Myopic Books

To re-examine some claims made by previous reviewers, we found most of these to be true, but some of them to be unsubstantiated:

"Overpriced books" - Store carries mostly mass-market books. Objection seems to be that many of these books could be bought for $0.01 online, and including shipping still be much less expensive than in the store. This is true. However, those customers are not, in fact, buying the book online: consider the overhead cost of operating a storefront.The comparison between two different spheres of commerce is unfair, and the business could not survive if prices were made much lower. It would be fair to say that there is no advantage in going to the store if price is the customer's only criterion.

Mandatory bag check - Most bookstores do not have a required bag check. But neither is it uncommon. In this case it seems justifiable given the sketchy location of the store. One person raises the valid counter-argument that store employees should not necessarily be entrusted with bags containing valuables. Whether or not such a concern is justified, people with such a strong preoccupation with the safety of their property would have to avoid the store because the check is not optional.

No public restroom - Many businesses do not have public restrooms, and once again this seems justifiable given the location.

"Employees too surly to work in fast food" - This comment is accurate. We witnessed unacceptable behavior by an employee of the store and insisted adamantly on speaking to the management about it, but were given a snotty, dismissive response. From this we can infer that behavior which would get an employee fired from food service jobs is tolerated in this store. There is a consistent history of customer complaints on this subject of staff rudeness, ineptitude, or bad attitude. Since the owner lives out-of-state and cannot directly oversee the workers, they think they can be openly hostile and abusive towards the customers, and get away with it.

"Store smells like urine" - There was a foul odor in the store, which seemed more concentrated near the rear section of the ground level. It smelled more like vomit than like urine. It may have been human vomit. Or it has been suggested in previous reviews that the cats that roam through the store may be urinating and/or vomiting under the bookshelves.

"Store is dirty, or ramshackle" - It was dusty, but not exactly "dirty". There was one area in the upper level which was dirty and covered with broken pieces of wood, which looked like debris from an antique building,
abandoned there for no apparent reason. The books themselves are not dirty. Some of the construction is dubious but did not see anything obviously structurally unsound or dangerous. It seemed that the store is not often cleaned.

Idiosyncratic policies - To use one of several possible examples, there were small signs posted there which
state "price of unshelved books will be raised by one dollar". Seems like an idle threat, because it is not in
the store's best interest to increase prices. Gives the impression of laziness (in most bookstores it is the
normal task of employees to reshelve books). Gives the impression of pettiness (which is consistent with other observations about the staff's attitude).

Posted 07/07/09 | Report Abuse

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...Myopic Books is a decent option for used-book shopping in Chicago. Unlike many used bookstores in Chicago, Myopic is fairly spacious, with seating throughout the store. Myopic is relatively expensive for a used bookstore (books I've bought have averaged around $8-9), but it makes up for the expense with its impressive selection of used fiction. The selection of used cookbooks is also pretty wide, but that of other areas, like European history and mythology, is average or below average.

PROS: open late!
CONS: relatively expensive

Posted 11/11/05 | Report Abuse

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I've been here dozens of times and picked up tons of great used books. The store is a little hard to navigate at first and I don't suggest you go there with a specific book in mind, instead look for new books and take a chance on them. The books are cheap enough that you can pick up a few everytime you go. The store is multi leveled and they sell newspapers up front, but no magazines. The employees are very nice and it's very cozy inside the store. Parking on milwaukee is extremely difficult due to the sheer number of stores in the area.

PROS: cheap used books
CONS: hard to find specific titles

Posted 10/31/05 | Report Abuse

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I like this old bookstore. Pays cash for your unwanted books and their selection is not bad at all. I was able to complete my VC Andrews collection and get an updated version of a dictionary for less than half what I would have paid at a retail book store.

PROS: Cheap Books!
CONS: I wish it was closer to the other side of town. :)

Posted 06/06/05 | Report Abuse

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Myopic is a Wicker Park landmark, and everything you could want from a used bookstore. Piles of books of all types, art house atmosphere, and a free-roaming cat and dog.

PROS: Huge selection, good prices
CONS: A bit musty

Posted 05/24/05 | Report Abuse

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