What a nice independent bookstore! I can't tell you the last time I held a book in my hands (I…read moreknow! I kind of suck!), but I do love books and try to shop at them whenever I can. I love to give books or gift cards to bookstores to children. Bluestocking Books is the kind of bookstore I would specifically go out of my way to buy gifts for people, or to (gasp) buy a book for myself. There are little cozy nooks around the bookstore, as there should be in a bookstore. There's also a section for kids, with a little table and some reading material to peruse. Inexplicably, Bluestocking Books is closed on Wednesdays! What an interesting day to be closed, but I guess you have to be closed at least one day, right? Why not Wednesday? The people who work here are very friendly and helpful, and there's just a palpable welcoming vibe emanating from the store. It's a nice place to browse and find the perfect book.

Great selection of books! The store is very organized as to where their books and genres are…read morelocated. Had a great time browsing and finding new books to buy. The ladies were very nice and made sure we were finding everything okay. Great prices as well

We visited after the April Book crawl- The best selection of…read moreunique books, stickers, T-shirts for the lectiophile (new word!) in your life. Well sorted and fun to browse- The one down side, a few potential gift items (ie those funny and cringeworthy coasters) without price tags. And note, it's okay not to interrupt the very busy staff to ask, just go along on your merry way until next time.

Very tiny area by the library but pack full of super cute and original works. Very kawaii and…read morebookish.

Hidden Gem for Book Lovers - A True San Diego Treasure…read more Footnote Books in University Heights might not catch your eye from the street, but step inside and you're entering a book lover's paradise. It's a small, tightly packed shop, stacked floor to ceiling with everything from quirky romance to vintage collectibles--and that's exactly the charm. AND what increiible value here! Nothing was overpriced even when you know you found a real gem. Don't let the curb appeal fool you--this place is the real deal. My wife scored a stack of fantasy romance novels (SJM, Ana Reyes, etc), and I stumbled upon a first issue of Sports Illustrated and a beautiful 1950s first-edition history of some of baseball's most iconic early legends. Talk about treasure hunting. The owner? An absolute gem. Super knowledgeable, approachable, and clearly someone who lives and breathes books. You can feel the passion in every corner of this store--Footnote is truly a labor of love. If you're in San Diego and love books with character (and characters), do yourself a favor and visit Footnote Books. 10/10 I highly recommend.

Amazing selection of books! There were so many hidden gems in this bookstore, you have to really…read morelook. The man who attended us was very nice. If you have a big bag or drinks, you give them to him and put them in a box and you collect it at the end of your shopping! Got 2 books for $16!

One of my favorite bookstores!…read more I think I found out about them because of the L.A. Times' Festival of Books that occurs annually. They were one of the vendors, and they always had such a great selection of books. And their staff was amazing, especially working under the pressure of a book festival! I've had the privilege of being able to visit their physical location, and it was such a lovely (and expensive) visit. Their store proved on what a great selection of books they have, and a good number of them were special edition, signed bookplates, or inked signatures! Staff was great at the physical location, as well. Also, we were able to visit on a Friday for a free book! They do have special events quite often, where an author may come by and speak about their book and do signings! Their Instagram page is quite active, thankfully, so I've been able to order a few special events' books to be delivered to me ( I don't live in the SD area). For the physical location, the parking can be a bit limiting, depending on what time you go. We visited them two (three?) times in a given week and had most success for a parking space earlier in the day, and didn't try to venture for an evening visit. Highly, highly, highly recommend you visit this bookstore and support their business!

Very clean spacious retail store and another Sam Diego business with excellent customer service…read more Asked about hard sci-fi and the staff there all pointed to the in house sci-fi guy. Very helpful, interesting to chat with and I got a few new authors to check out! They even have a free book Friday shelf! This place is great! I shoulda got a tshirt

Cool little Barnes and Noble in an old theater space! I love that they kept the theater marquee out…read morefront. It looks super cool! The bf also got a kick out of it since he worked as a theater manager for years and loves checking out different theaters. The inside of the store was pretty similar to other Barnes and Nobles, maybe a bit smaller. Good amount of book merch and themed table sections, but I think the lighting could have been a bit brighter. They were running some great deals before new years so I picked up a few new books. I have noticed that sometimes Barnes and Noble doesn't pick up the discounts listed on the stickers on the front covers of books, so I pay extra attention when those are rung up. The guy at the register was super nice and corrected it, no problem!

Loved how this old movie theater was repurposed into a bookstore/Barnes and Noble. The interior has…read morethe old remnants of the theater, pretty evident through the decor running along the ceiling. Super cool! And of course, the Bookstar sign out front giving it old theater vibes. Selection was similar to what other B&N have. Their record section was cute, displayed in the front window. The store was well organized, easy to navigate, and had all the featured table displays. I was searching for The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig when I went, but they were out of stock. The employee who helped me offered to call another store in the area, which was really nice of her! I ended up getting it at the Mission Valley location. Overall worth a visit, if only to take pictures of the cool sign. Otherwise, it's like any other Barnes & Noble.

Libélula is a newer BIPOC owned and community-based bookstore in Barrio Logan. To get here, street…read moreparking will be your best and there is tons of it around the area. Inside, they have a fun and well-organized setup with tons of different new and used books plus other goodies to browse. The staff here are friendly and welcoming and the prices are very fair. I definitely enjoyed the vibes and the selection of products they have here. If you are ever in the area, this is a great business to support and show love to!

I found out that this library is a Latinx, QUEER owned business and wanted to support, so I came…read moreall the way from North County. It did not disappoint! The library is located inside a fun looking building which adds to the experience! The place is covered in books, trinkets, art, and cats! The book genres go from art, history, poetry, fiction, they even have a section for kids and in Spanish! AND a section for upcoming artist and writers to show their work, which was super inspiring. One of the owners was super nice, she answered all my questions, gave me recommendations, and introduced us to her cat. The library has a very community centered feel, which I appreciate. They host different events and book club if you're interested! Prices are good and they even have some "used" books for super cheap! I got a poetry book that I wanted for 5 bucks! I will definitely come back when I'm around ;)

Cute little bookstore in EV They actually fit quite a range…read morein there and so was funny to me that customer was complaining they didn't have something in stock. This isn't a big box store. Well, I found lots of books to bring home. Go get lost in a book store.

I was browsing in the nearby store when I saw this cute little bookshop. My first time here, they…read morehad just moved into the space. Such a great selection of books and priced fairly. Both times I came in to browse and ended up leaving with a couple books. The staff/store owner are amazing, they are such warm and friendly people. Great conversation, feels like you came to visit with a friend. Even if you're not looking for anything specific, it's still worth a visit to browse. Just great vibes overall!

This was my first stop at the San Diego Book Crawl, I had no idea there was a bookstore in Coronado…read moreand one that also has a cute little cafe. I was stoked, the store was packed with people because of the crawl, but the store was so welcoming had a good assortment of book genres. I ended up picking up A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. It was really hard to choose which book to pick up and my best friend picked up a magazine and a book to meet the Crawl criteria. Definitely going to be coming back!

Really nice bookstore with a very wide selection across many genres. You could easily spend a long…read moretime browsing here. The prices are a little on the higher side, but nothing unreasonable considering the selection and overall atmosphere. The staff was also very friendly and helpful, which made the experience even better. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy bookstores.