While waiting for an event I took a stroll through this bookstore. I remember them having a decent amount of art books. I had more time to kill so I explored more of the nooks and crannies. I'm more of a art book, graphic novel, magazine kind of guy. I found a lot of stuff this time especially at discounted prices. They have sale table, art sale bookshelves in the center of the store, and even a used new section. There's a lot to be had in terms of art books but it's spread throughout the store. It's pretty understandable seeing that they're working with a limited amount of space. Somehow I managed to reason myself down from buying anything. I'd rather go here over Half Priced Books yet Comic Relief is the holy grail. read more

I give them three stars (okay, maybe four) because: 1) I like supporting independent businesses. 2) I'm glad to see them put Barnes & Noble out of business. 3) I love the banned books display in their window. 4) Eh, just because. I feel bad only giving them three. But every time I stroll in here, I never really find any good books that are worthy enough to have the honor of filling the last empty space on my bookcase. Oh well, gotta love them still. read more

I loved the random layout, the praying cat on the couch that refused to acknowledge my presence, and the great selection. It seems like a personal experience to shop there, with so many recommendations and quirky items about, and floor to ceiling books!! A dream! But the icing on the cake was when I approached the register with a new copy of the GOT series #4, the kind girl said "I think we have a used copy, let me find it." and she searched for five minutes, before finding the used copy of #4 AND #5, "just in case you wanted to see." Probably saved me twenty-thirty bucks, because #5 isn't even in paperback yet. I was so happy. She was very nonchalant about it, too, which was even more charming. I hope I die in a bookstore. read more

My take on a recent experience at Pegasus Bookstore in Berkeley, CA; I expected a lot from a highly recommended Berkeley bookstore, which was possibly my fatal flaw here. The atmosphere is a lot like a record store, cool, pleasing to the eyes and, easy to navigate, clean. Most books are the market price. There exists a varied selection of used books with interesting titles out front and a relatively large sci-fi section indoors. While there are no cozy seats to encourage a sit down read, there is an adorable elder cat named Parrot who's aged and arcane meow calls forth scritchins and affection from the weary book traveler. However, nobody likes a pretentious snooty bookseller, it is beyond stereotypical and just bad business. I already had five other market priced books in my hand when I asked the woman with the blond pixie cut if there was a small romance section anywhere, sheepishly, as I had already been snapped at by her earlier when I asked the name of the cat. She informs me imperiously that "They don't sell series books like that here." It was at this very moment that simple curiosity turned into feminist annoyance. Aside from that over her shoulder, I could see The Outlander series prominently placed in the fantasy section. I inform her in a measured voice, that the Outlander series is Historical-time travel-romance. She gets even more annoyed and informs me that she worked at an even bigger bookstore before and that it was labeled as Fantasy there as well. I double down and inform her that, that is possible but that Diana Gabaldon is kind of the Tolkien of romance. (I know we got off track here but her tone was so snide and haughty.) She doubled down and informed me that they "Don't carry series books here and they don't carry westerns either, they wouldn't sell" While I am reeling from that comparison she goes on to tell me that, "Maybe if you look in the literature section, I don't know, sometimes a romance sneaks in there like by Nicholas sparks or James Patterson" It was at this very the moment that I died in a hipster bookstore. My poor little heart simply stopped beating . . . On my epitaph it read: HOW DARE YOU *Side note*I feel like if she had said some variation of, "I'm sorry we, unfortunately, don't carry romance here" I would have let it go but, she seemed to have some personal issue with romance that made me hate her instantly. If weren't for the other more polite lady at the counter, this one with a brown pixie cut, I would have dropped my purchases and left. *Back to being dead forever* read more

What to do when you're stuck in a long wait at La Note? Step into Pegasus & Pendragon! mmm...I love love love the well worn, cozy and charming feel of this place. Everywhere you look there's a little marker for why someone recommends a certain book. There's a little red sofa in the corner and if you're lucky one of the two store cats will come and sit next to you while you read. =) read more

I'm kind of sad, since I've come here and had good experiences, but when I tried to return a book for credit, the cashier asked me why and when I didn't feel like explaining it wasn't a book I loved enough to keep in my tiny apartment and simply said I had finished it, she refused to exchange the book. She said, "that's not how it works", and that pegasus books wasn't a library. This just seemed to lack tact and go in the face of their store policy. Although I definitely lacked tact as well she permanently lost pegasus books a book lover who had spent more than 40 dollars there in two weeks. read more

The store is dingy, and often filled with drunk bums. The staff range from awesome to asshole, and the staff picks are so painfully Berkeley as to be useless. BUT they have great sales, good selection of new books, and funny and sometimes awesome used books. IMO, it's the best bookstore in the East Bay. And the cat is nice. read more

As a former bookseller and book buyer, I can be a bit of a snob about bookstores. Independent bookstores, in my opinion should have one or all of the following: 1) good books and the people who love them 2) a little bit of attitude and the chops to back it up 3) staff review section, prominently placed 4) cool possibly obscure music 5) interesting magazine section that includes literary journals 6) attractive staff that is probably hipper than you Pegasus has all of the above and gets extra points for their reading series, remainder section, spiffy cards and cheap calendars. They also have a good children's books section and a "new used arrivals" section. And pretty much everyone who works there is crush-worthy, a nice little bonus. Brains=sexy. read more

This is my second favourite place to get magazines but its the best place in Berkeley and its in a great downtown location so if you find your self in Berkeley check them out.. They have a good selection from Thrasher skateboard magazine to Uncut music magazine from the UK to Juxtapoz art magazine...also they have a great selection of Music and Art Books. I like that they have a huge amount of discounted books too. read more

I'm no bookstore expert by any means, but the selection here for health and finance books was limited and no one made the effort to approach me and see if I needed help. Perhaps others looking for rare books will find this place a gold mine, but my search came up short unfortunately. read more

I love looking through and getting books and other items at Pegasus. Today I went here for their annual Calendar Sale (about $4 for a calendar) to get my 2020 calendar. It seems that their selection of calendars aren't as varied as previous years since I wasn't able to find the wall calendar I have bought here previously for the past five years (so I ended up searching and ordering it online from another retailer, even though it actually cost a little more). I was able to get a joke desk calendar here to give to a coworker, though. Aside from the calendars, they have a great selection of books that are organized well and the store is spacious and clean. The staff is also friendly and always willing to help with any questions. Not book related, but there used to be a cat in this store that was really chill. I miss petting their cat. There's a nice little dog there now that's also chill and lounges around the store. Pegasus is just a great bookstore in Downtown Berkeley that's always worth a browse. read more

I have been in here many times, and I cannot believe I have not reviewed Pegasus Books Downtown. I remember when this location opened in the mid-1990s and the storefront was painted gray. Now it is a cool azure blue color. I came here for a Lyrics and Dirges poetry reading here many years ago as extra credit for English class just for attending and to make up a missed absence. And the resident cat is still here at Pegasus Books presiding over the establishment. I came here the other day with one of my BFFs to seek some books written by my future professor, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reisch aka Bob to me. I asked if this Pegasus Books had any of Bob's books. I was advised to look in the Sociology section. Lo and behold--I was beyond delighted when I saw they had two of his books I was looking for, Locked in the Cabinet and--SCORE--a brand new copy of one of his recent books, Aftershock. Aftershock is the basis of his 2013 film, Inequality for All, directed by Jason Kornbluth. When I went to the till, I was beyond delighted to learn that a student discount is offered with proof of and producing a student ID. I whipped it out and got my discount. Behind the till was a cute little doggie lying in her doggie bed. She was tethered to keep her under control and not to stress the cat out. The guys behind the till made my friend and myself laugh regarding this dog and separation issues between the dog and one of the associates who likes the dog. Awwww! It was like watching an Abbott & Costello or a Burns & Schreiber comedy routine unfolding before our very eyes. Great selection of books, cards, calendars, and other miscellaneous gift items. It is a tad bit smaller than the Solano Avenue location. Well, I would welcome an opportunity to come back to this branch of Pegasus Books here in the People's Republic of Berkeley anytime. SYOY! Cheers!!!! read more

I only go to Pegasus for specific genres (but what they have in those specific niches is awesome): -Graphic novels. Best selection I've seen in a general bookstore. -Used children's novels. So many beloved classics for my classroom at a very reasonable price. -Calendars. How can they stock so many for so cheap? However, I dislike browsing their literature and non-fiction sections because the organization doesn't work for me. For some reason, I'm always looking for something in a category that seems reasonable to me (like "Biography) but doesn't exist at Pegasus. I've found the staff to be friendly and helpful, though! read more

I give Pegasus 3 stars because I am averaging the customer service between the guy who was totally useless (youngish, blondish, tallish) and the guy who provided great customer service (middle ageish, dark hair). My initial query was a simple one - do you have this book? The young guy said, 'Well did you try over there?" and waved his hand in the general direction of the used book section. Having not been in there before, I wasn't really sure of the layout - was it just used books in that area? Did hardbacks belong in that section as well? I didn't ask those questions, though, he told me if my book wasn't over there, then we didn't have it. The older guy interjected, showed me where the new hardbacks were, and I was about to buy the book, he even found a newly acquired used book that hadn't been shelved yet, so I bought that one. Great customer service by him! Extra points for me saving 10 bucks on the used version that was still in mint condition. While I was paying for my book, another customer came up to ask a question, with book in hand, I believe he asked if they had any books by the same author. . . or something to that effect, I'm not sure exactly, but the younger guy thought he asked for books of similar length (so whatever he was looking for sort of rhymed with length). And he waved his arm to the corner of the bookstore, as if that was where they kept the books under 100 pages. Again, the older clerk interjected and helped this customer actually find what he was looking for. . . The young guy was a total ass to both me and the other customer, and clearly did not want to be there. If he had showed any degree of customer service I would have given this place 4 stars. read more

Talk about selection that's all over the place. Things like "Useless Japanese Inventions" and the one place where I found an out of print copy of Anton Corbijn's "Allegro" read more

Best place ever to buy calendars! Seriously, head in here the month after New Year's and every calendar is less than $4. They have a really big selection that's very different from the big bookstore chains, and they have a lot of shapes that are perfect for your slice of office hell... I mean, cube. read more

I'm still blown away by how amazing Pegasus' post-New Year calendar sale is: plenty of calendars (art, photography, cities, animals, etc.) that are all marked down to $3.99 (or 3 for $10). This is an amazing price considering that some of these gorgeous calendars were originally $39.99. I purchased a beautiful teNeues published art nouveau calendar that is poster-sized as well as a whole bunch for other friends...no occasion in particular, I just couldn't resist! There are planners on sale as well, I think for the same price. Besides the calendar sale, I've always had good experiences at Pegasus. They have a great selection of magazines and art books. read more

Wow this placed has changed since the last time I've been here. I kinda knew something was up when It recent weeks the building was painted blue! I came here a couple of weeks ago? Anyways, love the new layout, more convenient to find books by section, small steps to upper floor, Big signs to find section on books, magazines, cd's and two small coaches areas to sit. And two resident kitties!!!!! One is a brownish cat and the other is a grey one. They are so friendly, calm and just make this again one of my favorite bookstores! Pegasus and Pendragon- you rock my world, MEOW!!!!!!!!! read more

I absolutely adore little local book stores! So much fun to go in, find something new and fun to open up later at home and enjoy on a rainy day or quite evening at home. Gotta love a good book! They have a wonderful variety of every genre, tons of new stuff, old stuff, and even the quirky in between stuff. They also have an amazing calendar sale at the beginning of the year. If you missed it this year, come back next year, it's impressive how packed it gets in there during sales. The staff is very friendly, they seem to know the store inside out, and are very helpful. The prices are great, selection is awesome. Stop in, grab a book, and enjoy! read more

Awesome, awesome, awesome! And why have I never been in here before? Is what I kept asking myself as I browsed through the new fiction recommendations, the amazing shelves of bargain priced books that all seemed to appeal to my taste (how is that possible?) and the excellent magazine selection- not to mention a zine/graphic novel section to boot! I would have spent another couple of hours had my sleeved not been yanked on by my boyfriend dying to get out of there (not a big bookstore fan). As it was we took about 20 minutes and I left with 4 books(including a Dylan bio, vintage looking book on popularity, and a non-fiction work on the history of comics) & 1 mag for about $25. Pretty great deal if you ask me. Other pluses: they play cool music (sorry, if that's obnoxious but they were) and the staff are super friendly. Next time your on Shattuck- (perhaps following a movie?) stop by Pegasus and browse a bit. You're likely to find something that interests you. read more

Great book store! The staff prices any books you want to sell quickly, and the book trade ins are a great deal! Good prices on most books, so glad we have this in Berkeley! I really like how you can call in before to check if they have the book you want and then they will put it on hold for you! read more

I find this bookstore to be very pretentious and expensive as well. Even the music cds and dvds are expensive, plus the staff isn't very friendly either. No wonder I don't shop here very often. read more

I went into this Pegasus & Pendragon bookstore to sell just about three of my books. The guy at the counter looked through each one and then determine that they could not accept any one of them, which suck big time. Even though one of the books which was I trying to sell to them was a brand new and recently released version of Cover Letters That Knock "Em Dead by Martin Yates. And that book came out just three months ago. Due to the service and treatment, I did not stay to look at their collection and left in frustration. The guy said that Half Price Books up the street might take them, which is why for the one star. Otherwise, they would get no stars. read more

didn't find anything interesting in the political science field. in fact, hardly saw any contemporary books save for the greg palast "democracy" book. i browed and found an autobiograhy by chang (nanking) you can't always get you want. you just get what you need. read more

I love this bookstore... I feel like I always find little treasures here... and they have amazing NEW books at really discounted prices. I can spend hours just rifling through their sales tables. This is the kind of book store that is needed in LA. I'm also a huge fan of their calendar sale which starts on New Year's Day. Plus they have a "frequent reader" card, so if you've spent $200, you get $10 in credit. I've actually spent that much here -- it took me a couple of years, but I did it. I also really like that they have a section for recommended books from staff, which is actually interesting to read what they have to say. read more

If you are a Murakami fan, I have to apologize. I trawled both Pegasus & Pendragon and Moe's to find every used Murakami novel I could find. Every time a Murakami popped up, I would snatch it at half-off. I must have read eight Murakami novels last summer. The conclusion of my binge is that I totally depleted the reserves of used Haruki Murakami books in Berkeley for at least half a year. Even beyond Murakami, Pegasus & Pendragon offers great used books. I love the "new arrivals" shelf of used books--one of my most treasured finds is "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a biography of Abraham Lincoln and how he assembled his former political enemies into a cabinet that won the Civil War. P&P has a good selection of small and independent presses, carries a lot of overstock, and has a fair magazine section (buy a copy of the Berkeley Poetry Review!). The one critique is that the used poetry section is very static--Moe's has the bigger and more dynamic collection. Customer service is good both at Moe's and P&P. One highlight is when the cashier, upon hearing that I was a huge Murakami fan, offered to e-mail me the translated text of "Pinball, 1977", one of Murakami's earlier works that is not in print in the United States. I accepted his offer, and when I got home it was in my inbox. This is definitely the sign of a staff that truly cares about good literature. read more

Good place to browse--I love seeing the staff picks and the new titles in all collections (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc.). Excellent deals to be had here, good new and used selection but don't come with your heart set on a particular book. This store is best for serendipitous book finding. The magazine area is also one of the best in the area. Lots of independent and literary mags. I often come here to get inspired for gift giving--they always have a little bit of an offbeat selection and it is so much less daunting than the big corporate book store across the street. Nice staff, thanks for letting me hit up the W.C. even though it isn't public! read more

Pros: This is a very cute bookstore. One of the things I love about the Bay Area is bookstores like this one! The place isn't huge but it surprisingly has a lot of hidden treasures throughout the place! There is a "upper level" with more books but it is primarily paper books, cards, and some music. The staff is very friendly and for you cat lovers, there is a cat mascot that also "works" there if you can find the cat! Cons: It is on the smaller side and I can't say there are too many opportunities for really good deals (unlike Half Priced Book store which is 3-4x bigger with coupons). Overall: Definitely worth a walk through if you are in the area! read more

Thank gawd there are still bookstores like this left standing! Pegasus is sadly a rare gem. I recently wrote a negative review based on how my son and I were treated by an employee the other day. She looked like she wanted to murder us because my two year old had some moments of disruption. It was shocking and I was angry at our treatment. I had to rescind my two star review because it is much more important to me that this place thrives and independent book stores try to repopulate. I'll still keep coming back to this place but next time I will remember to bring some pepper spray in case things get out of hand with her. read more

Pegasus is such a sweet and cute bookstore. I find myself randomly wandering in when I should be running errands or going to class, especially when they have interesting books and flyers in the window. There is such a large magazine section! Especially in independent magazines as well. I also like the emphasis on local culture that you find on all the shelves. They have a neat little section on indie comics and zines, which I love. Oh, the hours I can waste wandering around. read more

Having another whole Friday to kill after taking our car to Art's, we decided to explore the Berkley some more. After having a wonderful breakfast at La Note, I decided to go and kill some time with the mister at this book store, on the same block. It's small and feels a bit cold and drafty in there, but I loved how quaint and intimate with a friendly store cat who doesn't mind sitting next to you while you read a good book. While we were there they were having 10% off all poetry books because it was poetry month and I love poetry. For some reason I enjoy reading in not crowded and quiet bookstores a lot more. Pegasus is certainly worth a visit, you'll never know what hidden treasures or good deals you might find! read more

I recently had a dilemma. I'd left my job, was down to my last $6, and had a serious George R.R. Martin addiction. Being that everyone and their mom is reading A Song of Ice and Fire these days, the next book in the series was on hold by about 6 other people at the library, and my friends seemed wary of lending me a copy. Lightbulb! Those fine, literate humans at Pegasus are always so well-stocked and helpful, plus they have a trade-in program. Perfect. I could get my copy of A Storm of Swords and unload some of the large, untouched tomes that had been taking up space on my mess of a bookshelf. So I got all of my unwanted media items together and made the short walk over to Pegasus. I made friendly chatter with an acquaintance of mine there, a young man with whom I used to trade coffee favors for screen-printing favors, and I let him know I had books to trade in for store credit. I brought out all of my items, 2 DVDs, 3 comics/trade paperbacks, and 4 non-fiction books. Half expecting them to only take 2 or 3 of my items and deciding I'd be lucky to get even $5 knocked off of that desperately needed copy of A Storm of Swords, to my delight they accepted all but one of my items. I ended up with just a little over $30 in store credit, which I gleefully accepted and traded for the book I had come for as well as the next novel in the series, with $10 left for next time. I was already a fan of this place, but their generous trade in policy made my day and gave me enough reading material to last me for a couple months. I've been getting my calendars and day planners here for a few years now, as well as greeting cards, magazines, and books of all sorts. I even "helped pick out" a Christmas present for my boyfriend to give to my mother from here. I give these cuties a hearty thumbs up and recommend stopping in here with your trade-ins before taking them over to Half Price. read more

I was visiting Moe's books up the street on telegraph and figured i'd check out other shops in the area. Pegasus is a cute "local" shop with an adorable cat who lives there. Their selection can't compare to Moe's, but it has a cozy vibe and the staff seem to put a lot of effort into making the place presentable. I don't post reviews that often, but I think this shop deserved a good recommendation. read more

Cozy little bookstore. The customer service when I went in to find my son some books was fantastic. Unfortunately, the customer service is inconsistent. After learning that my son had already read one of the books, I went to return it and the woman at the counter started examining it and saying there was damage to the book etc. I explained to her that was how I bought it and I never even took it out of the bag to give to my son. She kept going on about the condition and acting as if it had been read etc. never considering that was the way the book was sold to me (and it was). Really left me with an icky feeling. If you are going to have a return policy, and I bring it in within that window, don't make me feel like I did something wrong, especially after I tell you that is how I bought it. read more

This place has a nice selection of zines and journals and a killer used & new poetry section. I like to browse their new arrivals and employee-suggested racks. Speaking of employees, it's the only bookstore in town where the workers actually read and have an idea what the hell you're talking about when you come in there looking for something. Plus, they seem like they actually give a crap if you find what you're looking for. It's become the only bookstore in town I go into. If that's not enough, they have readings that are frequently quite good. It's the last real bookstore in Berkeley. read more

Bless these folks for staying in business as a local independent bookseller with stores open til 10pm and 10:45 on weekends! We're truly fortunate to have these stores in the East Bay. Excellent staff recommendations, good music playing in the stores, great used sections- love Pegasus! Also, they're doing double Frequent Reader points in October. read more

Great place for books for whole family.. New and used books...Customer service was very strong by "Cali" sp? ....She was very helpful and also answered my son's questions about the cats there in a read more

I always shop locally for books, never the big chains or online. However, going to this bookstore made me think twice. I went in looking for a particular book, by a well known author, nothing esoteric. The woman at the counter started by not saying hi, and giving me a snotty look for asking her a question in the first place, like It was a big inconvenience for her to, you know, do her job. I'm cool with the idea of a book not being in stock, it happens. Most stores are nice enough to help you order it and pick it up later. But apparently this store doesn't even know what they have in stock, as she couldn't tell me if they even had it or not, but instructed me to rifle through a particular section where I "might or might not" find it. I'll keep going to local bookstores in the future, however, next time I'm shopping at diesel. Don't waste your time here. read more

Callie and her team were a huge help and went to the ends of the earth to support my experience with an online order. I'm grateful for their business. Go bears! read more

I took off two stars because of the death trap, i.e. step, in the middle of the store. I took a step, expecting ground underneath my foot and instead fell forward (don't worry, I caught myself - but I did scream). Seriously, how am I supposed to see an ankle-trap like that when it's all covered in bright tape and signs that read, "CAUTION, STEP"? I added another star back on because they keep the chick-lit in the actual literature section. I know as well as they do that it's about as close to literature as porn is to fine cinema. Although, if the porn is foreign or the stars use accents, then it is an international film and all the more classy. Also, if the porn stars are Asian then it is super classy and deserves to be on IMDB. Not from personal experience . . . just saying . . . read more