In some ways, we could have predicted success in the Tucson Weekly’s 2015 Best of Tucson awards. Our stores reflect the communities in which we operate. Tucson is awesome, your bring your awesome stuff to trade and you elevate our cred by hanging out with us. Ergo we’re the best because you’re the best. Even so, having your expressed support and approval gives us the Sally Field experience. You like us, right now! You like us! And we LOVE you. As the cherry on top, the writers at Tucson Weekly squeeze our already squishy hearts with their explanations about how we earned the awards.

Tucson-Weekly-Best-of-2015

Best Independent Bookstore
Tucson Weekly mentions the equal treatment books have on our orange shelves. That observation is 100% on target. You like what you like and we want to help you find it. There’s no regional buyer or one single gatekeeper who polices our shelves. Our titles are all about you.

Best Bookstore for Used Books
Eighty percent of voters in the Tucson Weekly’s 2015 Best of Tucson chose Bookmans as Tucson’s best used bookstore. That’s a huge vote of confidence. While we adapted to changing times, books retain the largest footprint in our stores and literacy remains one of our core values. We want you to love reading as much as we do. Love of reading is not about the latest New York Times bestseller. Out of print, rare and lesser-known but still amazing books have a place in every reader’s life and coffee table, art and how to books don’t have to be out of financial reach when you buy used.

Best Video Game Store
Some of our best ideas come from the keen minds of our employees. Expanding our entertainment offerings to video games is one such idea and it has paid off. We have as much fun as you do discovering new-to-us games and hosting gaming tournaments.

Best Games Store
Board games are ideal for keeping family and friends interacting while holding off boredom. From those who chase nostalgia to those who ignite their inner geek with obscure games, everyone can find a board game that sparks their interest. That’s pretty much everyone who comes to Bookmans.

We are also grateful to have been nominated in several other categories. We come in second for Best Comic Store behind Heroes and Villains, an excellent local source for comics. When you finish the comics you buy there, bring them to trade with us. We are second runner up for Best Video Store behind Casa Video. We have to admit that we like their popcorn too. We are third runner up for Best Bookstore for New Books. We are stoked for the solar-powered Antigone’s, who came in first in this category and who have national recognition for remaining true to their core values.

A hearty congratulations to all the winners and all the runners up in the 2015 Best of Tucson awards. Big thanks to Tucson Weekly for the time they put into these awards and for their thoughtful write-ups of the winners. Most of all, thank you Tucson for being a wonderful place to be in business. Thank you for supporting literacy, for having a tent large enough for all nerds to geek out in and for celebrating the best about our community.