Your local bookstore in Downtown Crystal Lake!

Brink Street Market
Located on the parking lot side of the shopping center.

Upcoming Events

Summer Reading Fun!

May 27 @ 10:00 am - August 26 @ 5:00 pm

@abalabixbooks21
Abalabix Books

@abalabixbooks21

Abalabix Books is NOW OPEN! Come in to find your next great reading adventure and meet George! 🐶
  • We had a wonderful  Tuesday afternoon at Huntley Area Public Library listening to author Renee Rosen discuss her book “Let’s Call Her Barbie”. Have you read it yet?  We have signed copies of her books at Abalabix for sale while supplies last. #Barbie #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous #library
  • We're sorry, but there will be no Tuesdays with George storytime today. Join us next week at 11:30am for storytime and dog training!
  • MORE NEW STUFFIES!!!
And George, of course.

#abalabixbooks
#georgeisfamous #georgeisthecutest
#welovestuffies
@punchkins
  • Happy Publication Day to “The Day The Crayons Made Friends” by Drew Daywalt! Come in and grab your copy today and help us color in this cute poster. We have temporary tattoos as well while supplies last! #georgeiscute #georgeisfamous #shopsmall #downtowncrystallakeil
  • It's taken a minute, but I've finally uploaded to our YouTube channel this great video of @zachvonzonk reading his hilarious hit children's book, "E-I-UFO" at Abalabix Books on Independent Bookstore Day! Enjoy!!!

Link is in our bio!

#abalabixbooks
#eiufo
#georgeisthecutest 
#georgeisfamous
  • Have a birthday party coming up and thinking about goody bags? Think about a book instead! Customer Rachel gave out copies of a Minecraft book for her son’s birthday party and it was such a cute idea! The possibilities are endless! #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous
  • We only have THREE spots left for our Tarot and Crystals Night tomorrow! Sign up using the link on our bio!
  • Happy Pub Day to Iron Flame in paperback! We have 7 copies in store and hidden inside two of them is an official Iron Flame bookmark! Find a bookmark and get 10% off while supplies last. #ironflamerebeccayarros #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous
  • We're ready for the DTCL Garden Party and looking forward to seeing Pedalpalooza riders too!

Don't miss the fun! C'ya tomorrow!!!

#abalabixbooks 
#georgeisthecutest 
#georgeisfamous 
#gardenparty 
#pedalpalooza
We had a wonderful  Tuesday afternoon at Huntley Area Public Library listening to author Renee Rosen discuss her book “Let’s Call Her Barbie”. Have you read it yet?  We have signed copies of her books at Abalabix for sale while supplies last. #Barbie #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous #library
We had a wonderful  Tuesday afternoon at Huntley Area Public Library listening to author Renee Rosen discuss her book “Let’s Call Her Barbie”. Have you read it yet?  We have signed copies of her books at Abalabix for sale while supplies last. #Barbie #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous #library
We had a wonderful  Tuesday afternoon at Huntley Area Public Library listening to author Renee Rosen discuss her book “Let’s Call Her Barbie”. Have you read it yet?  We have signed copies of her books at Abalabix for sale while supplies last. #Barbie #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous #library
We had a wonderful Tuesday afternoon at Huntley Area Public Library listening to author Renee Rosen discuss her book “Let’s Call Her Barbie”. Have you read it yet? We have signed copies of her books at Abalabix for sale while supplies last. #Barbie #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous #library
1 day ago
View on Instagram |
1/9
We're sorry, but there will be no Tuesdays with George storytime today. Join us next week at 11:30am for storytime and dog training!
We're sorry, but there will be no Tuesdays with George storytime today. Join us next week at 11:30am for storytime and dog training!
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
2/9
MORE NEW STUFFIES!!! And George, of course. #abalabixbooks #georgeisfamous #georgeisthecutest #welovestuffies @punchkins
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
Happy Publication Day to “The Day The Crayons Made Friends” by Drew Daywalt! Come in and grab your copy today and help us color in this cute poster. We have temporary tattoos as well while supplies last! #georgeiscute #georgeisfamous #shopsmall #downtowncrystallakeil
Happy Publication Day to “The Day The Crayons Made Friends” by Drew Daywalt! Come in and grab your copy today and help us color in this cute poster. We have temporary tattoos as well while supplies last! #georgeiscute #georgeisfamous #shopsmall #downtowncrystallakeil
Happy Publication Day to “The Day The Crayons Made Friends” by Drew Daywalt! Come in and grab your copy today and help us color in this cute poster. We have temporary tattoos as well while supplies last! #georgeiscute #georgeisfamous #shopsmall #downtowncrystallakeil
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
It's taken a minute, but I've finally uploaded to our YouTube channel this great video of @zachvonzonk reading his hilarious hit children's book, "E-I-UFO" at Abalabix Books on Independent Bookstore Day! Enjoy!!!

Link is in our bio!

#abalabixbooks
#eiufo
#georgeisthecutest 
#georgeisfamous
It's taken a minute, but I've finally uploaded to our YouTube channel this great video of @zachvonzonk reading his hilarious hit children's book, "E-I-UFO" at Abalabix Books on Independent Bookstore Day! Enjoy!!! Link is in our bio! #abalabixbooks #eiufo #georgeisthecutest #georgeisfamous
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
Have a birthday party coming up and thinking about goody bags? Think about a book instead! Customer Rachel gave out copies of a Minecraft book for her son’s birthday party and it was such a cute idea! The possibilities are endless! #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous
Have a birthday party coming up and thinking about goody bags? Think about a book instead! Customer Rachel gave out copies of a Minecraft book for her son’s birthday party and it was such a cute idea! The possibilities are endless! #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
We only have THREE spots left for our Tarot and Crystals Night tomorrow! Sign up using the link on our bio!
We only have THREE spots left for our Tarot and Crystals Night tomorrow! Sign up using the link on our bio!
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
Happy Pub Day to Iron Flame in paperback! We have 7 copies in store and hidden inside two of them is an official Iron Flame bookmark! Find a bookmark and get 10% off while supplies last. #ironflamerebeccayarros #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous
Happy Pub Day to Iron Flame in paperback! We have 7 copies in store and hidden inside two of them is an official Iron Flame bookmark! Find a bookmark and get 10% off while supplies last. #ironflamerebeccayarros #georgeisacutie #georgeisfamous
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
We're ready for the DTCL Garden Party and looking forward to seeing Pedalpalooza riders too!

Don't miss the fun! C'ya tomorrow!!!

#abalabixbooks 
#georgeisthecutest 
#georgeisfamous 
#gardenparty 
#pedalpalooza
We're ready for the DTCL Garden Party and looking forward to seeing Pedalpalooza riders too!

Don't miss the fun! C'ya tomorrow!!!

#abalabixbooks 
#georgeisthecutest 
#georgeisfamous 
#gardenparty 
#pedalpalooza
We're ready for the DTCL Garden Party and looking forward to seeing Pedalpalooza riders too!

Don't miss the fun! C'ya tomorrow!!!

#abalabixbooks 
#georgeisthecutest 
#georgeisfamous 
#gardenparty 
#pedalpalooza
We're ready for the DTCL Garden Party and looking forward to seeing Pedalpalooza riders too! Don't miss the fun! C'ya tomorrow!!! #abalabixbooks #georgeisthecutest #georgeisfamous #gardenparty #pedalpalooza
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
9/9

We can’t thank you enough!

Our Grand Opening was a huge success and we can’t thank our Crystal Lake community enough! Your kind words of gratitude and encouragement for our little bookstore were, and continue to be, amazing and uplifting. As they say, we hope this is the start of a beautiful relationship.

In order to serve you in as many ways as we can, please know that we offer curbside delivery. Whether you placed an order in the store or on the phone with us, we can take payment over the phone and then bring your books out to your car.

And if for some reason you can’t make it into the store, like, idk, you live in Florida or something, you can continue to support us by shopping through our page on bookshop.org.

We truly appreciate and value your business and hope that we can be of service for many, many years to come!

Happy reading!
Diane (and George)

It’s a Local Thing. It’s a Community Thing.

You probably never think about it but when you support a local business you are not just supporting that business, you are also supporting all of the small, local, independent businesses that they support. Small businesses make up over 99% of the businesses in this country and when you support a small business, on average 67 cents of every dollar stays in your community.

Abalabix Books is proud to support the following merchants:

  • Baldwin Web Design
  • DowntownCL.org
  • Ed’s Rental
  • Fastsigns (independently owned and operated)
  • George Roach & Associates, CPAs
  • Mason Wasz Foundation
  • McGrath Printing
  • Howell’s Flooring and More
  • Men in Paint
  • Today’s Uniforms
  • Waggoner Law Firm

We look forward to seeing this list grow and grow as we become an integral part of the Crystal Lake business community.

Abalaba who?

So, no, you’re not crazy. “Abalabix” is not a real word. But it is a word that resonates with my family and makes us smile every time we think about it or say it.

When trying to decide what to name my bookstore, I, of course, began by Googling every literary or reading type name that I could think of. One that I almost used, were it not for the copyright of the great Mr. Ray Bradbury, was “Stuff Your Eyes” in reference to a passage in Fahrenheit 451, “Stuff your eyes with wonder. Live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world.”

…Read More

Get In Touch!