We love to visit bookstores when we travel, and so Grace is sharing about her visit to McKay Used Books in Manassas, Virginia.
I, Grace, took a trip to visit a friend in Virginia, and before I went, I requested that she take me to her favorite bookstore once I was there.
We decided to go there after dinner one evening because they stay open later than other places. After a short drive, we arrived at McKay Used Books. It was in a little shopping area and looked pretty inconspicuous on the outside.
However, once I walked towards it, I realized that it was a big bookstore. It was lovely. There was the smell of used books and wood shelves. I was reminded of a local bookstore in Oklahoma.
Trade Ins
First off, they have a trade-in and back by area.
I brought a book in for trade-in because I had read it on the trip and did not like it so found no point in hauling it back home. They did not give me a lot for it, but in comparison to the prices, it felt pretty good.
History and Military
I was thrilled to see that the books in the history section were so cheap.
The majority were under five dollars.
However, I did splurge and buy a unique book on airplanes that cost more due to it being an impossible buy anywhere else.
I feel like these treasures were hidden on other shelves, and I found several of them, but I had to consider my suitcase and flying back with books.
Among the layers of books, I found a book from my sister’s wishlist and bought it for her because it was so much cheaper than elsewhere.
My sister would have just loved the store as they had multiple shelves on modern war. I was fascinated by their Vietnam history books as I am currently getting into reading that era.
They had other history and nonfiction, but I was most impressed by the unique books they had on wars that have less written about them.
After my excitement from seeing their history section, I looked at their theology and phycology and was not as impressed. However, like any other bookstore, it probably depends on when you go in.
They had a ton of other books, and unlike some bookstores, which seems to have books randomly placed, Mckay Used Books had their store well organized. It was so easy to find books.
They had these cool charts and labels that allowed people to find what they were looking for.
My friend went to the crafts section, which was huge. She did not find any books with patterns she liked, but she spent the whole time in that section while I browsed the nonfiction.
I wish I lived closer, so I could have bought more books or returned to continue browsing the shelves.
At the same time that would be dangerous because if I lived close, I would probably spend too much money at Mckay’s. However, next time I am back in the area, I will be making at stop at McKay’s Used Books.
More Favorite Bookstores
Be sure to check out all the other bookstores we have visited.