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City Lights Bookstore

Expert Reviews of City Lights Bookstore

Citysearch | If you've ever clutched a dog-eared book by one of the Beat writers, you probably know this place well.

This little piece of history was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti as an outgrowth of his small-press imprint, which introduced us to Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac and most gloriously, Frank O'Hara. Now a North...
citysearch.com - expert review - 11/20/2006
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User Reviews of City Lights Bookstore

Yelp.com Review - by Carissa M.

5.0 of 5 stars. This is my "happy place". It's that place go to when my world turns to shit. The selection is amazing; diverse, highbrow, and interesting on top of it all. Yes the clerks are strange and a little…
yelp.com - user review - 09/27/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Melissa F.

4.0 of 5 stars. An old professor of mine told me to check City Lights out when she heard I was moving to SF; today I had some free time and decided I'd swing by. I browsed through the poetry section for a long time…
yelp.com - user review - 09/24/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Ani M.

5.0 of 5 stars. I love this bookstore!! Very quaint, but with a great selection. I found The Enchanter, Nabokov, which I rarely see sold at major bookstores, so of course I had to pick it up! I would recommend going…
yelp.com - user review - 09/21/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Leigh McInnis Lee G.

4.0 of 5 stars. good place for books
yelp.com - user review - 09/20/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jeff S.

3.0 of 5 stars. We now know where the old beatniks and hippies ended up...standing behind the counter at City Lights as cranky, crabbing old men who carp at the customers. (To be fair, there are young people working…
yelp.com - user review - 09/14/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Kai S.

5.0 of 5 stars. Come here and read - if you see something eye-catching, have a seat and lose yourself! City Lights just can't be beat in its awesome vibe and selection. I love coming here late on a weeknight and…
yelp.com - user review - 09/04/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Robert m.

5.0 of 5 stars. Now that MIDNIGHT SPECIAL is closed down(oh so sad). City Lights now stands as my favorite bookstore on the west coast . well organized- very diverse. I actually felt comfortable sittting and reading…
yelp.com - user review - 09/03/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by susie K.

4.0 of 5 stars. We went here with our 8 year old daughter. we're from portland so we're used to powells but my daughter had the best time sitting on a little wooden chair browsing through their small collection of…
yelp.com - user review - 08/30/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Aileen P.

5.0 of 5 stars. If you love the Beats, you'll love this bookstore. That said, I love the Beats.
yelp.com - user review - 08/27/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by K L.

4.0 of 5 stars. Like Vesuvio next door, City Lights, for me, is about the history - and you can still see Larry wandering about. Nice. Another very cool feature of City Lights is that you can use their address for…
yelp.com - user review - 08/26/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Po L.

5.0 of 5 stars. If you don't know how to read this might be the place for you. This place is Iconic. Sit and read. You can buy the book too which is probably a good idea if you like. You can even read poetry up…
yelp.com - user review - 08/21/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Mich L.

3.0 of 5 stars. I like everything City Lights Stands for. But there are a few things that just feel wrong 1. When I first moved to the Bay Area in the mid 90's, I had all these mental images of what City Lights was…
yelp.com - user review - 08/20/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Iain T.

5.0 of 5 stars. City Lights has a venerable history and is my favourtie bookshop in the city. It's certainly not the biggest bookshop in the world, although is deceptively large once inside, kind of like the Tardis.…
yelp.com - user review - 08/12/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Daniel P.

5.0 of 5 stars. Disregard everything negative anyone's said. If you understand what a bookstore should be, you will love it here. Quiet, wooden, old, stocked with choice titles. Makes clever use of the awkward…
yelp.com - user review - 08/09/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by David R.

3.0 of 5 stars. I wasn't that impressed with the store. Don't get me wrong, I have enormous respect for the history and cultural contributions of City Lights. But as an actual bookstore, it doesn't distinguish…
yelp.com - user review - 08/08/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jenn F.

4.0 of 5 stars. This place is awesome. Nothing more.
yelp.com - user review - 07/31/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Kristen S.

5.0 of 5 stars. City Lights gives the city character. It feels...defiant and dignified. The smell of books, books, and books. The smile of the helpful guy behind the counter. The quiet, the culture, the safe…
yelp.com - user review - 07/28/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Evan M.

5.0 of 5 stars. This place is an American institution and rightly so. Enjoy the great books and the history that goes with it.
yelp.com - user review - 07/25/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jason M.

5.0 of 5 stars. If you are ever catching a bite in the immense degree of North Beach then you can't even consider walking past City Lights. Just put a zipper on your mouth for the next hour or two and be prepared to…
yelp.com - user review - 07/24/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Ed U.

5.0 of 5 stars. You bulldozing Borders-browsing buzzards need to stay away from this institution. I mean it. Beat it. Hit the road. Go peddle your discount card somewhere else. Only true book lovers need come here,…
yelp.com - user review - 07/22/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Quartknee K.

2.0 of 5 stars. Don't believe the hype.
yelp.com - user review - 07/21/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Esti A.

5.0 of 5 stars. City LIghts is one of the things that made me move to San Francisco. I used to order copies of Kerouac's Scripture of the Golden Eternity over the phone from this place. Now that I live here I just…
yelp.com - user review - 07/19/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Irene Z.

5.0 of 5 stars. This place is mecca. Yeah, there are times when the cashiers blow, but who cares? You aren't there to make friends with humans, you are there to make friends with poets and writers, and to absorb the…
yelp.com - user review - 07/17/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Amelia E.

5.0 of 5 stars. While I prefer to buy books used on Amazon.com, I appreciate and value the history. They did have a huge selection of Diane di Prima (no surprise there) and some Bukowski shorts illustrated by Crumb…
yelp.com - user review - 07/08/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Matthew G.

5.0 of 5 stars. Good selection. Great hours. Independent. Quiet. Piece of San Francisco history. Nothing compares to City Lights. You should buy your books here.
yelp.com - user review - 07/08/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jenn S.

3.0 of 5 stars. I browsed though this bookstore to kill time before dinner and I was surprised to find Hyphen Magazine! That's why this place gets three stars. They also had a performance that night but I had to leave…
yelp.com - user review - 07/07/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by RJ A.

3.0 of 5 stars. In this day and age of Amazon.com I never buy books at bookstores (unless it is in an airport) so I am rating this on for the staff/atmosphere. Staff was super nice, all very young. Atmosphere was…
yelp.com - user review - 07/05/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by herbert r.

1.0 of 5 stars. There's a review from earlier in the year, rather succinct, where-in the gal who wrote it defined the staff at City Lights in one word: Heathens. I feel uncomfortable in there. I shouldn't feel…
yelp.com - user review - 07/04/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Chris G.

5.0 of 5 stars. Lawrence Ferlinghetti: I was surprised when your friends helped you stand up to the podium in discomfort after being huddled and rolled in a wheelchair. You could have been ailing when you relied on…
yelp.com - user review - 06/30/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Dan B.

5.0 of 5 stars. What a cool bookstore. I'm not even a reader, but so many in the selection piqued my interest. If only there was a bookstore like this in Chicago............
yelp.com - user review - 06/18/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Valeria R.

5.0 of 5 stars. I feel smarter just being in this bookstore. What a wonderful, eclectic collection. Their window displays can't be beat...they draw me into the store like a siren song. Whoever is in charge of…
yelp.com - user review - 06/12/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Neline S.

5.0 of 5 stars. If I lived around this area - I would have gone BANKRUPT because I love this bookstore! Everytime I come here, usually with my out of town friend in tow, I always end up buying book(s) - usually…
yelp.com - user review - 06/09/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Tom B.

5.0 of 5 stars. Great independent bookstore with incredible selection. And it is a literary landmark! I know that if I'm looking for any book on Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and the gang, I can easily find it there.…
yelp.com - user review - 06/09/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by ayi l.

5.0 of 5 stars. The Holy Grail of independent bookstores. If it's been published and still in print, the staff at City Lights will find it for you. Odds are they have it in stock. Every time I go in, I end up buying…
yelp.com - user review - 06/05/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Caitlin M.

2.0 of 5 stars. I feel bad giving this place a review that's not very good. But, I always found it to be pretentious. Yesterday, that point was driven home to me. As soon as I walked in, the unpleasant gentleman…
yelp.com - user review - 06/04/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Meredith A.

5.0 of 5 stars. they redid their floors, which probably needed to be done, but ever since then, it seems to have lost a bit of charm for me. especially upstairs in the poetry room. y'know... but i still like to go up…
yelp.com - user review - 05/26/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jennifer L.

5.0 of 5 stars. go to the top floor and look for ferlinghetti. his imprint is everywhere down to the fact that paperbacks are sold here, the very thing he at one time championed. excellent selection of books, of…
yelp.com - user review - 05/17/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Alicia J.

5.0 of 5 stars. I get the goose bumps out of excitement that begin while I wait to cross the street to get into City Lights. All those shiny books in the windows begging me to read them can be too much for me to…
yelp.com - user review - 05/15/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Derek E.

1.0 of 5 stars. A conversation I had at City Lights this afternoon: Me: Where would I find Malcolm Gladwell
yelp.com - user review - 05/11/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Michelle H.

5.0 of 5 stars. Great collection of books, with many floors. A great collection of literature from the Beat generation...and more. A maze of books to choose from. Also located in a great location on Columbus Ave in…
yelp.com - user review - 05/11/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by david f.

5.0 of 5 stars. I love city lights....especially the Evidence section in the basement... small section of books from medical curiosities to criminal masterminds....love it love it love it....this section....check out…
yelp.com - user review - 05/10/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jessica R.

5.0 of 5 stars. Oh sweet baby Jesus do I like this place! I have spent literally hours in this place after work, trying to lose myself in a good book. They have a great selection and the staff have guided me to books…
yelp.com - user review - 04/24/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Katie Anne N.

5.0 of 5 stars. Great bookstore. They have almost everything as well as local writers and publications. I can easily spend hours in here on a weekend. Sure, may be touristy, but the location suits it. You will surely…
yelp.com - user review - 04/20/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jenni O.

5.0 of 5 stars. One of my all-time favorite places to spend time. I could browse here for hours - and have sometimes even been known to purchase a book.
yelp.com - user review - 04/11/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Amanda P.

5.0 of 5 stars. 2 Stars Taryn G.?! Come on. So what if you were an English major. City Lights is a San Francisco landmark.. Granted many tourists from all over the world pay homage to the beat generation by…
yelp.com - user review - 04/10/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Taryn G.

2.0 of 5 stars. This place was a huge let down for me. As an English major, I found it pretty disappointing that the majority of books in the store were novelty, tourists texts about "beat culture" and other vague…
yelp.com - user review - 04/07/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by patrick g.

5.0 of 5 stars. Drink at Vesuvio's next door, vomit in Jack Kerouac Alley and then pick yourself up some reading material next door at City Lights. Oh yeah, wear a black turtleneck, smoke Gitanes and bring your…
yelp.com - user review - 04/02/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by matthew h.

5.0 of 5 stars. i love this place. the history, the attitude. the selection. It may sacreligious to say so, but ferlingetti always seemed a bit of a hack poetically to me, but he deserves undying praise for city…
yelp.com - user review - 04/02/2008
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The worst customer service in all of San Francisco. SAD.

This was at the top of our places to visit while we were in town. It wasn't the best experience. After the way the staff treated us, I'd never give them my money. It's a neat store, so it's unforunate that...
citysearch.com - user review - 03/13/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Joan S.

5.0 of 5 stars. I believe beatniks like Kerouac use to hangout here and then go to Vesuvio's after. Well I did it the other way around. On a drunken escapade, I was determined to buy a book. The result? The Essential…
yelp.com - user review - 03/12/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by scott d.

5.0 of 5 stars. Definitely my favorite bookstore of all time, with such a great wealth of material for people who think differently. I would kill for someplace like this in DC or VA.
yelp.com - user review - 03/08/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Vicente M.

5.0 of 5 stars. city lights is amazing, walk up the old rickety stairs into the poetry room, read some odes and glance out the window towards the alley and the downtown skyline and dream. ah, i love this city.
yelp.com - user review - 03/08/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by John S.

5.0 of 5 stars. It's taken me this long to write a City Lights review? A friend knows when to say when. So where were you, friend? OK, I want to give this place four stars because, deep down, I feel like a tourist…
yelp.com - user review - 03/05/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Sahar S.

5.0 of 5 stars. Okay, so I love bookstores. I seek them everywhere I go, and my favorite of all time in in Paris and I miss it every time I walk into a bookstore. But then I was taken to City Lights. Just as small,…
yelp.com - user review - 02/29/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Kimberly K.

5.0 of 5 stars. i love this place so much i want to lick the books.
yelp.com - user review - 02/25/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Brian M.

4.0 of 5 stars. Of course nothing can compare to Portland's Powell's Books. But this was a pretty cool bookstore in a cool neighborhood. 3 floors of various books on all subjects. Its worth it to check this place…
yelp.com - user review - 02/19/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Meg B.

5.0 of 5 stars. Once I tried to see if the staff would lock me in overnight if I just hid out upstairs at closing time. A sleepover in Citylights would be the best night of my life. I daydream about trips back to SF…
yelp.com - user review - 02/19/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by heather h.

5.0 of 5 stars. I would live here if I could.
yelp.com - user review - 02/17/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Dee H.

5.0 of 5 stars. It is easy to camp out at this bookstore for hours. They have a good selection of books. I have seen some good book and poetry readings by talented artists. I also like the banner outside of the…
yelp.com - user review - 02/16/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Nina T.

5.0 of 5 stars. This is the best bookstore in San Francisco; it has 4 floors of books, zines and other publications. Great selection, good prices and well organized too. and every now and then they have really…
yelp.com - user review - 02/06/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by jack D.

5.0 of 5 stars. just an amazing place... 10 stars
yelp.com - user review - 02/03/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Will A.

5.0 of 5 stars. "Have a Seat and Read a Book" - can't think of a better theme for a bookstore! I went into City Lights looking for a particular journal and ended up losing a few hours reading random books. They…
yelp.com - user review - 01/20/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Hoot A.

5.0 of 5 stars. You know when you get really excited about something... I mean really really excited, and all of a sudden you have to pee? Yeah, that's me every single time I walk into this place. I love books and…
yelp.com - user review - 01/18/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jackie G.

5.0 of 5 stars. Probably the most famous bookstore in this town, if not the country. I kind of dig how they separate by author's nationality....it's an interesting way to do it.
yelp.com - user review - 01/13/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jennifer H.

5.0 of 5 stars. City Lights is probably the only literary tourist attraction, but that is a good enough reason to go if you're in the area. Be advised, the only nearby street parking I could find was 30 minutes…
yelp.com - user review - 01/13/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Marcy Lola R.

5.0 of 5 stars. City Lights is one of the main reasons I'm jealous of Bay Area locals. The history, the subversive atmosphere, the irreverence of it all. And the books. Well, I've spent hours, hours just scanning the…
yelp.com - user review - 01/10/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Natalie G.

5.0 of 5 stars. The first time I went to City Lights I probably spent about an hour scanning the shelves, walking up and down the creaking stairs, and salivating over the books. This is the kind of place where you…
yelp.com - user review - 01/09/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Robyn H.

5.0 of 5 stars. This is heaven for book nerds. The quirky featured titles and wide-ranging selection. It was a great little oasis from the tourist madness of Chinatown around the corner. I tried to walk out without…
yelp.com - user review - 01/07/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Daniel M.

5.0 of 5 stars. I won't lie, this was a pretty impressive bookstore. Clearly a non-corporate joint... they pushed sales on some of the more homely type of publications. This it the first place I heard about…
yelp.com - user review - 01/06/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Jack H.

5.0 of 5 stars. I'm glad they are here. The history of this place helps make San Francisco the unique place that it is. Good selection of certain genres of books. Countercultural, underground, social commentary,…
yelp.com - user review - 01/04/2008
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Yelp.com Review - by Laurel B.

5.0 of 5 stars. Everyone has said it before, but it really is a treat to come here. The books alone would have been enough (catch that religious reference), but there's the history, the atmosphere, the whole North…
yelp.com - user review - 12/23/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Tracy N.

5.0 of 5 stars. Just an amazing library...
yelp.com - user review - 12/21/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by chris b.

5.0 of 5 stars. There is no way to say differently what has been said hundreds of times before. This bookstore is in a class by itself, there is no comparison. My particular interests are philosophy and music and you…
yelp.com - user review - 12/18/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Daniel C.

5.0 of 5 stars. What a bookstore should be. I have been going here since I was a very young child. I remember my father driving me into San Francisco when he decided to go on a field trip, and we would spend hours…
yelp.com - user review - 12/15/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Don B.

5.0 of 5 stars. Not only is this the best bookstore in the Bay Area, but they also have a heart. The owners are very kind people who'll let anyone browse at will plus a lot more. During the 60's this was my haven from…
yelp.com - user review - 12/07/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by nadines d.

5.0 of 5 stars. I had low expectations walking into the store--as it's obviously so famous and has a steady flow of tourist traffic due to its history, maybe it would be a great place to snap photographs. But this is…
yelp.com - user review - 11/24/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by lemonbar l.

5.0 of 5 stars. i salivate over the unique stock . nice press. many titles i covet here. not cheap, but high quality.
yelp.com - user review - 11/23/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by jenny A.

5.0 of 5 stars. Best book store ever. Period. WTF is wrong with Yelp? This is in North Beach, not Nobb Hill! I've only been to SF 3 times, but even I know that. This the store to go when you don't have a book in…
yelp.com - user review - 11/20/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Amy H.

5.0 of 5 stars. I have personally found some great rare books here and I did enjoy there "Dissent is not unAmerican" banner.
yelp.com - user review - 11/19/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Jenz y.

4.0 of 5 stars. my second favorite bookshop (behind green apple) - the history does it some justice, and there's also a great selection/wide variety in the books they carry, but the biggest selling point is their…
yelp.com - user review - 11/10/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Steven K.

4.0 of 5 stars. this is a great little bookstore right in north beach. the staff is helpful, knowledgable, and friendly. this is not only a great location but a great store too. it's filled at the seams with so…
yelp.com - user review - 11/04/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Mike P.

5.0 of 5 stars. This is a Beat shrine! A classic bookstore filled with great books, many of them obviously from Beat writers and poets. A must go to place when visiting San Francisco. You could spend literally hours…
yelp.com - user review - 10/30/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Sophie D.

5.0 of 5 stars. Historic.
yelp.com - user review - 10/28/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by Harmony O.

5.0 of 5 stars. I like to visit City Lights whenever I'm in SF. Especially like the painted outer walls of City Lights. As a poet/writer with a full time professional career doing something totally unrelated, I…
yelp.com - user review - 10/22/2007
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Yelp.com Review - by R P.

3.0 of 5 stars. Thank goodness places like this still exist in a day of Borders and Barnes Noble. Sure there doesn't seem to be an organizational system but I always aimlessly wandered around the creaky wooden floors…
yelp.com - user review - 10/18/2007
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