Carpenter's Cafe Bookstore

One of my recent favorite discoveries, and possibly the best bookstore I’ve ever visited. We stopped at this intriguing establishment and explored its rich history, finding numerous fantastic titles for everyone. If you’re a book lover, be ready to walk around for a while, and I strongly recommend leaving with at least a small stack of books. The prices are excellent, with many titles offered slightly below the publisher's suggested retail price, plus there are occasional $3 baskets and even a $1 table. The staff is exceptional—very knowledgeable and incredibly helpful. I made a few tentative inquiries, and they had answers for all of them. With over 100,000 titles across five buildings, it’s hard to explore without being overwhelmed by all the genres available!

What a charming bookshop! The staff were friendly and helpful, and there was a great selection of books. I managed to buy two books for less than what I'd find on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Gene’s Books II across the street for even more options. Highly recommended!

This was my second visit to Gene's Books on Sanibel Island, and it definitely won't be my last. Gene's is a fantastic place to get lost among the shelves, and the staff is wonderful. They now have two locations, and we enjoyed visiting both. The staff was welcoming and incredibly helpful. My mom mentioned that I could have spent hours just chatting about books, and she was absolutely right. I can't wait to go back!

I've been coming to Ft. Myers for decades and this is just the best bookshop. What particularly vanishes me with the addition of the new location is the great selection of American history. This place is a history lover paradise!

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.