BookShop West Portal — Local services in San Francisco

I finally, finally visited Bookshop West Portal on the day after Christmas, one of the last SF bookstores that I have yet to visit. Bookshop West Portal is small and cozy and very charming; the staff are friendly and always ready to help (going so far as to explain the peculiar reason why I would not be seeing Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi on the West Coast anytime soon but if I was adventuring back East, I could probably find it). Most importantly is the quality of books in the store, and here I was incredibly impressed -- while the store is small, the books were so well curated that everything I picked up looked interesting, and it was hard to stick to my plan of only buying only one book. If you are looking for something interesting to read and want to find your book in a cozy neighborly store, go visit Bookshop...

Despite it being during a pandemic, I was very appreciative of how the store is dealing with the Social Distancing situation. I found every staff member who I interacted with, very warm and happy to help.

I chose to not offer my earnings to the monopolistic giant, and instead to help a local store, albeit minimally. Even though they didn't have the 2 books that I was looking for in-stock, they were able to accommodate me within 2 days. That's about equal to what the "said giant" would offer. Except, better, because it's a much more human experience.

My only regret was not being able to spend time inside the store, in order to peruse and chat longer with a particular worker. Overall, a very pleasant experience. I'm grateful to have come...

Loved this place! I hadn't been here in years. Sadly, a "certain online site" has distracted me from coming here. However, I needed a book for a birthday present within an hour and they had it.

I was reminded of how much I enjoyed bookstores, from the stationery, greeting cards to the lovely mugs. I was able to buy my birthday card here, too!

One other thing happened while I was at this store. A child was picking out a prize for reading a certain number of books. She was so excited about picking a prize. I loved seeing this joy.

That was one more reason to return to this great...