Bookstore List
We love visiting and supporting independent bookstores. Check out this list of some of our favorite local spots. How many have you visited?
Jump to: Los Angeles | Orange County | Inland Empire | San Diego
Los Angeles:
Annabelle’s Book Club LA (Studio City) - Annabelle’s Book Club LA is a highly curated collection of books and gifts with a modern point of view. This YA-focused bookstore, which 16-year-old Annabelle Chang founded, aims to inspire creativity, human connection, and joy in people of all ages.
Bel Canto Books (Long Beach) - Bel Canto Books offers a curated selection of fiction, nonfiction, and children's books, organized around a theme of the month, in particular celebrating books by women and people of color.
Book Soup (West Hollywood) - Bookseller to the Great and Infamous
Chevalier’s Books (Los Angeles) - LA’s Oldest Independent Bookstore
Diesel, A Bookstore (Brentwood) - Conveniently Located in Your Favorite Westside Country Mart
Gatsby Books (Long Beach) - Gatsby Books has been the literary heart of Long Beach since 2010, hosting author events, poetry nights, and even a wedding once upon a time. They sell gently-used books and a few new titles as well. Stop by to browse and visit Ruby, their beloved store cat!
The Iliad Bookshop (North Hollywood) - The Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood has 125,000 used books in stock, specializes in literature and the arts, and has rare books, too!
The Last Bookstore (Los Angeles) - The Last Bookstore is California’s largest used and new book and record store. Currently, in their third incarnation, they began in 2005 in a downtown Los Angeles loft.
Lost Books (Montrose) - Enter the overgrown tunnel of plants into Montrose’s Lost Books, sister to LA’s Last Bookstore.
North Figueroa Bookshop (Highland Park) is a general interest bookstore in the heart of the historic Highland Park neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, a joint venture of Rare Bird and Unnamed Press, two Los Angeles–based independent book publishers.
Pages, a Bookstore (Manhattan Beach) - {pages} was founded in 2010 by three local, passionate bibliophiles, Patty, Linda, and Margot, with the goal of bringing a quality independent bookstore to the South Bay.
The Salt Eaters Bookshop (Inglewood) - the store is a unique addition to a community of Black-owned bookstores in L.A.
Skylight Books (Los Angeles) - Skylight Books is a general bookstore serving the historic Los Angeles neighborhoods of Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Downtown.
🆕 Octavia’s Bookshelf (Pasadena) - Readers of all ages and backgrounds will have a wonderful time exploring their store of books written by BIPOC writers.
The Ripped Bodice (Culver City) - The Ripped Bodice is an independent brick-and-mortar bookstore devoted to the celebration of romance novels. The store is proudly woman- and queer-owned.
Village Well (Culver City) - We are a community-focused & impact-driven bookstore-café in the heart of Downtown Culver City.
Vroman’s Bookstore (Pasadena) - Southern California’s Oldest & Largest Independent Bookstore
Zibby’s Bookshop (Santa Monica) - Zibby’s Bookshop is a highly-curated, warm and inviting indie bookstore with intimate, frequent events, all designed to connect books and authors to readers and each other.
Orange County:
Arvida Book Company (Tustin) is a locally owned and operated independent bookshop that provides Orange County with a community hub and an intimate and eclectic collection of used and new books, gifts, and locally made arts and crafts.
Beach Town Books (San Clemente) - With over 70,000 titles to choose from, you'll have a wonderful book adventure!
The Bookman (Orange) - Southern California's favorite bookstore since 1990
Anne’s Book Carnival (Orange) - Mysteries, Suspense, and Author Events
Laguna Beach Books (Laguna Beach) - We strive to create a community-enriching environment with a superb selection of books for adults and children, exciting author events and readings, and friendly, knowledgeable staff.
LibroMobile (Santa Ana) - Cultivating Diversity through Literature and the Arts
Lido Village Books (Newport Beach) - Where the Page & Ocean Meet!
Mystery Ink (Huntington Beach) - Mystery Ink Bookstore features a diverse inventory, from classics to current best sellers. Signed first editions are also available.
Inland Empire:
Cellar Door Bookstore (Riverside) - Riverside's independent bookstore for new books since 2012.
San Diego:
Bay Books Coronado (Coronado) - Bay Books is an independently owned bookstore serving Coronado and San Diego County for over 20 years.
Bluestocking Books (San Diego) Since 1999 (24 years in May 2023), Kris Nelson has owned this squeaky-floored space as a bookshop.
Diesel, A Bookstore (Del Mar) - Now Open in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center!
La Playa Books (San Diego) - the only used bookstore on the Point.
🆕 Meet Cute Romance Bookshop (La Mesa) - Meet Cute Romance Bookshop is a queer-owned, feminist bookshop focusing on genre romance. It's a place for romance readers (and the romance-curious) to meet up, hang out, and generally get nerdy about kissing books.
Mysterious Galaxy (San Diego) - Founded in 1992, Mysterious Galaxy is an independent genre bookstore specializing in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, young adult, romance, and horror.
Verbatim Books (San Diego) - Verbatim Books is a primarily secondhand bookstore with a selection of over 35,000 gently-loved and antiquarian books.
Warwick's (La Jolla) is the country's oldest continuously family-owned and operated bookstore.
Did we miss one of your favorites? PLEASE email me and let me know!