San Francisco

Bookstore Guide

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35 stores

Best Bookstore in Union Square

226 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Sun-Thu: 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-8pm

https://bestbookstore.com/

The nearest bookstore to Union Square and the only one to carry new books is the second "Best Bookstore" in this micro-chain (their other is in Palm Springs).
Bird & Beckett Books and Records

653 Chenery Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
(415) 586-3733
Tue-Sun: 12-6pm

https://birdbeckett.com/

Book store, record store, live jazz (and occasional Americana) venue, poetry reading venue, and publisher.
Black Bird

4541 Irving Street
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 742-5203
7am-7pm Daily

https://blackbirdsf.com/

Community focused bookstore with frequent events. Cafe open 7am-6pm, Bookstore open 9am-7pm.
Book Passage

1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 835-1020
Mon-Fri: 10am-5pm, Sat: 9am-5pm, Sun: 11am-5pm

https://www.bookpassage.com/

Has frequent events. Used book selection is small.
Books Inc. Laurel Village

3515 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-3666
Mon-Fri 9:30am-6:30pm, Sat-Sun 9am-7pm

https://www.booksinc.net/SFLaurel

The Laurel Heights outpost of this fine local establishment.
Books Inc. Opera Plaza

601 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 776-1111
11am-6pm Daily

https://www.booksinc.net/SFOpera

The Civic Center outpost of this fine local establishment.
Books Inc. The Marina

2251 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 931-3633
Mon-Fri: 11am-9pm, Sat-Sun: 10am-9pm

https://www.booksinc.net/SFMarina

The Marina outpost of this fine local establishment.
Bookshop West Portal

80 W Portal Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94127
Mon-Sat: 10am-7pm, Sun: 11am-5pm

https://www.bookshopwestportal.com/

Neighborhood bookstore with frequent author events & a book club.
The Booksmith

1727 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 863-8688
11am-7pm Daily

https://www.booksmith.com/

General interest bookstore with frequent events and community focus.
Borderlands Books

1740 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 824-8203
11am-6pm Daily

https://borderlands-books.com/

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Mystery.
Bound Together Bookstore

1369 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 431-8355
12-6pm Daily

https://boundtogether.org/

Anarchist book store. "Often open 12-6PM"
Browser Books

2195 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 567-8027
10am-9pm Daily

https://www.greenapplebooks.com/

Neighborhood bookstore since 1976, now managed by Green Apple Books.
Cafe Suspiro

1246 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Mon-Thu: 8am-4pm, Fri: 8am-3pm, Sat:9am-3pm

https://cafesuspiro.com/

Coffee, records, and books. Books are mostly focused on music and local authors.
Christopher's Books

1400 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 255-8802
Mon-Sat: 10am-8pm, Sun: 10am-6pm

http://christophersbooks.com/

A neighborhood bookstore that punches above its weight.
Chronicle Books

680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 537-4200
Mon-Fri: 9am-4pm

https://www.chroniclebooks.com/pages/retail-locations

Retail shop focused on the publisher's own books, and located at their headquarters.
City Lights Books

261 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 362-8193
10am-10pm Daily

https://citylights.com/

Venerable San Francisco institution which is also a publisher.
Dog Eared Books

900 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-1901
10am-10pm Daily

https://www.dogearedbooks.com/

General interest with an emphasis on offbeat, local, and small press.
Et al. books

2831 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
(510) 561-5302
Wed-Sat: 12-6pm

https://etaletc.com/et-al-books

In the Et al. gallery. Also open by appointment.
Fabulosa Books

489 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 658-7015
Sun-Thu: 10am-8pm, Fri: 10am-9pm, Sat: 10am-10pm

https://www.fabulosabooks.com/

LGBTQ+ (and general) bookstore known for their Books Not Bans program which ships queer books to conservative states.
Globus Books

332 Balboa Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 668-4723
Tue-Sun: 11am-5pm

https://www.globusbooks.com/

Books in Russian, English, Belarusian, and Ukrainian
Green Apple Books

506 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 387-2272
10am-9pm Daily

https://www.greenapplebooks.com/

San Francisco's largest bookstore has a massive selection of new and used books as well as a smaller selection of records.
Green Apple Books on the Park

1231 9th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 742-5833
10am-9pm Daily

https://www.greenapplebooks.com/

Sunset outpost of the Richmond institution.
Heath Newsstand

2900 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 873-9209
Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun: 10am-5pm

https://heathnewsstand.com/

Magazines and books with an international flair at this offshoot of the venerable Heath Ceramics.
Kinokuniya

1581 Webster Street
(inside Japan Center)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 567-7625
10:30am-8pm Daily

https://usa.kinokuniya.com/stores-kinokuniya-san-francisco

Books in Japanese and English.
Libreria Pino

1501 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 961-7860
Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm

https://www.libreriapino.com/

Books for adults and children in Italian, and a selection of Italian music.
The Love Potion Library

284 Noe Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
Sun - Sat: 10am - 8pm

https://www.thelovepotionlibrary.com/

Romance bookstore, tea room, and wine bar (permit pending).
Luna's Press Books

3790 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 260-7490
Sun: 11am-3pm

https://www.lunaspress.com/

Bilingual picture books and children's books in Spanish.
Medicine for Nightmares

3036 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 824-1761
Sun-Wed: 12-8pm, Thu-Sat: 12-10pm

https://medicinefornightmares.com/

Bookstore and gallery
Noe Valley Books

3957 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
Sun-Thu: 10am-6pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-7pm

https://www.noevalleybooks.com/

New neighborhood bookstore in the old Folio Books location.
Omnivore Books on Food

3885A Cesar Chavez Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
Mon-Sat: 11am-6pm, Sun: 12-6pm

https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/

New and used books about cooking and eating.
On Waverly

162 Waverly Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
Mon-Sat: 11am-6pm, Sun: 11am-5pm

https://www.onwaverly.com/

Community space and bookstore focused on Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian stories. Also carries art, stationery, and gifts.
Russian Hill Bookstore

2162 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 929-0997
10am-8pm Daily

https://russianhillbookstore.com/

New and used books with a large selection of leather bound editions and other fancy bindings.
Telegraph Hill Books

1501 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
(628) 255-1998
Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm

https://telegraphhillbooks.com/

Books on cooking, travel, and Italy as well as Italian books in English.
Unbound Bookstore

38 Waverly Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
Sun, Tue: 11am-7pm, Wed: 1:30-9:30pm, Thu-Fri: 10am-10pm, Sat: 11am-8pm

https://unboundsf.co/

Independent Chinese bookstore, cultural center, and coffee shop. Hours may vary but are updated on Google.
William Stout Architectural Books

804 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 391-6757
Mon-Fri: 12:30pm-5:30pm, Sat 12:30pm-7:30pm, Sun 11:30am-7:30pm

https://stoutbooks.com/

Architecture books (obviously) but also fantastic selections of books on Design, Art, Urban Planning, and more.