The former garage for the Gamble House is jam-packed with enough Arts & Crafts–related books, art and gifts to make an aficionado tremble with joy: limited-edition sets of drawings of Greene & Greene houses; gorgeous books on the Gamble House, the Greene brothers, the Arts & Craft movement, architecture, design and local history; greeting cards; [...]
Behind the huge Salvation Army Thrift Store lies this smaller cottage where the better goods go. That’s not to say this is fancy stuff—it’s still a funky thrift shop, with the expected racks of old clothing and household tchotchkes. But this is where the better furniture goes, and savvy shoppers stop in weekly for a [...]
At this revered store (which longtime locals still call “Sonnie’s,” a name dating from when four shops occupied this space), the style is unstructured and comfortable, with soft, flowing jackets, long skirts, pants, T-shirts, jewelry and accessories. Many of the pieces are particularly great for travel, because they pack well and can handle wrinkles. Clothing highlights include the Victorian-inspired pieces [...]
If you can’t get enough of Inspector Dagliesh or Kinsey Millhone – and what murder-mystery buff can? – you’ll want to haunt Book ’Em, which carries new and used murder mysteries, detective novels and crime fiction. It’s quite a bright and cheerful place for such dark subject matter, and the staff members are not at [...]
Let Eagle Rock gentrify all it wants, as long as it doesn’t lose this old-fashioned, family-run hardware store, a neighborhood center for generations. Get your keys made, find that metal screw, pick up a hose or a cast-iron skillet, and get advice on every home project you’ve ever dreamed of doing. Hardware | 1620 Colorado [...]
They call it Fair Oaks Avenue, but it’s really Main Street, U.S.A., and this main street has a swell bookstore housed in a 1905 Greek Revival home. The eclectic and well-ordered collection of used and rare books is a pleasure to peruse. We walked in to nose around and walked out with a second edition [...]
Whether you’re seeking a first edition of Catcher in the Rye for $2,100 or a new graphic novel, Book Alley is well worth a prowl. Now in larger quarters farther east from its original location in the Playhouse District, it displays new and used books side by side. Titles on California, photography, history, art, anthropology, [...]
The Old Pas branch of this nationwide chain has the usual B&N assortment of titles, a solid newsstand and a very nice staff. There’s another location in Glendale. 111 W. Colorado Blvd., Old Pasadena 626.585.0362, bn.com
This is a fun destination for lovers of used and/ or rare books. Known for one of the largest sci-fi and horror collections in the region, it also stocks plenty of mysteries, and the lurid, color- saturated covers of its pulp paperbacks make for entertaining grazing. Local author talks and signings add to the neighborhood [...]
Next door to Cook Books by Janet Jarvits and across the street from Mitchell Books (or Crime Time), Archives is a huge, well-lit, thoughtfully displayed used bookstore that is the yin to Crime Time’s yang – while murder and mayhem lurk at Mitchell, theology and pastoral counseling fill the pages here. A great resource for [...]
