JSLALALAND

CITY & ITS PEOPLE

The LA independent bookstore map

In a city where everyone drives, a bookstore is one of the few places that slows you down. Every LA neighborhood has one quietly holding on to what that neighborhood is about. One per page, plus three bookstore day routes: pick one and lose an afternoon.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. Vroman's Bookstore（Pasadena）

    Open since 1894, one of Southern California's oldest independent bookstores. The building was sold in 2025, but the store signed a long lease, and in September 2026 the same family that owns Book Soup took over.

  2. Chevalier's Books（Larchmont）

    Open since 1940 and calls itself LA's oldest independent bookstore. Lots of children's books, storytime on weekends, and a great cookbook section; Larchmont is one of the few little streets in LA where you can shop on foot.

  3. Book Soup（West Hollywood）

    On the Sunset Strip since 1975, with shelves stacked floor to ceiling; it changed owners in 2026, but the staff and shelves stayed the same. 'The quietest shop on the loudest stretch of Sunset.'

  4. Skylight Books（Los Feliz）

    There's a ficus tree growing inside, plus local zines and author readings. Squaresville vintage is right next door, and Los Feliz is great for a slow walk.

  5. Kinokuniya (Little Tokyo)

    Moved to a new home in the Kajima Building, about 14,000 square feet, more than double the old store. Japanese books, manga, stationery, and it's an official Studio Ghibli partner store. If you miss Asian bookstores, come here.

  6. The Last Bookstore（DTLA）

    A huge used bookstore with a tunnel made of books, and on weekends there's a line for the photo spot.

  7. Hennessey + Ingalls（Arts District）

    It calls itself the largest art, architecture and design bookstore in the western US; artsy types, designers and architecture nerds can spend hours here.

  8. Stories Books & Cafe（Echo Park）

    Books and coffee, with a shady backyard where you can sit for ages; great for bringing a laptop to write.

  9. Diesel, A Bookstore（Brentwood）

    Inside Brentwood Country Mart, with new owners since 2024 and still lots of author events; afterward, grab a bite in the Country Mart.

  10. Bookstores by the beach

    Small World Books on the Venice boardwalk has a little mystery room; {pages} in Manhattan Beach has turquoise walls and frequent author events; Zibby's in Santa Monica organizes books by 'mood.'

  11. Culver City、Highland Park

    Village Well in Culver City (9900 Culver Blvd) is books plus coffee, perfect for browsing and resting in one stop; North Figueroa Bookshop in Highland Park (6040 N Figueroa St) was co-founded by independent presses, for picks beyond the bestseller lists. To sit a while, pick Village Well; to dig into indie publishing, go to North Fig.

  12. Three slow bookstore routes

    Northeast LA: Skylight Books → Stories → North Figueroa Bookshop (Los Feliz → Echo Park → Highland Park). Downtown LA: The Last Bookstore → Kinokuniya → Hennessey + Ingalls. Westside: Diesel → Zibby's → Small World Books (Brentwood → Santa Monica → Venice). Pick one area and one or two shops and you're set; you'll drive between them, so leave time for parking.

  13. Two-city mirror

    In Taipei, the bookstore is an Eslite that's lit up 24 hours; in LA, it's one shop per neighborhood. 'In a city where everyone's rushing somewhere, a bookstore is where you stop.'

Places in this story

In this series

Read it with the slides →

An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).