Writers ♥ NVB
Newtonville Books is like the bookstore of my dreams come to life: a place to find the book you want and the book you didn’t know you wanted, the writers you love and the new writers you’ll fall in love with, and Mary and Jaime serving up warmth and smarts and all things bookish. —Ann Hood (Browse books by Ann Hood here)
Newtonville Books is a shining example of why the world needs independent bookstores - it's not just a store, it's a nexus of ideas and self-expansion and engagement, and the reason it works so well is the abundant love and care that permeates every aspect of the place. I love Newtonville Books. —George Saunders (Browse books by George Saunders here)
Newtonville Books is one of my favorite bookstores. It is wonderfully curated, has a terrific events program and has an amazing, creative staff. —Dana Spiotta (Browse books by Dana Spiotta here)
Newtonville Books is a favorite with my entire family, from the four year old on up. A warm, welcoming space filled with thoughtfully placed bestsellers, recently published and old favorite books. —Marianne Leone (Browse books by Marianne Leone here)
I love Newtonville Books. If there is reincarnation, I hope to come back as a featured novel in Newtonville Books' fiction shelf! —Susan Cheever (Browse books by Susan Cheever here)
Newtonville Books is my favorite bookstore. You feel smarter and hipper just walking in the door, and walking out with the books you went in for, and others that looked essential too. —Amy Hempel (Browse books by Amy Hempel here)
How I love this store— the warmth, the great selection, the readings, the care, the lists, the joy! Every visit I’ve done to Newtonville Books has been wonderful. —Aimee Bender (Browse books by Aimee Bender here)
One of my faves, not just in the greater Boston area, but all over. —Gregory Maguire (Browse books by Gregory Maguire here)
That tingle upon entering Newtonville Books? It is the tingle of possibility! Receive a secret book from a knowing seller, discover an old love winking on the shelves, or choose some bright new fling to enjoy in solitude. Newtonville feels like entering a hidden speakeasy, where anything might happen. —Andrew Sean Greer (Browse books by Andrew Sean Greeg here)
Newtonville Books is a treasure and one of my favorite bookstores in the country. —Joseph Finder (Browse books by Joseph Finder here)
For me, Newtonville Books is a home away from home and the loveliest independent bookstore I have ever known or can imagine. It's a place to browse, sit, read and choose from its wonderfully curated choice of books. The staff is as helpful as can be, discreet or ready to chat and offer advice as the customer wishes. The owners, Jaime and Mary are an absolute delight, booklovers to the core. During the worst of Covid they sustained the reading lives of their anxious customers with roadside pick-up in a way that I'm sure the local community will always remember with gratitude. Is there anything more pleasant than to step into the quiet of Newtonville Books and begin to survey its long table full of new arrivals? Perhaps the rain comes down, or the snow begins to fall outside its broad window and there you are, immersed in the perfect setting to open a book. —Jonathan Wilson (Browse books by Jonathan Wilson here)
Newtonville Books has been a pillar of the Boston literary community for more than 2 decades because it’s everything a bookstore could aspire to be. —Dennis Lehane (Browse books by Dennis Lehane here)
Newtonville Books is not only a longtime favorite bookstore, but one of my very favorite places in the Boston area. It's such a beautiful, welcoming space and it's always filled with smartly curated selections that appeal to so many kinds of readers. Jaime and Mary are among the best in the business and it shows. This is a bookstore that truly loves books and the people who love them. It's my home away from home and just walking through its doors makes me feel better about the world. —Mona Awad (Browse books by Mona Awad here)
Newtonville Books is one of the great bookstores of the Northeast, a treasure trove for impassioned readers and lovers of good writing. —Rick Moody (Browse books by Rick Moody here)
Mary, Jaime, and their staff are passionate and knowledgeable, and their curation and recommendations are always spot on. Indies are absolutely vital to the cultural health of our society, and it’s a blessing and privilege to have Newtonville Books in our neighborhood. —Holly LeCraw (Browse books by Holly LeCraw here)
Walking into Newtonville Books, one has the feeling of abundance. Abundance of books, of thought and beauty and humor and reason, of a community that treasures discussion and words. It's an abundance that makes you want to stay and read on and on, and I'm forever grateful to Mary and Jaime and all of the booksellers and this haven they have created. —Karen E. Bender (Browse books by Karen E. Bender here)
I was a bookseller at Newtonville Books for years, and it continues to be my home away from home. I’ve made so many favorite people, found so many books and authors, enjoyed so many readings. Newtonville Books is both a sanctuary and a gathering place for me, and I’m so glad they’ll be around for a long time. —Annie Hartnett (Browse books by Annie Hartnett here)
Newtonville Books is one of my favorite bookstores on the planet. The owners, Mary & Jaime, along with their amazing staff, stock the shelves and tables with treasures old and new, and offer great recommendations. In the bargain, their store is beautiful, a welcoming haven, a space of discovery, inclusivity and joy. It makes me happy just to walk in the door. —Claire Messud (Browse books by Claire Messud here)
Newtonville Books is everything an independent bookshop should be: Personal and personable, warm and welcoming, rich with the aroma of pages as yet unread. It’s a place you go to steep in the pleasure of unbothered browsing or to be guided to a book you didn’t know was your next great read. It’s also the very antithesis of frictionless click-and-go online buying from You Know Who, and for that reason a destination to be savored and supported by those of us who like the friction of place and people. —Ty Burr (Ty Burr's Watch List | Substack)
Newtonville books is a joyous haven for readers and writers alike! —Madeline Miller (Browse books by Madeline Miller here)
I always break into a smile as I approach the confetti-colored glow of Newtonville’s front window. Yes, it’s the prospect of all those crisp, handsome stacks and richly stocked shelves, promising me new adventures . . . but it’s also the pleasure of mixing with Mary, Jaime, and their wonderful crew, who love readers and writers as much as they love books—and know how to bring us all together. That’s heaven. —Julia Glass (Browse books by Julia Glass here)
When I think of my ideal bookshop, I think of Newtonville Books - welcoming, mind-expanding, brilliantly stocked, terrific featured books, well-informed, helpful staff and that intangible vibe that makes my spirits lift as the store comes into view. Stepping into Newtonville Books, I feel like I’ve come home. —Margot Livesey (Browse books by Margot Livesey here )
When Newtonville Books was closed during the pandemic, my kids and I would walk past and longingly gaze in. Now that it has reopened, it is such a pleasure to once again step inside this warm, vibrant space. With impeccable bookseller recommendations, a front table loaded with the best of new books and stellar literary events that I look forward to attending again soon, Newtonville Books is a gem of a bookstore. —Tova Mirvis (Browse books by Tova Mirvis here)
Title Pages Signed by Authors We've Hosted Over the Years: