More Bay Area Bookstores
Green Apple Books, City Lights Booksellers, Book Passage, and 29 more Bay Area independent bookstores we love.
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ALIBI BOOKSHOP
Within Vallejo’s historic district, under an awning of angled wooden shingles, stands Alibi Bookshop. This literary beacon sponsors a variety of in-store book clubs (including one for young adults), coordinates to support local arts events, and operates at the center of an effort to revitalize the Vallejo business community. Alibi maintains a lively Facebook page with frequent updates. Vallejo
BANDUNG BOOKS
Supported by Nomadic Press and the EastSide Arts Alliance & Cultural Center in Oakland, Bandung Books is a volunteer-run space that offers a stunning collection of new and used books by and about people of color and houses archival materials of various resistance movements, with plenty of places to sit, read, and learn. Stop by any Thursday at 8 p.m. for Holla Back!, Bandung’s weekly poetry open mic night. Oakland
BOOK PASSAGE
For 47 years, readers, writers, and even former U.S. presidents have made Book Passage a North Bay literary destination. The spacious layout of the Corte Madera shop houses local, national, and international titles as well as gift items, a café, and a meeting area. With 800 annual author events and classes, like its Travel Writers & Photographers and Mystery Writers Conferences, Book Passage may just be “the Bay Area’s liveliest bookstore.” Check out its second outpost, located in San Francisco’s Ferry Building. Corte Madera
BOOKS INC.
In 1851, Bavarian immigrant Anton Roman used his gold rush riches to fund a bookselling-and-publishing venture. Despite losing one location to the 1906 earthquake, and no longer in the publishing game, Books Inc. remains the West’s oldest independent bookseller. In addition to its popular Palo Alto location, Books Inc. has nine other Bay Area stores and offers community services like Alameda Queer Teen Book Club and Bilingual Storytime at its Laurel Village location. Palo Alto
BUILDERS BOOKSOURCE
When it opened in 1982, Builders Booksource was one of the first businesses on Berkeley’s Fourth Street. This chic store stocks books on home building and landscaping, including catalogs of up-to-date building code, architecture volumes, and manuals for DIY home projects. It also carries popular titles, many by local authors; books on Bay Area hiking sites; and a children’s section curated by one of the owners, a school librarian. Berkeley
CHRISTOPHER’S BOOKS
What’s the secret to operating a hole-in-the-wall bookstore in 2023? Careful curation, an on-site owner, and a great landlord, according to Tee Minot, who has run Christopher’s since 1992. The shop dedicates a portion of its 650 square feet in sunny Potrero Hill to children’s and teen books, and the corner storefront has made an appearance in an iconic San Francisco movie or two. San Francisco
CITY LIGHTS BOOKSELLERS & PUBLISHERS
Seventy years ago, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti cofounded City Lights Booksellers, the nation’s first all-paperback bookstore. Its publishing arm brought Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems to readers in 1956, putting the Beats on the map. Locals and pilgrims still flock to the landmark flat-iron building to nestle in the famous poetry room and read rebellious works, both old and new. San Francisco
THE COLLECTIVE OAKLAND
Anchoring a collective of Black businesses, this one-room bookshop offers a well-curated reading room with armchairs, Black art, and vintage vinyl. The tiny team that runs the Collective Oakland is taking Black literature to the people by launching book giveaways; creating partnerships with schools, hospitals, and farmers markets; and hosting Read Drink Chill events with its in-house chef and mixologist. Oakland
COPPERFIELD’S BOOKS
Inside the historic Analy Five & Dime building on Sebastopol’s main street, you’ll find a cozy, well-lit haven for exploring diverse titles displayed on wood shelves. This community hub hosts author events and serves as a hangout for locals who prize a good read and thoughtful recommendations from the book-loving staff. Copperfield’s operates eight other locations in the North Bay. Sebastopol
EAST BAY BOOKSELLERS
Formerly a location of Diesel, a Bookstore, East Bay Booksellers is a hip staple of Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood where you can buy new books, planners, and stationery—and have them gift wrapped. The store has a large children’s corner that feels like a secret garden, plentiful staff picks arranged on dedicated shelves, and magazines. It also supports the Prisoners Literature Project, delivering books purchased by customers for incarcerated people. Oakland
FOREST BOOKS
In a quiet corner of Japantown, visitors will feel immediately at peace among Forest Books’ stacks of used and rare collectible titles. The store specializes in Zen philosophy, so it’s no surprise that owner Jakushu Gregory Wood hosts a weekly meditation there on Saturday mornings. “The forest awaits you. Take your ease,” reads a poem taped to one of the shelves. San Francisco
GREEN APPLE BOOKS
From quirky in-store events and downloadable Zoom backgrounds to a curated fiction delivery service and Mergatroid, the apple-and-book-toting mascot out front, this legendary store oozes whimsy. Customers who wander Green Apple’s maze of new and used books will also find LPs, and even the occasional couple getting engaged. Another location exists near Golden Gate Park. San Francisco
HICKLEBEE’S
Now entering its 44th year in business, Hicklebee’s remains San Jose’s most cherished children’s bookstore, occupying a quaint spot on Willow Glen’s main drag. Yet kids are not the only customers. Just to the right of the entrance, one finds an ample adult section with multiple genres. Ever supportive of the writer’s trade, Hicklebee’s allows any published author or illustrator to scribble on the walls, where room permits. San Jose
ISOTOPE: THE COMIC BOOK LOUNGE
In the comics-crazy Bay Area, Isotope stands out. The shop features pop art–style red-and-white leather couches and a display of illustrated toilet seats. Located in the Hayes Valley building where disco legend Sylvester used to throw his parties, Isotope offers new comics, graphic novels, hand-bound mini-comics, and events. San Francisco
KEPLER’S BOOKS & MAGAZINES
Founded by peace activist Roy Kepler, this Silicon Valley bookstore was a gathering place for counterculture figures like Joan Baez and the Grateful Dead. Kepler’s legacy as a leader of the paperback revolution of the 1950s and ’60s has been kept alive with literary events and programs providing books for underserved local schools. Menlo Park
LEIGH’S FAVORITE BOOKS
Located on historic Murphy Street in downtown Sunnyvale, Leigh’s Favorite Books arranges hardcovers in a vividly eclectic manner, with female and LGBTQ voices, immigrant narratives, diaspora fiction, and chart-toppers on prominent display. Offering a 20 percent discount on hardcover bestsellers and 50 percent on bestseller buybacks, Leigh’s seeks to make book buying affordable. Its companion shop next door, Bookasaurus, is a children’s book mecca. Sunnyvale
MEDICINE FOR NIGHTMARES BOOKSTORE & GALLERY
This warm and vibrant bilingual bookstore reinvigorates the San Francisco tradition of community gathering spaces devoted to literature. Just beyond the shelves of titles highlighting radical and BIPOC voices, the store’s spacious art gallery—featuring rotating works, many by local artists—hosts hundreds of events throughout the year. Many, like the popular monthly series Poetry in the Window, pay tribute to the Mission neighborhood’s diversity and enduring art scene. San Francisco
MOE’S BOOKS
Beneath the distinctive red-and-white awning and photos immortalizing legendary radical and cofounder Moe Moskowitz, customers are now greeted by daughter and current owner Doris. Moe’s Books, called “one of America’s very best” by the New York Times, offers 200,000 new and used titles, including rare books in a room on the fourth floor. Berkeley
MORTI’S USED BOOK NOOK AND CAT ADOPTION LOUNGE
Named for a kitten that founder Tanya Reyes says changed her life, Morti’s has been home to adoptable cats since September 2021. It’s supported by donations and weekend sales of low-priced used books like John Ash cookbooks and fiction by Amy Tan. The Facebook page chronicles heartwarming interactions. Petaluma
MRS. DALLOWAY’S LITERARY AND GARDEN ARTS
Mrs. Dalloway’s is a spacious bookstore in the Elmwood neighborhood, with two rooms and several nooks that serve as thematic display spaces for a large (and prominent) gardening section, art books, titles by Virginia Woolf (whose character Clarissa Dalloway inspired the store’s name), and more. Berkeley
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