If you’re looking for bookstores in Los Angeles, the city serves nothing but the finest. All the major chains are here, of course. But Los Angeles also boasts dozens of independent bookstores that can give you the scoop on the literary history of Los Angeles, selling rare volumes, special-interest books — travel, food, art, film and more — as well as best-selling general fiction and nonfiction. The following Los Angeles bookstores are filled with page-turning thrills, and browsing is always encouraged.
Downtown Bookstores
Caravan Book Store, located at 550 Grand Ave., is the last of the bookshops along what was once known as Book Seller’s Row. Situated across from Los Angeles Central Public Library, Caravan specializes in rare and antique books on California history, Americana, voyages and other historic subjects.
Dutton’s at REDCAT is a direct descendant of Dutton’s Brentwood Books (more on that in the Westside section). Located inside the lounge at REDCAT (the Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theatre at the Walt Disney Concert Hall), the Dutton people describe their space as “a bookstall evocative of European theater bookstalls.” The bookstore features about 400 titles, plenty of seating and a liquor bar.
Fashion Bookstore at California Mart is a sleek bookshop specializing in apparel-industry books and magazines — the largest literary collection of its kind in the western United States. Its clientele ranges from junior high girls to A-list fashion designers. The huge inventory includes American and foreign publications in all areas of fashion — from illustration and design to costume and retailing.Metropolis Books recently opened in the ultra-hip Old Bank District, with a carefully chosen inventory focused on fiction, mystery, film and anime. It’s also an easy walk from Downtown hotels.
MOCA (The Museum of Contemporary Art) Grand Avenue features an extensive stock of books and catalogues focused on modern and contemporary art produced since 1940.
San Fernando Valley Bookstores
Storyopolis is a Los Angeles favorite for children’s books as well as illustrated art from children’s books. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Seinfeld have been known to buy “book bushels” — baskets filled with themed books. Storyopolis also carries antiquarian children’s books, including first editions by J.R. Tolkein and Roald Dahl.
Westside Bookstores
Bodhi Tree Bookstore is known throughout the nation as one of the best sources for books on spirituality, metaphysics, philosophy and psychology. The vibe is low-key and the helpful staff is totally into the shop’s literary specialties.
Book Soup, located in the heart of the Sunset Strip, is famous for ceiling-high bookshelves, a celebrity clientele and author signings. In addition to in-depth fiction and nonfiction titles, it specializes in art, film and music as well as books from university, international and small presses.
Dawson’s Book Shop has been selling books since 1905 and is the oldest continuously operating bookstore in Los Angeles. The focus of this cozy brick-lined shop is rare and out-of-print books on California history, Western Americana and photography. Its collection also includes manuscripts and printed ephemera, and it often hosts discussions by prominent Los Angeles-based authors.
Hennessey & Ingalls is the largest art and architecture bookstore in the western United States. This is where architects, artists, collectors and librarians head to browse and swoon, and it’s where many Hollywood art directors come for inspiration.
Larry Edmunds Bookshop has one of the country’s largest selections (20,000 titles) of film-, TV- and theater-related books. In business for more than 60 years, the shelves hold biographies as well as books on film and theater history, acting, animation and special effects.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has two gift shop/bookstores on its main plaza. Both offer extensive collections of art books, supplemented with relevant book titles during special exhibits.
Traveler’s Bookcase is located on a busy stretch on 3rd Street, just east of La Cienega. Its shelves are stocked with bestsellers as well as hard-to-find books.
San Pedro Bookstores
Williams’ Book Store has been serving San Pedro readers for nearly 100 years as a full-service bookshop. Williams’ also sells hard-to-find books on San Pedro and Palos Verdes history, flora and fauna.
Pasadena Bookstores
Distant Lands Travel Bookstore and Outfitters is focused on offering both basic and somewhat esoteric travel books. Its collection can guide travelers to destinations as close as Southern California and as far away as Tibet. Occasionally Rick Steves — the rock star of travel books — comes to speak.
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens features a gift shop/bookstore filled with books for adults and children on British and American literature, art, photography, flowers and gardening, supplemented with relevant titles during special exhibitions.
Vroman’s Bookstore is the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California. They’ve been selling books in Pasadena since 1894 – almost as long as the Rose Parade has been around. Vroman’s boasts more than 85,000 titles on all subjects — from its hip new “The Edge” section to the vast upstairs children’s book section. It frequently hosts author signings.
