Byron from San Francisco

About me The quote “It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious” by Oscar Wilde works for me. I grew up on the central coast and have always valued the California virtues of connecting with people and their stories - there is a reason Hollywood and Silicon Valley started here. Everyone has a story, but so few tell it well. For the la...

Jul 1, 2025

Green Apple Books San Francisco

Get lost in a real book store

""Green Apple Books" in San Francisco is one of my favorite places to get lost for an afternoon. Unmatched levels of discovery await..."

Room after room of new and used books built in an old two-story house, Green Apple Books is one of my favorite places to get lost for an afternoon. While they have a second store located south of the Golden Gate Park on 9th Ave, their Clement street store is the original home base.

Great local bookstores are an endangered species, and to survive, they need to be the best of the breed, and that is Green Apple. Their staff recos are legendary, with hundreds of review cards all throughout the store to help find what you didn't know you wanted. Because they sell both new and used books, they maintain a critically quirky inventory which delivers what I most need in a bookstore: discovery.

I can go in looking for a cookbook by Marcella Hazan and emerge 3 hours later with a said Italian cookery tome, plus a biography of Cardinal Richelieu, which has been out of print for 20 years, a remaindered copy of a Michael Ondaatje novel I missed, a guide to Julia Morgan homes in the Bay Area, and some note cards which I always need. Match that level of discovery Amazon - I dare you.

Shopping

About this spot

506 Clement St

US$

no-price

Website

4153872272

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