Downtowne Bookstore

It’s a nice little hidden book store that’s in a little alley. I mainly just browse and hang out there for a bit just because of the ambiance.

The place is located in downtown riverside, plenty of books inside with old, creaky floorboards. The lady was pretty nice and was willing to help me find an author I was looking for. Plenty of genres in here since it’s near UC Riverside and students were looking for textbooks. Lots of childrens, young adult, horror, romance, history, arts, contemporary, and politics.
The day I went someone donated a large collection of Donald Trump biographies and the lady who manned the store didn’t know how to react since all of us thought that someone either became disillusioned or really wanted to spread some Donald Trump love around.
Metered street parking/​garage lot nearby and they take card.

Neat little book nook. Their customer service leaves something to be desired, though. Very unfriendly and unwilling to price a book I was interested in («come back in a couple hours»). Shame, I love to support local. I would have bought a few books during my visit had it not been for that interaction. Found the same used book on Amazon for $ 0.04 and free shipping w/​Prime.

Absolutely love this bookstore! Everyone who works there is SO nice and helpful. They have an excellent selection of books, in great condition and at amazing prices. I could spend hours in there!

This is a very nice used bookstore. I especially love the kids corner with couches, stuffed animals and tons of books! Being a history teacher, I also checked out that selection and found tons of books. I wish I had had more time to look. With a two year old, however, my focus was on the kids section. There were things to play with (blocks) besides the books and it is perfect for the young reader. The main entrance is down an alley so it is easy to miss, but definitely worth the trip if you are a bibliophile.

Such a cute old bookstore feeling! If you are a book nerd you’ll love this store! It’s old and used books. You’re immediately welcome into a world of that familiar scent of pages worn down with love. Tons of cute old covers for book crafts and isles of books waiting for the right person! Definitely not Barnes and noble so don’t expect that. It’s cute, small business owned I would think and full of exactly what an old book store it. I wish they had more seating for relaxing and reading but they do have a sectional up front by kids books. People working here appear to be the right kind who love books and want to help everyone find one.

Love this place! Always find a great used book or 2. They have a little bit of everything. Sometimes you really have to look but you can find real bargains here.

If you love books, this is the place to go! It’s packed wall to wall of books. I’ve only ventured into the children area and I always find something! Lots of classics to be found and enjoyed. Prices seem decent, each kid book is priced between $ 1.50-$ 2.25 (at least the ones I’ve bought.) I’ve found a lot of classic golden books, Curious George Clifford books here.

A great book store. All the books are way under the list price. A must see for people who like a great deal on a book or books. The owner is the sweetiest lady. If you want thriller books, they have the books, and many other.

Decent place. Pricey, good selection.

Neat bookstore! Try to count how many owls they have… or just enjoy the fact that wherever you look, you know from the multitude of owls, that it’s their friendly mascot. Great book prices, used books of course, and that’s part of the wonderful sense of adventure and mystery: you never know what treasure you’ll find. And even if you don’t, you’re sure to come out at least having enjoyed the owls and an old historic building. Friendly staff.

This place has ridiculously good prices. I saw a book priced at $ 50 on the inner jacket for at least 70% less. The kind woman I spoke with helped me find what I was looking for and gladly shared the history of the building. She informed me that at one point the building housed The Enterprise, which apparently was a local newspaper that merged with another newspaper: The Press.
Interesting bit of local history, apparently the current operators have been there about 14 years I think she said. Happy to support and will gladly come back when I want to add to my library.

My girlfriend and I were walking around after having a nice little lunch and just happened to stumble on this place. It is so nice. It’s how a bookstore should be. Cozy, just a little cluttered, but not too much. Their history section, which my girlfriend browsed, was very well organized, and their religion section, which I browsed through, had nice, unique books. I also liked the little political cartoons and pictures that are taped up on the shelves. I will definitely come back whenever I’m in Riverside.

I was in the area & decided to check this store out. It was a fully stocked store & I found some books. However the price is a little high in my opinion for used paperbacks so I only bought 1 book. Kinda disappointed.

Wow! What a wide variety of books! This is my go-​to place for selling my books and finding some treasures along the way. Their policy for selling books is store credit, as good as cash for anything in the store. They trade at the rate of $ 1 per paperback and $ 2 per hardback.
I love how Downtowne Bookstore is tucked neatly in the rear of its building off the Main Street pedestrian walkway. It is located between Mission Inn and the Convention Center, and it’s not difficult to find. And, when you do find it, you’ll be happy to spend a good amount of time searching their wares. Don’t forget to check the front case by the cashier. I’ve discovered they carry some very fascinating books on esoteric subjects there. Recommended to all bibliophiles.

Of course only until I moved out of Riverside did I stumble across this absolutely charming bookstore. I am a every other week regular here and never walk out empty handed. Such an awesome collection if you know where to look and have an idea of what genre interests you. Prices are extremely fair and the owners are very helpful and extremely nice. I LOVE this shop!

I remember this store back when it was new in 1979 lol… Different people own it, and let me tell you these gals were just so nice and friendly, I felt great going there.
The store is a tad bit dark, but they did have lots of foot stools and such to either sit on or grab books on higher shelves. Tons of great «atmosphere».
Selection was… Good/​Modest, but these real «brick and mortar» book shops are getting so rare these days I encourage you to check this place out and support your local small business and don’t give ALL your money to megacrap places like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. OK so Amazon used book sellers have a LOT more selection, but here you go for the charming customer service and experience. You can’t get that at Amazon my friends.
Prices seemed fine to me, and I found a book on birds for $ 3.50 that I can cut up and use in my art journaling. I KNOW!!! I should NOT be cutting up old books, but hey, it was a very common book and I liked this place SO much, I wanted to get SOMEthing!
Now every time I cut out a red breasted sap sucker or yellow bush tit, I will think of my fun morning at the Downtowne Bookstore lol…
Cheers to the charming older gals who run this place, VERY worth your time to check the place out and support them.
:)

I am in love. Owls + used books = the greatest. Staff is friendly, too.
I came away with 6 books for about $ 20, so I’m unsure why other reviewers said their prices aren’t great. Of course it’s going to be more expensive than online; it’s an actual store, staffed by real people rather than a semi-​sweatshoppy Amazon warehouse!

Cool used bookstore with interesting selections and helpful customer service. They have some Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese language books in addition to works in many other categories. You’ll be greeted not only by one of the employees, but by the smell of books. They had a nice bookmark selection and my friend purchased one for me for .50. Great place to check out.

Time to give the Downtowne Bookstore a 4^th star! Having paid several more visits to here and having chatted with the owners on more than one occasion — I think they whole heartedly deserve the bump up.
Some say that books are an outdated medium, and bookstores themselves are harder and harder to find these days; and thats why a place like the Downetown Bookstore in Riverside is so important.
Those of you who have read my review and those of others on here get the gist of the place so I don’t need to repeat the majority of what everyone else has already said. The important thing is that its a wonderful little treasure where you can find gently used books on a variety of subjects both fiction and non-​fiction. The owners are wonderful to spend time with and talk to. If they dont have what you are looking for they are always happy to point you in the right direction.
The prices are very reasonable. No. you are not going to find rock bottom prices on used books like you would find on
. But think about it — those prices are offset by the shipping costs. and then you have to wait sometimes as long as two weeks to get your books. This place represents a wonderful compromise between selection, price and convenience; and you get the personal touch you won’t find online or at those big chain bookstores (if you can even find them these days!)
If your in the area and still enjoy the look, feel and smell of books as well as the experience of reading them, I highly recommend you stroll down the little breezeway just off Main St across rom The Upper Crust and pay them a visit!