Books, Inc.

After our meet and greet with Heather at the library, she took us to Books, Inc, the oldest booksellers in the West. We didn't get to take our group photo, but here are some other great shots.

Source: Jared Fagan

This was the Van Ness location in Opera Plaza. 

Source: Jared Fagan

 A few of the selections we'll probably read in our group! See any favorites?

Source: Jared Fagan

I should have grabbed this book, Secret Lives of Great Authors. It had some fun facts about some of our favorite writers!

Borderlands

Our third stop was to Borderlands, a San Francisco staple if you're looking for Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror!

Source: Jared Fagan

I battled Jeane for Solaris. Really, I beat her to it and handed it over. Remember, short but fiesty!

Source: Jared Fagan

Fun place to go to hang out with coffee and the latest George R.R. Martin.

Source: Jared Fagan

A very streamlined look.

City Lights Bookseller

We made our way to City Lights which is one of the most prolific bookstores in the city as it had a hand in the city's Beat Movement. We loved it!

Source: Jared Fagan

Down in the basement!

Source: Jared Fagan

The iconic front windows!

Source: Jared Fagan

The main floor.

Source: Jared Fagan 

Up to the Poetry Room where they keep the Ginsbergs, Burroughs and Kerouacs among others.

Green Apple Books

There were four bookstores on our tour and Green Apples was the first. It was really great place that made us all feel like we could kick back with a tattered paperback and hide from the rainy weather. 

Source:Jared Fagan

Hanging out at the counter!

Source: Jared Fagan

Pretty neon!

Source: Jared Fagan

We could really get lost here!

Source: Jared Fagan

Kevin Smokler

Hey CWAtCers. We have got wonderful news and it actually fits the title of the blog (I know we confuse you with that one). If you've been with us from the start, you know we started as a book group on Goodreads that specializes in classic books, both traditional and contemporary. On the blog, we decided we wanted to cover a lot more of the literary world. It's still a big part of our goal, but there are so many books out there that it's hard to leave them out. 

This is one of those times we delve into our roots. We've gotten our first author booked for the podcast. Kevin Smokler, author of Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books You Haven't Touched Since High School  will be joining us for the mid-May episode. I have some questions of my own, but here's your chance to get a few in as well! Add your questions here and I'll try to get them in during the interview.

I'm really excited about this and hope you guys are as well. More info about Kevin and his book can be found here. 

P.S. while we were in SF on April 4th, we ran across this at Books, Inc on Van Ness.