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On a quest for underground poetry, hard-to-find first editions,
cheap paperbacks, or political tomes? Head to the Mission District
and begin your search. San Francisco's strong literary heritage
is upheld proudly in the Mission, where bookstores double as community
centers and vibrant meeting places as well.
Grab
your Booklover's store map at Adobe Books, and follow your literary
bliss:
Abandoned
Planet Bookstore: The Beats go on in this eclectic room with
an active piano and phone number inspired by Allen Ginsberg. Large
variety, with strong choices in travel, fiction, film, music, and
children's sections. Check out the Jack Micheline room in back.
518 Valencia, 861-HOWL.
Adobe
Book Shop: Past the window announcing skateboard theater and
vegetarian potlucks lies an inviting room overflowing with old titles,
local art, chatty couches, and Leo the sleeping cat. 3116 16th St.,
864-3936. Bolerium Books: Strong collection includes sections on
labor and radical history, banned books, African-American studies,
women's studies, journalism, anarchism, and Americana. The place
to research that Spanish Civil War thesis. 2141 Mission, 3rd Floor,
863-6353.
Books
on Wings: Libros en espanol. 973 Valencia, 285-1145. Community
Thrift Store: Always a grab bag. Here you'll find pocket-sized paperbacks
alongside new hardbacks and old magazines. This is your bargain
stop, the place in the Mission to consistently find five books for
under ten bucks. 625 Valencia, 861-4910.
Dog
Eared Books: Dense offerings of new and used books, with strong
emphasis placed on art, music, and film; contemporary fiction; gay
and lesbian studies; and travel. Staff picks, magazines, cheap sale
books out front. Vinyl records in the back. 900 Valencia, 282-1901.
Forest
Books: Clean, neat, and tranquil, an oasis from the bustle of
16th and Valencia. Top-end used books, featuring fiction (in English
and translation), history, rare poetry, nature, and ecology. 3080
16th St., 863-2755.
Good
Vibrations: Though not necessarily renowned for its bookshelves,
Good Vibrations does have a deep selection of titles in art and
photography, sex education, erotica (elegant and smutty), how-to
guides, and fetish titles such as "Still Doing It Over 60" and "Spanked
Husbands, Satisfied Wives." 1210 Valencia, 974-8990.
Meyer-Boswell
Books: Carries rare and scholarly law titles exclusively. 2141
Mission, 3rd Fl., 255-6400. Modern Times: Progressive bookstore
for nearly 30 years, featuring a calendar of readings and plenty
of small, independent titles. Political and cultural studies; children's
section; international fiction; Latino studies, gender topics. Discounted
Northern California bestsellers. 888 Valencia, 282-9246.
San
Francisco Comic Book Co.: Tiny shop stacked with boxes from
floor-to-ceiling offers prime grounds to mine for lost classics
or striking new artists. 3335 23rd St., phone N/A. Tall Stories:
Specializes in history, mysteries, and modern first editions. Limited
hours, but private viewings available by arrangement. 2141 Mission
St., 3rd Floor. 255-1915.
–
Jay Cooke is a San Francisco-based travel, food, and culture writer.
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