The Book Catapult is a thoughtfully curated independent book shop that has an eclectic and surprising array of books on offer. They have a small selection of cards, totes, and gift items, but they primarily serve a bibliophile's need to always have a good book in hand. This evening was dedicated to poetry and I was lucky enough to hear from Kazim Ali and Adam O. Davis, each well-regarded and thought-provoking in their own way. As I sat and listened to them read from their new books of poems, I felt better than I have in months. The space we were in, cozy and a little warm, became a cocoon of beauty, wisdom and care for nature that I wish could have shielded us from the realities of our flawed society for more than an hour. While the evening has to come to an end, I know that a return visit to this magical sanctuary will hopefully ensconce me in knowledge, joy, and to the power of language once again. Perhaps the Book Catapult will provide what you need or are looking for as well. I'm grateful to the owners for making this very special bookstore a place that welcomes all of us. Peace. read more

Nice cozy location. It was really busy here when we arrived with our Shuttle Bus Crawl. I LOVED this location; it had lots of Stationery items to purchase as well as new books! The counter staff was so helpful, and they had plenty of recommendation note cards underneath books that staff had read and liked; this is always a nice touch. Respectfully Reviewed. read more

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Small independent bookstore in South Park. Visited a few days after book crawl to check what I missed. Parking might be tricky in the evening and weekend due to location. Curated selections on display on the main room wasn't for me, nonetheless still worth checking out if you're a reader. Loved the kids section as they had plenty of items other than books. Was able to snag some items for birthday party. Games, books, puzzles. Lots of cute stuff. There was 1 employee we saw that was friendly enough. Items we got were priced fairly. Will be returning. read more

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This is a modestly-sized but very well curated bookstore. The prices are not cheap but you will almost certainly find something here you can't find anywhere else. Parking is rough in this area. You might need to look for parking in the nearby neighborhood and hoof it a couple of blocks. There are some cool businesses in this area so the walk and effort are worth it. read more

The Book Catapult - Very nice bookstore. Excellent selection. - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

Loved this indie bookstore! It's a nicely laid out store with a great selection. The staff were friendly. I had a great time discovering hidden treasures, especially in the fantasy and art and design section. They also have monthly book subscriptions it cost $70 for 3 months, $140 for 6 months, or $280 for 12 months. Subscriptions for delivery ship the 15th of every month. read more

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One of the most unique bookstores in San Diego. In the heart of South Park we love to see it. If you grab lunch or coffee make sure to stop by for fiction and non-fiction books and local authors. Last Saturday there was a book crawl. Good service , good deals, and good vibes. There is a brewery right next to it. My husband and I got a beer walk and talk situation. Highly recommend! Enjoy!! read more

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My partner & I's favorite bookstore!! It's gives the classic bookstore vibes, the staff are always helpful & have good rec's. Really good selection of options for all book categories. They're also very active in the community. read more

The Book Catapult - Interior - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

Nice bookstore with a good selection of books and a kids section in the back. There were lots of recommendations on the shelves. There is street parking, which can be hard at times in South Park. read more

The Book Catapult - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

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A small boutique bookstore located in the South Park area of San Diego. It's not gonna have the crazy selection you would find out one of those big box mega stores, but it feels very curated and it probably has a lot of things that you're looking for. It exudes tons of 'small town' charm. I think the prices are great and they also has some sale items where you could find some gems as well. The service was very friendly. On a personal note, this place reminds me of one of my favorite bookstores in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. It's got the same vibes and it's one of those type of places where if I lived in the area I would want to visit very often. read more

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Such a beautiful and unique shop! Will definitely be back A highly curated selection, books I've never seen or heard of before!

Cool bookstore with different selections. We saw a book of posters in Egypt and India across time periods that honestly haven't seen in other places. There's a good selection of coffee table type books and fiction read more

The Book Catapult - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

wonderful bookstore, employees are really kind and love their selection. lots of stickers as well

One of my most favorite [book]stores in the city, but maybe I'm just a bit biased and nerdy like that. I can always find something that catches my interest here and can spend hours exploring through different books. They also sell cool gifts that you can't really find anywhere else (like these due date-designed socks that resemble those old library reminders, lol... and obviously a lot more for your favorite bookworm in your life). The employees who work here are all very personable. Ok, so now that you've made it this far: Forget Barnes & Nobles, shop and support small businesses for once. :-) read more

Small independent book store, with a perfectly curated collection for all ages. You don't need a big book store with a huge stock to sift through to find something you love, The Book Catapult has done most of the searching for you. Now you can pop and look for the fun of looking, and be almost guaranteed to find something you love. Miss that children's bookstore from when you were a kid? Tucked in the back room is a kid's literature paradise. We have found the best children's books here, ones that you might not find on Amazon but are worth of thousands of 5-star reviews. Plus, great selection of sticker art books and similar activities! read more

I love supporting local bookstores and The Book Catapult is a great little bookstore in South Park. It carries most topics and children's books that will satisfy most avid readers. The staff is friendly and gives you the space to browse or time to read so you can decide whether to purchase or not. My wife always comes out with a few books that she didn't plan to purchase but ended up buying them anyway. read more

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I rarely review non food or drink places but thought this local SD bookstore in South Park deserves some love too! It's just a store or two down from Dark Horse Coffee so easy to get a drink before or after your visit. I love the curated sections with summaries of staff picks and the way the books were displayed. Go support your local bookshop! read more

The Book Catapult - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

I ADORE this bookstore! The very first time I ever went in, the shop owner made my entire night and I laughed so much. They're always so welcoming and friendly! Their curated book selection is fantastic. I'm always following releases on GoodReads and B&N, yet they always have other new ones that are off the mainstream radar. Iron Flame recently released and it was sold out everywhere at the major outlets - but I knew I could count on Book Catapult to have it in stock and not thrashed! I loved seeing their pre-order stack ready for pick up too, it makes my heart real happy. read more

The Book Catapult - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

Cute little bookshop. Staff is alway friendly and helpful if you need. The kid section is really cute with a mural done by a local artist. If you signup for their email list they have many events every month. read more

My favorite staff and favorite place to grab books. I especially love the large kiddo book area. Really a lovely neighborhood resource.

I loved visiting this bookshop. They have a lot of shelf talkers, which I really like to browse to see what I should read next. Good selection and friendly staff. read more

I visit the book catapult occasionally. This bookstore is stuffy and weird. Like, you want to like it, but you definitely simply can't love it because it's stuffy. Overly curated books on tables and window displays that don't stand out. The book catapult is a small independent bookstore, with Barnes and Noble vibes (ouch), hence the over curated tables. THE VIBE: During the week: It seems a lot of townspeople and "regulars" shop at this bookstore. People with opinions and a lot to say. During the weekend: Lots of people visiting the neighborhood. THE STAFF: The staff is ok. Kinda pretentious. Tough business. Nonetheless, the books have been utterly curated for your shopping perusal. I've purchased greeting cards, puzzles, notebooks, pens, calendars and boxed cards here before. All in all, the book catapult is stuffy and peculiar. I would avoid buying novels/books here unless you happen to be wandering the streets of South Park and find yourself in the neighborhood. Bookstores are cool and still good for you. Don't let the catapult make you think otherwise, it seems like they are trying. I hate that I'm giving a bookstore 3 stars. I don't know what that means given I love the smell of books. I suppose the curated selection is simply not for me. It's tough when you can't get lost in a bookstore because all the selected titles are so catalogued. I wonder about the diversity of the staff. PRO: they have quite a great diverse children's book selection. read more

Enjoyed the ambiance and selection. Customer service could be improved. Guy in the front could be friendlier. We visited on a Sunday for the first time and it felt like he was disinterested. I did enjoy the selection of children's books though which is what we came in for after my haircut across the street. This is one of my newest favorite bookstores albeit a little small for mamas with strollers. I got a book for my 4 yr old and my baby which they are still enjoying. I thought the books were unique (non-fiction and educational which I love!) I would come back if we come to visit South Park again. read more

BC is a fun destination, with a great selection of new books that you have heard of, and some that you haven't. One of the owners used to be a book buyer at UCSD's book store, so he knows books. The store also has puzzles, and some fun other things. Helpful staff. This store hosts author talks, a book club, and the monthly Dime Stories where people read the short stories that they have written to an audience of mostly other short story writers. It's always fun to attend. read more

Great bookstore in South Park. I love stopping by whenever I'm in the area. They have a really amazing curation of books, one of the first places in SD where I was able to find Asian translated fiction. Staff are really friendly and knowledgeable so if you ask for recommendations they'll definitely have some ideas! read more

The Book Catapult - Asian translated fiction books - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

Love this book store. Such a nice selection and friendly staff! My 9 ans 10 year old enjoy the children's section

I was on the lookout for some casual shopping while in San Diego, and a friend recommended the Book Catapult. I could see immediately why she enjoyed this store: there are ample shelves filled with all kinds of books, and the staff member on site provided friendly customer service. You could feel the great vibes immediately, and the only quibble i had was that the theater/play selection was limited. However, I ended up leaving with a great book, and could have spent a long time just perusing the store for some excellent reads. If I lived in the area, this would probably be one of my favorite bookstores. read more

This is my favorite bookstore in San Diego! I trust their staff picks more than any other bookstore.

I love this little independent bookstore. It is such a pleasant place to walk into! Very colorful and often have books on my TBR list. I also order online through their system. I will say it takes a while to receive the book but I'll take that over supporting Amazon. read more

I love The Book Catapult's title curation, stationery section, and very tempting collection of coffee table and locally-topical books. The children's book section is similarly delightful. But most of all the staff are knowledgeable, passionate about reading, and helpful with recommendations for gifts or next literary adventures. South Park is lucky to have this gem! read more

Go for the staff recs! I love indie bookstores, and one of the best parts is looking at the staff recs and getting a feel for the opinions of the booksellers. This is a relatively small store, most of what they have I would classify as new releases, but they have a selection the spans genres. A good place to find your next read(s)! read more

I've lived here for close to 20 years, there have been a variety of stored in and out of this strip mall. I have a different perspective than a lot of the other reviews here because I am a local and a homeowner. I love supporting my neighborhood businesses and helping them thrive. I was really sad to see The Grove go but I understand why they did. It is really nice having a small local bookstore to go to when I am out and about and want to grab a book and get a coffee. This place is dangerous because I really really love to read, I love books just as much if not more than coffee and wine. I hold myself back and raid the local free little libraries from time to time but after finishing up The Third Hotel which this place had a cool little handwritten write up about, I was searching for another Fiction to read, and this place does something that you would never see at a Barnes and Noble, employees write little descriptions about the book and the author and attach them to the shelves, I absolutely love this! I am currently reading a book I would have never picked for myself. Since I work late and can't join Book Club's this is the next best thing! Love the employees and owners, they seem like good people. I will definitely be back...maybe I should send them half my paycheck for a down payment...LOL. Those of you who don't live in the neighborhood who are stressed about parking why don't you support your own neighborhood bookstore? I bet you have one. If you don't want to do that and you are not disabled, drive down Juniper past the restaurant area, park your behind down there and walk a quarter mile up to this place. Parking is getting worse and worse with all the overbuilding so you have to make adjustments. By the way there is an interesting boutique in the back of the store, some touristy and unique clothes and gifts back there. read more

Was in the area for breakfast and heard that the SD Book Crawl was this weekend. I've never heard of the SD Book Crawl until now and decided to see how the event worked. Love the idea of supporting local independent bookstores. I did not participate in this event, but did browse the bookstore to see what caught my eye. So many books caught my eye which tends to be the case in small bookstores. I did not buy a book as I already have 3 books I have not read waiting at home for me lol. But I did make note of the books that interest me to come back and purchase. Side note: their children's book section has a cute mural with plenty of locally inspired books. Also loved the small novelty items they have for sale. Definitely coming back to buy the books that caught my eye. read more

Eponymously I found a copy of The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Earling, my former Native American Montana English professor, here, to replace the one I was gifted, which I had just lost. The Book Catapult is a revelation. read more

What a charming little bookshop! My friend who lives nearby is a regular here. It's their favorite bookstore so I had heard all about it. I was glad to finally visit. It's quite small but packs a punch - they have a great curated selection with shelf talkers (those recommendation cards) from the staff with a good mix of new and older titles. They have a huge selection of new releases up front, too. I had a good time browsing the spinners too - a lot of bookstores have those spinning shelves with NYRB Classics. In this case they categorized them into a bunch of different topics which made them more fun and interesting to browse. It's pretty fiction heavy up front, but the non-fiction is well curated too. I enjoyed looking through the recent non-fiction releases and found a book by an author I like that I hadn't heard about yet. The other non-fiction categories are small but varied. They also have lots of great gifts like Out of Print Clothing wares, pins and mugs and coasters from local makers. Lots of options no matter who you are shopping for. Great little store and I'll make an effort to visit again whenever I'm in the area! read more

One of the best bookstores in San Diego! I frequent the Book Catapult and always love the atmosphere. They bring so much to the community, hosting author events and monthly book clubs. The sellers are so helpful and willing to find you the right book. It's located right in the heart of South Park, in walking distance to ice cream and coffee shops as well as a record store and other fun shops. A must see if you're in the area! read more

The Book Catapult - Front of The Book Catapult - Bookstores Near Me - San Diego, California

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Super good selection. Easy to find what I was looking for and some stuff I wasn't. Great staff recs. Highly recommended

My new favorite book store in South Park and it's indie! After a recent independent bookstore crawl through San Diego, this was one of the stops and it was in my opinion the best stop on the route for the day. The book crawl is a three day event, where you get a book stamped and you gain rewards by the more you visit, both from the businesses and from the sponsors. The reason I loved this place so much is the size, layout, and variety of items. They have many gift type items towards the front of the store, popular and hard to find books in the middle. A huge children's section towards the back and then add the puzzles and other learning objects nearby. When you turn the corner, there is a boutique and I scored some handmade palazzo pants for $14.99, they have many one size fits all sizes to choose from! I have to get back for the palzzo pants alone! Perfect for year round wear! They have other fun things such as out of print socks! On the day, we visited, I picked up a book, by local author and veterinarian titled, "My Patients and Other Animals". Her daughter was there and made an origami dog bookmark for us as she Suzy signed the book. She invited us back, "dog allowed". In the end, my husband answered a trivia question at the desk and if you get the answer correct you may pick out a free book from a special area. He answered the question and woohoo he picked up a book on Southern Food, so I'm expecting to see some collard greens, hush puppies and cornbread real soon! I really can't wait to get back and I look forward to some down time to: read more. #TheBookCatapult #BookSignings #SouthernFood #PupsandPalazzos read more

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The Book Catapult is in one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Diego and I miss walking in and browsing around or stopping in to hear the picks for the month. But until those days return, I've been feeding my book cravings with online ordering. It's simple and the shipping fee is inexpensive. It's the simple joys of receiving a brand new book in the mail that helps boost my mood. They send notes of order confirmation and heartfelt thanks when you order and communicate well through their newsletter and social media to navigate through the different phases of opening during the stay-at-home orders. I was happy to see they had received so many orders because I want independent bookstores to thrive. Whether in-person or all-digital, I've had excellent customer service here and look forward to when things are back in business full-force. read more

great bookstore, something for everyone, loved that I could look up the book I wanted online and see that they had it in stock for me to pick up. read more

Amazing little bookstore! Although it doesn't look like much from the street, they have a wonderful and expansive selection of books. I even love how the bottom few shelves are tilted up so that you don't even have to bend down to read the titles (it's the little things!) They also have lots of puzzles, journals and little gifts too, I'll be heading here next time I need a gift for a friends or family. read more