We recently got excited when a major corporate bookstore chain reopened in our part of L.A., many years after we thought it had vanished from the face of the earth. We used to hate that bookstore chain with all we had. Now we were happy just to have a physical place nearby to browse and look at books.
Anything feels better than shopping through Amazon, whose offenses against Earth and working people are legion, from the reportedly dangerous conditions of its union-fighting warehouses to its alleged facilitation of Department of Homeland Security surveillance to the steep levels of emissions said to be coming from its delivery trucks and the over 400 million pounds of annual plastic waste it purportedly generates.
Fortunately, Los Angeles, despite what its haters say, is a reading town, from its bookworms to its script-readers, one full of great independent and time-honored bookstores that are almost as plentiful as the inspired authors this city has spawned.
Finding the book you want is instant when shopping online. But it’s vastly more fun to visit a bookstore or library and browse your way to your next great read. I’ve read 47 books so far this year and am happy to say that none of them came from Amazon; instead, they were sourced from lending libraries, friends' collections, L.A.'s own public libraries, and small local stores.
If you can’t find a specific book you seek, you’ll likely find it on Bookshop.org, an online retailer that connects users to small U.S. bookshops, some of which are featured below. Bookshop.org, unlike Abe’s Books, is not owned by Amazon but was started to provide an alternative to Bezos’ omnipotence.
Here are L.A.’s 23 best bookstores to support instead of Amazon.
MALIK BOOKS ~ BALDWIN HILLS/CRENSHAW
Malik Muhammad’s Malik Books is a small but mighty bookstore located at Crenshaw Plaza, dedicated to African American-produced books and gifts that promote self-esteem and self-awareness. You’ll find biographies from Nipsey Hussle, Sister Souljah, Debra Lee, and Michelle Obama on the front displays, along with modern classics by local heroes like Paul Beatty, Percival Everett, and Walter Mosley weaved into the shelves, along with books on activism, history, art, Afrofuturist sci-fi, politics, children’s books, cooking, and much more. Malik also hosts a podcast, attends frequent author events with notable figures like Spike Lee and Renée Watson, and operates an online outlet through Bookshop.org that offers even more great content, aligning with its motto: "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life."
3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Ste. 245 Los Angeles, CA 90008
CHILDREN’S BOOK WORLD ~ CHEVIOT HILLS
Going to a kid’s birthday party? Trust us: parents would appreciate anything other than an additional piece of plastic cluttering their house. Stop by 39-year-old Children’s Book World, where you’ll find over 80,000 titles for everyone from newly hatched humans to teens and adults. The shop also has its own non-profit, the Children’s Book Recycling Center, which helps donate books to underserved kids. There are also games, toys, and arts and crafts kits. So you don’t HAVE to necessarily get a book. Still, it’ll save you the market price of a Lububu.
10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064
NOW SERVING ~ CHINATOWN
AAPI-owned Now Serving is the only bookstore in the city that strictly sells cookbooks, books, and publications about cooking, including food magazines, memoirs, gifts, rare publications, and pantry supplies. It’s rad. The Far East Plaza-based business regularly organizes author events and recently started a donation program for victims of this year’s L.A. fires, too, to help people acquire books they need or replace the books they love.
727 N. Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90012
VILLAGE WELL BOOKS & COFFEE ~ CULVER CITY
Village Well is kind of like an alternative Borders, if you remember that. Clean, modern, glass-walled, and well-organized, you’ll find a lot of best-sellers and great staff picks among its shelves while enjoying an atmosphere that encourages you to kick back and read, be it over one of its workshops or events, or through the full cafe serving chai lattes and chia coconut pudding to get you through "2666, Infinite Jest," or fucking "War and Peace" or whatever. Or beer. They also have beer.
9900 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232
THE LAST BOOKSTORE ~ DOWNTOWN
The Last Bookstore is not just a great literary destination to while away the hours in Downtown, it’s as much a Downtown institution as the King Eddy, Bradbury Building, or subterranean lizard people, with its twisting warrens of dark shelves holding Bukowski and Fante, its Corinthian columns, curios and installations popping up from between the tomes, and ancient vaults of used and new books, vinyl records, and secrets in the historic Spring Arts Tower. Celebrating 20 years, the store is a must-see destination for Downtowners and visitors alike. Just make sure to leave your bag at the counter!
453 S. Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90013
STORIES BOOKS AND CAFE ~ ECHO PARK
Stories isn’t just a cozy little bookstore full of red brick, funky books, bands, local art, and handmade cards, it’s also a great place to sit and read a book on its graffiti-muraled patio with some bruschetta toast and a disheveled guy next to you “working on his screenplay.” Or a beer. Cuz they also have beer. Readings and live music nights make this space all the sweeter.
1716 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
THE POP HOP ~ HIGHLAND PARK
Highland Park’s 13-year-old Pop Hop is a lot of fun, functioning as both a new and used bookstore and screen-printing shop. It focuses on social activism with the goal of standing as a QBIOPC-led, intersectional art collective that provides resources for multimedia artists and activists. It’s also a really fun, colorful store to check out, full of great zines, indie books, art, and rarities, with regular workshops detailing activities like trash art and watercolors, screenings, giveaways, and gallery shows. We especially like its crafts, designs, and cards done by local artists. Pop Hop also has an online store through Bookshop.org where you can find what you’re looking for. Still, you have to come check it out at least once, maybe after your next trip to Bob Baker Marionette Theater, which is across the street.
5002 York Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90042
A GOOD USED BOOK ~ HISTORIC FILIPINOTOWN
We must stay away from this place. We simply do not have enough money to enter A Good Used Book’s seven-year-old, classics-filled used book shop, which started as a roving pop-up. Because inevitably, we want everything. "All About Love" by belle hooks? Oh hell yeah. "Tales From the Crypt?" But of course. "The Devil in Mrs. Jones?" Wasn’t that a porno in the seventies? Better get it just in case. Anyway, that’s the way it goes here. You’ve been warned. And to make it even more tempting, the shop hosts extraordinary events, such as this Friday’s Dumpling Party, featuring tattoos, music, tarot readings, and ice pops. Can we just give these guys our routing number already?
307 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
CHEVALIER BOOKS ~ LARCHMONT VILLAGE
Chevalier is considered L.A.’s oldest independent bookstore, dating back to 1940. It is well-appointed with eclectic posters and art celebrating L.A. pride and staffed by knowledgeable readers who can guide you to your next read along the well-organized shelves, encompassing sections of cookbooks, fiction, travel, kids, music, and local history. The store recently came under fire from a group of activists over the cancellation of a reading by Palestinian children’s book author Jenan Mataria, due to her social media posts. An owner said that carrying such works as "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World and A Child in Palestine: The Cartoons of Naji al-Ali" has also led to claims of him being called “anti-Semitic” by pro-Israel people.
133 N. Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004
LIBROS SHMIBROS ~ BOYLE HEIGHTS
A contender for the best bilingual bookstore in L.A., Libros Shmibros is a community-anchored book nook that feels less like a store and more like your book nerd friend’s wildly eclectic living room. Tucked between La Monarca bakery and a life-changing taco de tripa on a handmade tortilla at Mariachi Plaza across the street, this "lending library" is a testament to Boyle Heights, with shelves lovingly curated to reflect the neighborhood's heart. David Kipen (Co-Founder and Co-Director) served as book critic and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle for seven years. With poetry slams and young adult novels published in Spanish, this low-cost bookstore actually speaks to the neighborhood. Libros Shmibros isn’t just selling books—it’s growing literacy in the barrio.
103 N Boyle Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90033
PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE ~ LONG BEACH
Fuck you, I won’t read what you tell me! If that’s your attitude about the big books coming out of major publishers, you’ll want to visit Page Against the Machine in Long Beach, dedicated to books for progressive activists and organizers, including local authors and small presses, and events and workshops that center them. Looking for Makhno’s "Struggle Against the State," a signed copy of "To Build a Black Future," Pappe’s Palestine-occupation tome "The Biggest Prison on Earth, A Dying Colonialism," or "The Post-Structuralist Vulva Coloring Book?" Start here. And if you prefer to laugh at our modern dystopia, begin with its Instagram page full of parody book covers.
2714 E. 4th St. Long Beach, CA 90814
SOAP PLANT/WACKO ~ LOS FELIZ
Soap Plant/Wacko tops the list of L.A. places we’d want to be accidentally locked inside of overnight, brimming with crazy and beautiful books on outsider and lowbrow artists, demonology, sex, drag, punk rock, drugs, vintage candy, tiki, tattoos, international movie posters, dirty coloring books, mid-century signage, and crime noir, along with seminal texts such as "Everybody Poops" and Max Ernst’s "Une Semaine De Bonté." Throw in La Luz de Jesus art gallery in the back and enough toys to stock Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and we’re all in on getting locked up inside. Anytime they’re ready.
4633 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027
SKYLIGHT BOOKS ~ LOS FELIZ
Turning 29 years old this November, Skylight Books is an excellent and central place to find both popular and lesser-known independent fiction, as well as incredible books on L.A. history, zines, self-help, and philosophy. The store also features an annex for graphic novels, art, and media books, along with limited editions. We love that it stays up late to 10 AM for our nocturnal browsing and the fact that it is green-certified. It is sizable, well-lit, and nicely stocked, with weekly author readings and events, literary merch like owl-shaped bookends and embroidered journals, a dedicated podcast, and three of its own subscription clubs; dedicated to non-fiction, new novels and short story collections, and first editions, respectively.
1818 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027
THE ILIAD BOOKSHOP ~ NORTH HOLLYWOOD
Like the bellicose epic it’s named for, The Iliad covers a ton of ground as one of the largest used bookshops in the city. The shop, which suffered external damage from an arson attack in 2022, claims to have over 150,000 titles in stock, spanning novels, art books, graphic novels, and most everything in between. And yes, they have cats. Better yet, they have a massive mural surrounding the shop with over 50 famous authors depicted in it, have appeared in movies like Lethal Weapon 3 and The Black Room, and each year release a new Halloween-themed t-shirt. Extra reason why we love this place.
5400 Cahuenga Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601
OCTAVIA’S BOOKSHELF ~ PASADENA
Named for late, great Los Angeles sci-fi scribe Octavia Estelle Butler, owner Nikki High’s Octavia’s Bookshelf centers its stock on literature written by BIPOC authors and the representation of BIPOC stories. It’s a small shop that’s a pleasure to browse, with sections like Romance, Self-Love, “What a Gwaan” diaspora writings, Black Brit Lit, and “You Think You Grown” for young adults. The shop also has fun games, locally made cards and crafts, “blind” surprise books wrapped in brown paper, regular storytelling and author events, and of course, a section entirely dedicated to Queen Octavia herself. Swoon.
1353 North Hill Ave. Pasadena, CA 91104
VROMAN’S ~ PASADENA
Have you ever gone to Powell’s Books in Portland and left feeling jealous that L.A. doesn’t have a place like that? Vroman’s, Southern California’s biggest and oldest independent bookstore, is sorta like our Powell’s, with its story going back to 1894 and its warrens of shelves absolutely packed with staff-picked novels, non-fiction, and brainteaser toys, albeit without the same bounty of used books or insurmountable quantity as Powell’s. Its second-floor children's section alone dwarfs the size of most L.A. bookstores. Its huge space also features a wine bar, a stair-bound art gallery, and frequent author events, as well as a rich literary history, visible on its very own Walk of Fame, which showcases the handprints of famous writers.
695 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91101
SIDESHOW RARE & REMARKABLE BOOKS ~ PICO ROBERTSON
Sideshow’s chaotic vault lives up to its name, teeming wall-to-wall with crazy-ass art books, vintage posters, and fun, luscious works on subcultures like Afro-American Pulp, UFOs, and erotica, as well as classic lit. Specializing in used, rare items, and signed items (like a Ray Bradbury-signed script or signed first-edition Anais Nin), Sideshow is a treasure with a lovely owner named Tony who might offer you espresso before engaging you in the dying art of intelligent conversation, host you for a screening of a cinematic masterpiece, or direct you to the shelf you seek. If you’re a lover of books or simply a lover of Los Angeles, you need to make it here at least once in your life. And once you visit once, you’ll be back.
1639 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035
ANGEL CITY BOOKS ~ SANTA MONICA
27-year-old Angel City Books is what you want a used bookstore to look and smell like. Jazz is playing while an older gent named Rocco with wild hair sits quietly behind the counter, ready to point you towards whatever Dick, Burroughs, or Didion novel you seek. The store carries vinyl jazz and rock records, as well as both new and used hardcovers and paperbacks, with the used prices not too far off the original. However, a bookstore’s got to stay alive. Our favorite aspect may be the revolving rack of used paperbacks atop the register, spilling with hardboiled pulp and sci-fi classics by the likes of Mickey Spillane and Robert A. Heinlein. Chef’s kiss!
218 Pier Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90405
TIA CUCHA CENTRO CULTURAL & BOOKSTORE ~SYLMAR
Founded in 2003 by author Luis J. Rodriguez, his wife, Trini, and brother-in-law, Enrique Sanchez, Sylmar’s Tia Chucha is a non-profit cafe and bookstore with the mission of connecting people to culture, knowledge, and the arts through its regular arts programs, readings, open mics, workshops on Indigenous teachings, author appearances, and book club for adults and storytelling for “lil readers.” Now in its fourth and biggest location, you can expect to find books that impart cultural understanding, identity, and wisdom, including seminal tomes on Chicano civil rights movements, decolonizing your diet, Mexica history, and simply great books that the Tia Cucha staff loves.
12677 Glenoaks Blvd. Sylmar, CA 91342
SMALL WORLD BOOKS ~ VENICE
Though self-admittedly wee, Small World Books’ beachside bookshop has a well-curated selection snaking around its shelves, with excellent staff recommendations, publishers both big and small, a section for indie ‘zines, cards by local artists, and at least one cat. Gotta have a cat. The shop’s roots date back 56 years, 49 of which have been spent at this location, situated right next to the busy restaurant it also operates. Another benefit of this great little shop is that you can enter anytime to escape the chaos of the boardwalk, before leaving the sanctity to plunge right back into a madness you could easily write your own book about.
1407 Ocean Front Walk, Venice, CA 90291
LA LIBRERIA ~ WEST ADAMS
Thirteen-year-old LA Librería is the city’s #1 destination for bilingual kids and YA books, with a focus on Spanish, as well as cultural workshops, parties, and Spanish immersion field trips to spread bilingualism and biculturalism. The in-store selection features books from Central American, U.S., and Spanish publishers, encompassing a wide range of genres, including novels, history, poetry, biographies of role models, and comics.
4572 1/2 West Adams Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016
REPARATIONS CLUB ~ WEST ADAMS
A charming West Adams bookstore of checkerboard floors and quilted mirrors, Reparations Club is Black-owned, woman-owned, and dedicated to celebrating Blackness, from its shelves full of Black authors of fiction, memoirs, treatises, cookbooks, YA books, and non-fiction, its comfortable nooks for sitting and reading or playing Connect 4, and its author events and readings. It is truly a space that opens its arms to community while bolstering it along the way.
3054 S. Victoria Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90016
BOOK SOUP ~ WEST HOLLYWOOD
The name Book Soup is enough to melt a lot of book-lovers’ hearts, with a 50-year-old history going back to the Sunset Strip’s crazy mid-seventies era (look for the framed photo of the Ramones passing by). The passion for books is evident here, through a selection that spans fun and crazy bestsellers to niche obsessions, as well as the non-stop author events held here each week. You will never come here and not find something you want to read. It’s even helping to bring Kamala Harris to the Wiltern to read from her new book on September 29, just in case you wondered what she’s been up to.
8818 W. Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90069
SALT EATERS ~ ONLINE
Named for the Toni Cade Bambara 1980 novel of the same name, Salt Eaters is dedicated to highlighting literature, graphic novels, and zines written by and centering “Black women, girls, femmes, and gender expansive people.” Sadly, its Inglewood brick-and-mortar is no more, but the good news is the bookstore can be found online on Bookshop.org through its own section.
