Advancing spiritual healing in communities since 1888

Welcome to the Christian Science Reading Room in Boston! More than a bookstore, this is your community space to read, study, and pray. Let me introduce you to our knowledgeable, friendly staff below! For those history buffs, you'll be interested to see photos of how the store has changed.

Not local? To find a Reading Room near you, look on the lower right corner of this page for a directory.

If you want to keep up with what we're doing currently, you're welcome to subscribe to our e-newsletter.

From our very first location at Hotel Boylston in 1888 to our current location at 194 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, our storefront has moved and changed throughout the years (see how), but we've always been here for you.

We're here to help you!

Originally from: California
Current inspiration: I am really enjoying reading Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Healer. My current favorite part is all the letters Mary Baker Eddy wrote to her students about how to be more effective healers. Starting on page 219 you will find a real treasure trove of ideas about healing in Christian Science.

Originally from: Chicago, IL
Current inspiration: I am reading the biography Mary Baker Eddy by Gillian Gill and find it so helpful to delve deeper into Eddy's life. I like how Gill (who isn't a Christian Scientist) presents a number of angles on various issues; then she gives the reader her best sense of what she feels is true. The research is amazingly thorough, and her writing and storytelling is very compelling. This book has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of Eddy's struggles and triumphs.

Originally from: Massachusetts 
Current inspiration: I'm currently immersed in Classic Anthology II on CD. As much as I enjoyed reading these gems, I can truly say I've gained even further inspiration listening to them read with the understanding and love evidenced on these recordings. 

Originally from: Princeton, NJ
Current inspiration: I like the Anthology of Classic Articles II, on CD. I listened several times to the article, "Confidence" which clearly points out that it is confidence in God, not in our own abilities, or seeming lack of, that brings about healing, growth, and progress in our lives.

Originally from: North Carolina
Current inspiration: Ever since I bought the new Concord research program, I've used it almost everyday to log inspirational notes and definitions of words. I really like how I can write them directly in the program's electronic books like Science and Health, the Christian Science Hymnal, and the Bible, and then each time I use the program I have access to the saved notes.

Originally from: Upstate New York
Current inspiration: No matter what I'm facing, I'm reminded of a compassionate Bible verse like this one: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). The Reading Room is full of Bible study aids to help anyone dig deeper into these beautiful—and often familiar—passages.

Originally from: St. Louis, MO
Current inspiration: Lately, I have been drawn to re-reading Retrospection and Introspection by Mary Baker Eddy. I've found the chapters entitled "Marriage and Parentage'' and ''Emergence into Light'' particularly illuminating, uplifting and encouraging!