From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Best Used-Book Store

September 21 2005

Archives Book Café
1948 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954/764-8212, www.archivesbookcafe.com

Archives is a charming and overstuffed haven for bibliophiles that carries books of recent vintage as well as some that topped the bestseller lists decades ago. Prices work on a sliding scale, with 2005 books offered for two-thirds of the cover price, 2004 books for half the cover price, and so on. Book lovers can find gold -- from political tomes such as Bill Clinton's My Life and Molly Ivins' Shrub to thrillers by Robert Ludlum and John le Carré -- among the sturdy hardcovers and well-thumbed paperbacks jammed into wooden shelves, crates and boxes. A recent dollar-book bin contained titles by the likes of Sue Grafton, Norman Mailer and Michael Crichton, plus classics by Chaim Potok, Ernest Hemingway and Franz Kafka. Kick back in one of several couches or chairs, or sit outside at one of several wrought-iron tables, to peruse a chapter or two of a recent novel by Anne Rice or Donna Tartt. Archives also provides the perfect after-dinner date spot, offering a menu of dessert and coffee in a charming setting that reeks of character.