Gardner’s Used Books in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is our favorite used bookstore! Why is it our favorite? It is our favorite because not only does it have great books, it is a bookstore we visit often.
Bookstores have been hit hard over the last few years, and we want to help support them. We want bookstores to not just survive but to thrive. As we travel and visit bookstores, we love to share all about them with you.
Book lovers love bookstores, and we want to help you find some great ones to visit.
Gardner’s Used Bookstore is our local bookstore. We don’t live in Tulsa, but we do live in northeast Oklahoma, so Gardner’s Used Books is a store we visit often.
My kids and I have been visiting it for years. As little kids, they loved to spend time in the kid’s room picking out books to bring home.
Now as college students and adults, they still love to browse Gardner’s Used Books with me. Their tastes have changed, but we still always leave with a pile of books to add to our bookshelves.
The Nonfiction Section
Our favorite section at Gardner’s Used Books is the nonfiction section. This is the case at most bookstores. We love nonfiction, so we always spend most of our time looking in that section.
They have everything from memoirs to how-to’s, but our favorite part of the nonfiction section is the history.
Gardner’s has a great selection of WWII, American History, Presidential books, and more.
We could literally spend hours going up and down the aisles of the history section.
They have hardbacks and paperbacks, and they are both well priced. No matter what time period you enjoy reading about, you can probably find a book about it at Gardner’s.
Many of the books are ones that we have never heard of. This is exactly why we love visiting used bookstores. You never know what you will find.
The Fiction Section
Gardner’s has all kinds of other books as well. Their fiction section is huge. They have classic fiction, mass-market paperbacks, romance, mystery, and more.
If you love fiction, you are sure to find a book–or maybe ten–to add to your shelves.
The Religion Section
We also enjoy browsing their religion section because you never know what you will find. We have found some hidden gems in the religion section.
The last time we went to Gardner’s, my daughter found an old book about the history of hymns. It was an interesting, old book that only cost a couple of dollars.
Comic Books
There is also a huge comic book section, which is why a lot of people go to Gardner’s. We aren’t big comic book people, so I totally forgot to get a picture of the comic book section.
The Cookbooks
Since I love food and have a food website, I can never resist the cookbook section. The last time I went, I found an old Martha Stewart cookbook that I didn’t have. It will be perfect for my year of Martha Stewart cooking challenge.
The Prices
Let’s talk about prices for a minute. Overall, Gardners has great prices! Most of the books are $3.95 or $4.95. Mass market paperbacks are even cheaper.
If a book has been there a while or if they have quite a few copies of it, the prices tend to be even cheaper. For example, I paid $2.95 for the copy of Unbroken that I picked up to give my dad since he hasn’t read it. That is a great price for a book that was in good shape.
We always leave with a stack of books for the price of what we would pay for just a couple of new books.
What we bought at Gardner’s Used Bookstore
When we visit bookstores I love to show you the stack of books that we end up buying. Yes, it is usually a stack of books that we leave with, especially if it is a used bookstore.
This is my stack from our last trip to Gardner’s Used Books. My daughters and I went for the first time in about nine months. All three of us left with quite a pile of books.
This time I ended up buying quite a few memoirs. I love memoirs and their selection was great this time.
I think I am looking forward to reading Apron’s and Silverspoons the most. It is a memoir of a 1930’s English kitchen maid. It looks like a fun read.
My oldest daughter picked up this stack. She loves nonfiction history, especially military history. Her stack is always interesting to see because it is often so different than mine.
Grace’s stack is always interesting as well. She reads such a wide range of books that you never know what she will end up buying.
She got a couple of Louis L’Amour books to give an 80+-year-old neighbor whom she is friends with. I love that she has an elderly friend who loves talking books with her. Books span generations, and it is fun to see both of them sharing their love of books with each other.
Visit Garnder’s Used Books
I know that Tulsa, and NE Oklahoma, is not a place that many people visit unless they have a reason to come here. But if you visit this part of the country, make sure to stop by Gardner’s Used Books. I think you will enjoy your visit.
And if you are from Oklahoma and have never been to Gardner’s Used Books, you need to fix that. Support your local bookstore and give them a visit.
Do you love bookstores as much as we do? You can find other bookstores that we have featured here.
