Easily my favorite bookstore in the entire world! Within a year, we visited 3 times … and we live in NC!! I find books there that I’ve never seen before! Gene’s introduced me to genres I never would have touched before! And the prices were shockingly low! The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and don’t look at you like you’re ridiculous. They are book people who welcome all other book people and just get them! I felt included and comfortable each time I went! And the cottage system is unique and fun and you need to allocate enough time to explore every inch! I adore Gene’s Books with every fiber of my nerdy, book-loving self!!!
As for the “political representation” many are complaining about, if you can’t handle ideas that are different than your own, or that challenge your viewpoint, then perhaps a bookstore isn’t the place for you anyway. There is plenty of stock from all sides of the political aisle and diverse staff.
One of my favorite finds recently, and probably the best bookstore I've ever been to. We stopped at the mystery building and the history building, finding several great titles at each. If you're a book lover, prepare to wander quite awhile, and I challenge you to not leave with at least a small stack. Prices are great, with many titles being quite a bit below publisher's suggested retail price, and periodic $3 baskets and even a $1 table out front. Staff is awesome, very knowledgeable, and super helpful. I tried to come up with some obscure requests, and they had an answer to each. But with over 100k titles in 5 buildings, it would be hard to stump them with a genre!
Amazing Amazing Amazing! What a fantastic store to browse your afternoon away. Beautifully organized. The store is a treasure trove for book lovers looking for mystery and fiction. Books on these topic from every corner of the world. The staff is SUPER friendly, SUPER efficient and knowledgeable. I and my family were incredibly impressed.
My second time visiting Genes books on Sanibel Island and won’t be my last. Genes is not only a fun location to get lost in the book stacks but great staff. Genes has two locations now and we visited both. We were happily greeted and received helpful assistance by the staff. My mom said I could have stayed for hours just to talk books and she is not wrong. Can’t wait to return!
Wow, I visit bookstores on every trip I take. I’ve thrown away shoes to add more books to my carry on before. This is by far my new favorite! What an adventure to walk up to this small cottage and realize they’ve got a whole B&N inside, with better organization and 1/2 the price! I wandered throughout both locations for 2 hours and picked up 13 new books. I’ll come back to Sanibel just for this store.
My biggest wish is that I lived closer. My wife and I went on vacation to Marco Island and on our way home we took an hour trip out of our way just to go to Gene’s because of how much we love it there. Few places bring me more joy than Gene’s. From there multiple locations, to their 5 buildings filled with books, to their vast collection and great deals. I highly recommend this bookstore. Best bookstore in SW Florida.
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I used to come here once a week, back when when it was MacIntosh Books and I was a small kid growing up on the island in the 80's and 90's. It was my second favorite place to ride my bike to (after the library, of course).
I hadn't been back in a long time, so my wife and I stopped in yesterday while on the island for a date night. Can I just say... in some ways it was the same bookstore I've held dearly in my heart for decades, and in other ways... WOW THIS PLACE HAS CHANGED.
This place is HUGE now!! Huge, but still quaint and cozy. They still have the cottages on the one side, but now have a second building across the road as well. And there are SO MANY BOOKS. Easily a million books. And they are priced SUPER reasonably, which I wasn't expecting on the island. And the wood shelving! And the lighting! GORGEOUS!! Absolutely beautiful!!!
It's commonplace for childhood memories to fade, and for businesses to evolve and change and die over the years... So I wasn't expecting much when we went in. Boy was I surprised.
I have to give Gene a heartfelt thank you for not only preserving one of the happiest parts of my childhood, but actually improving on it.
So... thanks, Gene. Thanks from an island kid who spent his youth lost in books, and thanks from a 40 year old father of 5 who is now passing on that same love of the written word.
What a cute bookstore! The associates were friendly and helpful and there was a vast selection of books. I bought two books cheaper than I could get on Amazon. Don’t forget to go to Gene’s Books II across the street for even more books. Highly recommend!
Visited here on our vaca to Sanibel and loved it!! We are avid readers and found some great books, great prices, great staff, and great a/c 😝💯 Definitely check it out!
Great little book store, Im always amazed at what I can find. It's alittle adventure just walking through and looking around. Great friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable people.
WoW! This place is amazing. I don’t even read much but walking into this bookstore gets me excited.
I've lived in SW Florida for 40+ years... our family is on a staycation & we decided to check out Gene's Books on Sanibel. Holy Moley GUACAMOLEY! This place is awesome! It's like a hidden gem! The buildings and displays are great and the staff is friendly & helpful. I believe every book we saw was discounted. We will DEFINITELY return!!!!
This is without a doubt the best family owned bookstore (not corporate like Barnes and Noble) I mean I wish I lived closer so I could go here more often. Amazing prices on books as well I got 3 books for around $30 when each of them have retail prices at $30 EACH.
Booklovers paradise! It looks like an explosion of books. Literally books everywhereeee. Organized chaos. Neverending piles of books. Awesome prices. You could totally spend hours upon hours in here.
I've been coming down to Ft. Myers for decades and this is easily the best bookstore around. What particularly blows me away with the addition of the new location is the vast selection of American history. This place is a history lover's paradise!
I am just WOWED at the experience here! There are numerous buildings filled with every book and genre you can think of with very popular and obscure authors. Honestly, Genes Books has more of a selection than any Barnes and Noble or Books A Million no joke. They have discounted brand new books mixed in with everything so it's a fun hunt. I came from Palm Beach County and when I saw the sign I had to go in. Had we not been in a tight vacation schedule I would've spent hours in there. I will be back whenever we come back with extra time on my hands. If you're taking a trip to Ft Meyers or Sanibel, any book lover at any age must come in!
A maze of a huge selection of books. One location is fiction, mystery and local authors, another location with non- fiction, children's and young adult genres. Friendly helpful staff.
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