon's prices. Plus, you almost want to support these guys for being so bookishly awesome.
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Seminary is much the same set-up as 57th street books but about twice the size. I actually really did get lost here when I was trying to find the economics room. It does give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside seeing all these books. For the most part the books are selected for the students academics, thus why I rated 57th street higher despite their large amounts of similarities.
Like everyone says... this is a labyrinth of books. If you just want to find one new good book to start reading, don't come here. There's too many that will catch your eye, and i don't even read books. I hate reading, because I can't stick to the pages of ANYTHING. However, there's so many interesting books here, I could spend forever if I had the time reading short stories, excerpts and complete passages from just the books withing reach of any point at which I may be standing!
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Mmm...yummy bookstore. Enjoy holing yourself up in one of this cavern's cozy little nooks. So much joy and wisdom packed into the shelves! I highly recommend the psychology corner. Perfect Saturday night destination...even if you're not a total geek.
Its really heartening to see the Co-op top the list of Chicago shopping venues on Yelp! A favorite of mine since my Hyde Park days. I see the most often used descriptor of this bookstore is "labyrinth" - which fits it perfectly. I always allow 2 to 3 hours when I venture here and I never know what I will walk out with but I always walk out with a tome. While the Hyde Park Co-op has closed down, its great that in the age of Amazon and Barnes & Noble this co-op is flourishing.
This place is awesome. It's a basement labyrinth filled, floor to ceiling, packed to the gills, with books. Books of every possible type and topic. Fiction, economics, critical race theory, flower arranging. You name it. And the maze feels like it goes for miles... each corner you turn, there are more shelves and tables of books. If you enjoy reading, about anything, this is a great place to come and spend a few hours. Plus it's in the heart of the most beautiful part of the UofC campus, so you can really make a night of it. This place is truly a Chicago treasure.
A great bookstore for social scientists. Particularly you anthropologists who want to live your Indiana Jones dream. You'll love creeping along the bizarre, twisty aisles until you uncover a treasure.
Be sure to watch your head, watch your step, and leave a trail of breadcrumbs so don't get lost.
And bring money. Lots of money.
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Whenever people visit me in Chicago, one of the places I make sure to take them on the unofficial campus tour is the Seminary Co-op. The labyrinthine, seemingly halls of floor-to-ceiling books never fail to impress anyone.
This is really more of a browsing bookstore than a buying bookstore for me; even with the membership, their prices are too rich for my blood. But for browsing, the Sem Co-op is fantastic. The books they put out on the "new and interesting" shelves are always, ALWAYS interesting. Every time I come here I see at least a dozen books I want to buy, within five minutes of entering the store. They're good at what they do.
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When I told colleagues at the University of Victoria that I had previously lived in Chicago, a few of them immediately brought up the Seminary Co-op: not the Cubs, the Sox, the, umm, hockey team, or, even Hot Doug's. This place is legendary for intellectualistas all over North America and for very good reasons. The other reviewers have already highlighted the wide selection in fiction and non-fiction. The literary criticism section is phenomenal as is the philosophy section. Browsers are generally nice folks and it's worth lingering around the table and chatting with them. You may occasionally bump into an author. Check their calendar frequently for readings and signings.
I counted seven fresh copies of Adorno's "Aesthetic Theory" last time I was there and it warmed my heart.
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I own too many books, and will probably double my collection in a few years. What can I say I love to read....boy I am such a nerd but my optometrist loves me.
If you like books this is the place to be, especially for hard to find books (Barnes and Noble rarely carries Zizek) and academic books (history, sociology, philosophy, art).
I have spent hours down there drooling at the book selection. There are other great book stores, but I love this one probably because U of Chicago is home to Johnson, Park, and others.
If you want to find books that challenge you, you can find them here. I highly recommend joining the co-op which is now $30 (I think).
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when the apocalyse happens, i'm using this bookstore as a bomb shelter. and, if i survive the avalanche of books crashing down from the towering shelves upon my head, i will have the widest range of knowledge available, outside the internet or the den of God.
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In a world full of Borders and Barnes and Noble Inc., it's a shame that there aren't too many independent bookstores like this anymore. This place is where I went to as a kid to pick up everything from fiction and comic books to reference books for school.
From obscure texts to the common classics, this bookstore holds everything. They supply the U of C, so they have to be good. If they don't hold something, which is rarely the case, they WILL order it for you.
Bottomline, Borders can keep tending to the masses, this place is flat out great!
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Portland's pride, Powell's, and SF's City Lights have got nothin' on the Seminary. They carry everything worth reading, and if they don't have it they can get it (in any language). The staff is smart, real bibliophiles and the tight, dark basement space is best part-- you'll wind up talking to other shoppers and discovering new things.
One tip: set a time and spending limit when you go. Trust me. I once spent 5 hours in there.
I will be a member forever, no matter where I live.
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The Holy Trinity* of bookstores in my personal life is as follows:
1. Strand in NYC
2. City Lights in San Francisco
3. Seminary Co-op
So, what makes these bookstores so special:
Strand: 8 1/2 miles of books...many at a discount, particularly great for art and photography
City Lights: one of these full moon nights, I will dance naked in their poetry room
Seminary Co-op: who can compete with their rows of literary criticism?
I was first introduced to the Seminary Co-op while visiting a friend at the University of Chicago. The rows upon rows of books blew my young mind away.
Then, there were many empty years when I had to find my literary criticism elsewhere...but in the back of my mind, I was always aware that the Seminary Co-op existed. And although I visited Chicago a few more times since, none of the trips were long enough to allow me to get to the U. of Chicago campus.
Finally, I had the chance to revisit Chicago for a long weekend this past year. And it lived completely to expectations. What did I buy:
Jacques Barzun: Classic, Romantic and Modern
Helen Vendler: Poets Thinking
Paul Fussell: Poetic Meter and Poetic Form
plus, BFI Screen Guide's 100 Anime
These were very hard choices...many's the book I held in my hand during that ecstatic afternoon and put down reluctantly, including the recent translation of Yves Bonnefoy's poems.
However, I will not let another decade pass before I visit the Seminary Co-op again.
*There is the possibility that Powell's could knock out one of the Holy Trinity since I haven't visited Powell's yet. I've only heard descriptions of it from many friends...I can't wait to browse there although I might OD.
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I've been in so many times this week that today I felt I had to assure the guy who works there that I'm not stalking him.
I had resolved not to spend more than a hundred dollars on books on this trip to Chicago. Sigh. Failure. Part of that is Harry Potter's fault. Most of it is the Seminary Co-op bookstore's fault. They just have too many fascinating and useful books.
This is hands-down the best bookstore I've ever seen. I was introduced to it in 1980, as a grad student at the U. of Chicago, and I've maintained my membership ever since (no big deal, really, just bought some additional shares when they went through a rough patch and requested it.) They say that if it is in print, they will get it for you, and they are not kidding.
Besides the general terrific-ness of this bookstore, it has the added cachet of being down what appears to be a gothic staircase, in warrens below the streets of Hyde Park. The utter coolness of this arrangement is breathtaking. It is as if div students had been tunneling for years, trying to get out of grad school.... hmmm.... maybe that's it.
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Although I don't usually buy my textbooks at the Co-op (I'm poor ... I generally get my class books used online), it's still one of my favorite places to get lost. A vortex of bookshelves, hidden nooks and dead-end aisles, the Co-op is a treasure trove of philosophy, theology, criticism, lit and Dover thrifts!
This bookstore is so wonderful, it inspired me to buy Herodotus... for the second time. There's a surprise around every corner, and since there are about 400 of them, it makes for a great trip.
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This store has the most comprehensive selection of essential books I have ever seen. Doesn't matter if it's fiction, academic (all disciplines), poetry, photography compilation, etc. If a book has been deemed in any way 'influential' or 'important' by the critical community, chances are this place has it (or they will order it for you). Prices can get a little steep, especially on imported stuff. However, for $20 you can join the Co-op and get 10% off all purchases, which lessens the blow a little bit. Oh, and the shelves are set up like a maze, so sometimes it's fun just to let yourself get lost browsing around.
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Had to add my 5-star vote ... just watch out for the two times a year that this place is packed ...
i found several different publications of saussure's course in general linguistics in two languages.
...i'm in love
a little embarrassing: i framed my stock certificate. yes, this place is that good.
This labyrinthine book-paradise was probably the single most important factor drawing me to the University, and I don't think I'm alone. For an academic, this place is everything that a bookstore should be-friendly, quirky, and ridiculously broad in selection. Be warned, though-the Co-Op is primarily an academic bookstore, with no kid-friendly material or cheap pulpy paperback fiction. The 57th Street Co-Op, just a few blocks away, has a slightly better selection of more casual reading materials, many kid-oriented events, and, notably (to me), a good sized section devoted to cooking, food, and wine related volumes.
The recommendations out on various racks and tables are generally great, though with a marked bias towards Chicago-affiliated authors. However, avoid the rack closest to the registers, the one on the left when you're standing in line. For some reason the books there are invariably some of the worst and most banal in the store. Impulse buys, I assume, and it shows. To me, those books are like Tootsie-Rolls trying to measure up to Vosges chocolate.
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Clearly the best bookstore on the south side, if not in the city. And it's really a co-op! Buy a few shares ($30), and get a 10% discount for life. They have an overwhelming selection in stock -- especially books for smarty pants -- and they'll order anything under the sun. Additionally it's a cool experience. It's like a labyrinth in a cave. The antithesis of Borders/B&N.
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if you are a humanities or social sciences nerd (other kinds too, i suppose), then this place will call to you in your dreams. there aren't many good reasons to live in hyde park, but easy access to this store is definitely one of them...
as pretty much everyone else has noted, they have everything and if for some reason they don't, and it is possible to get it, they will. until you get to know the place relatively well, it is necessary to use the map to figure out where the heck you need to go to find the category of books you want. but, there aren't too many other places (aside from the stacks of major university libraries) where you can lose all sense of time and space getting lost in a maze of books. if that sounds enjoyable to you, the seminary co-op bookstore is your home.
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The fact that I live less than a block away from the Seminary Co-Op has made me at least one tax bracket poorer. I've heard that they have the best selection of academic books in the United States, and I don't doubt it for one second. Also, it's worth noting that the staff is really fun and helpful.
As a nerd, this is the most satisfying bookstore I have ever been in. It's in the basement of, well, a seminary, which is absolutely beautiful. The books are just positioned in this windy windy way and I actually literally got lost in there once! I also saw the prime minister (or president? i don't know..) of the Dominican Republic in there once too. If you're going to be shopping there a lot, become a member. It'll pay for itself. sometimes difficult to find things, but they are pretty helpful.
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