Category: Bookstores

For book lovers and their little ones, there’s San Francisco’s eclectic independent bookstore Dog Eared Books. A sibling to Phoenix Books and Red Hill Books, Dog Eared is the largest and most eclectic bookstore around. Situated in the city’s Mission district, the store is near several neighborhood amenities such as cleaners, coffee houses, and independent shops. But none of that matters. Once you get inside Dog Eared, you’ll have a hard time wanting to ever leave.

A new and used bookstore, Dog Eared Books carries 85 percent used selections while also offering the hottest and most popular reads. This establishment is a far cry from a dusty used bookstore. Services include renting audiobooks for 50 cents a day (or $2.50 per week), carrying both cassette and CD format. They buy and sell audiobooks. They sell “remainder” books, new books that are discounted because they are overstock or are slightly damaged. Sell them your books any time during business hours, and receive cash or store credit, or a combo of each. Valuing literary giants as well as local talent, Dog Eared Books will even carry a book you yourself have written (if deemed worthy, of course).

Dog Eared Books carries a very casual, funky atmosphere that only independent bookstores can pull off, and is a great hangout for readers and their mini-readers. As a parent, you know: bookstores, with their quieter atmosphere, can either be heaven or hell with children, depending on their unpredictable-and-volatile-as-weather-like moods. This bookstore is a hit. The store is large and open, with tall windows shedding plenty of light over nicely stacked books to meander through (even with a skinny stroller). The creaking wooden floors, natural-material shelves, and stacks and stacks of books render this bookstore timeless. Tucked away in various corners of Dog Eared are comfortable chairs—important for resting tired little feet, convenient for snuggling up to a picture book.

The staff is notoriously knowledgeable and eager. Readers can sit for as long as you desire—hours, some customers have claimed to sit for—without feeling rushed, a vital consideration when you’re out browsing with children. Customers have even been seen shuffling in for a new good read in their pajamas. Not to say that the place lacks a certain literary panache and class (true to its old-school style, the store even posts a sign out front asking customers to please finish their phone conversations before entering and browsing).

If you’re looking for a more structured experience for your little literati (ages five and under), visit the store at 10:30 am for free storytime. Parents can meanwhile relax and sneak in a few pages on their own—not to mention that, in the age of book superstores and designer coffee, it feels great to support local businesses.

I can pass hours at a time at just about any bookstore, and the number of independent shops here in San Francisco has kept me thoroughly elated for months. Though I'll visit any bookstore, any time, and never walk out empty-handed, when I'm truly on the hunt, I nearly always make my way to Phoenix Books in Noe Valley. With sister stores Dog Eared Books and Red Hill Books, these three make up the most comprehensive selection of new and used books I've found so far.

Approaching the store, I always get sidetracked by the carts of books on the sidewalk. From under-rated to over-loved, the books here are cut to ridiculously low prices, and I can always find at least one treasure among the more laughable titles. From there, content with the knowledge that I've got at least one new book to take home, I head inside for a more luxurious browse through their wares.

I have a book shopping method. I always head to the furthest back, most hidden section, and work my way forward, one shelf at a time. By the time I reach the front of the store, my arms are nearly always laden with science fiction, cookbooks, writings about writing, and at least one title from the new release overstock table. Setting them, and my adult brain, aside, I crouch onto the diminutive wooden chair provided in the nook of children's and young adult titles, mindful of any small patrons who may think it strange to see a twenty-something woman curling up in "their" section. I begin running my finger across the spines of books I know practically by heart. I nod in satisfaction to see The Chronicles of Narnia in their original order, am excited to find a brand new hard cover copy of the Velveteen Rabbit, and send a word of thanks to the recently deceased Madeline L'Engle as I leaf through the familiar pages of A Wrinkle In Time. It is here that I conclude my shopping, my pile of books greatly increased, and head to the counter and the friendly smiles of the Phoenix staff. They ring me up, and though I know I've found some great steals, this is one of the only places that my surprise at the total is due to the amount being lower than I'd expected!

Whether you are on a feverish hunt for a particular title, in need of some inspiration, or you want to reconnect with your childhood through a story that brings you back on the first page, start your search at Phoenix; there's a good chance it will come to a successful end there, every time.