226 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Sun-Thu: 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-8pm
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).
San Francisco
Bookstore Guide
35 stores
Best Bookstore in Union Square
Bird & Beckett Books and Records
653 Chenery Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
(415) 586-3733
Tue-Sun: 12-6pm
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Architecture books (obviously) but also fantastic selections of books on Design, Art, Urban Planning, and more.