Absolutely love this bookstore! I always walk out with so many hidden treasures. The sections are…read morereally well organized/labeled and it's easy to find anything you're looking for; plus lots of stuff you didn't even know you were looking for lol. Especially in the metaphysical realms and the prices are fabulous. One of the owners Bob was working and he made me feel so welcomed. He said that him and his wife Janis own the place and it just made me feel grateful that my money is going to a small business as special as this one. Do yourself a favor and come spend some time here, you will not be disappointed :)

Love the owners, the folks who stop in, the wide variety and selection of books in each topic, and…read morethe overall atmosphere in the store that you can feel very comfortable looking for what books you would enjoy reading or learning more about and do so at a wonderful lower price . The owners /managers are always super helpful, very informed , very interesting, and treat you with great respect , appreciation for your interest in being there and their interest in helping you feel comfortable to look w/o pressure to buy and at same time offer you what you what will help you find what interests and inspires you . I I used to frequent a gigantic bookstore almost daily when i lived in Tucson where there was an ice cream stand next door that it was the perfect place to go while enjoying the ice cream cone. ...but then i ending up reading far more than i would have in those days and i learned so much about topics I topics I never knew existed. That was actually LIFE changing and led me to many more interesting and valuable things after that. When i arrived here i thought this town HAS to have a used book store ...it's vitally important. So I hope it grows to take up almost a block one day....like the one I used to frequent. And a plus would be if we could have an ice parlor next door with the most delicious and natural and from local farms ice creams...(my dream). smile. . There is nothing like a good book ...that your mind wraps itself around and gets so much more involved with, creatively and uniquely with your own individual history and experiences ....that that does something you don't get from watching movies and videos. Although the visuals have their own benefits , reading has ITS own and is an undervalued and wonderfully enriching to the mind and soul experience and something that might be worth exploring more. It uses the brain different to read than to watch a story and it makes more of that become more alive and more imaginative in ways that benefit us with more abilities to do things differently and expand our awareness and consciousness that we would not have thought of or or known about otherwise. So i am inspired to read more and hope more people start having that interest too that we might be more resourceful and creative and relaxed than what too much technology and not enough quiet contemplative reading DOES for the mind and the body too All ages.

Orca Books is such a welcoming downtown Olympia gem! The atmosphere invites you to slow down,…read morebrowse, and enjoy being surrounded by books... and the resident bookstore cats make the visit even more delightful. Books and cats are a pretty wonderful combination! We especially appreciated the spotlight on local authors. It's lovely to see a bookstore celebrate the creativity in its own community and give readers a chance to discover voices close to home. We even picked up locally and ethically sourced coffee beans, which was such a fun find! What stood out most was the mix of people enjoying the space: babies, toddlers, lots of teens, adults, and everyone in between. There was such a comfortable, welcoming feeling throughout the store. Everyone belongs, and that comes through in the atmosphere. Orca Books is the kind of place that makes you happy to shop local. We're so glad it's part of our community!

Love this place. Love the resident cats and the staff. They have a lot of very cool books, plus…read morethey can order any book for you as well. Great location, right next to the record store and down the street from the bank; very clever. I would honestly just go back for the cats, the books are a bonus. I love supporting small and independent businesses, check them out in downtown Oly.

Love this place. No, they don't have public restrooms, look at the area it's in and think if you…read morewere an employee, would you let everyone that walks in to use the bathroom you'd have to clean. Customer service is good, they are not overly friendly but very helpful when you ask them to help you find something. The place can be confusing as to how it's arranged but to me that's part of the fun. As for pricing, I think they're fair, about the same as the other more popular discount book store.

Truly a HUGE selection!! I felt overwhelmed right when I walked in and opted to ask the employee…read morewhere to go instead of wandering around. She was insanely helpful! She clearly knows the store very well and was able to give great directions of not only which aisle I needed, but the exact section. They don't have everything, but it's definitely a great place to stop first!

Gabi and the entire staff here care about the customers and treat you like family. Jenna for one,…read moreshared insight into Pokemon deck building and went as far as to call on two different days when a card needed for a deck build for my son arrived. Jenna, Gabi, and the entire team here really get it. And the service shows in the way the store in consistently full of excited hobbyists. I will happily take my kiddo here to play TCG or table top upstairs, or browse the selection of card singles, books, comics, and figures at any chance. It's a must stop for us in Lacey!

Easiest 5-star I've ever given. This local game store is unbelievably cool…read more I've been here twice now -- both times, I've received deliberate and friendly offers for help from several workers. And when I share that I'm browsing, it becomes a simple "Just let us know if you need anything." Which I always appreciate. Beyond that, the volume, variety, types of items, and organization blows me away. They have it all here -- ended up with a book for me , a book for my kiddo, and some mystery gift for me (from my wife). I will be keeping an eye on the dice for whenever one catches my eye. The one negative is the impact to my bank account -- not because of it is expensive (everything is VERY fairly priced) but because of how much cool stuff there is and how welcoming it feels there. Their loyalty program is going to pay off very quickly and I am already excited to return again. Thank you all for running such an incredible game shop! So happy to be in Oly with this as my LGS.

Super great record store! Very organized. Good prices, they had a huge variety of records but also…read morehad CD's and cassettes. They don't take card so you can pay either with cash or Venmo. I would recommend stopping here if in downtown Olympia!

this is a nice local record store with a great selection of used and vintage vinyl. they have got a…read moregreat selection of world music. Very nice owner and great prices! worth stopping in!

Love romance bookstores! First time stopping here. Cute little shop with an area you can host a…read morebook club night if you want. I didn't think the books were over priced which was great. You could tell they were a community business, they had a community food pantry and had a section for books that featured the PNW. My only issue was that the selection wasn't huge, maybe that's cause we are a week out from Christmas. The mystery book my sister bought was fun and had some great stickers, the ladies behind the register were really friendly.

Such a great book store! I walked in randomly on a Sunday morning and they had a couple authors set…read moreup with tables and info on their books. Lots of good romance, including a good amount of queer options too! The also has a spice legend so you could see how spicy certain books were. There were wrapped mystery books you could purchase which i thought was a cool idea. Staff were super friendly and happy to chat. I will definitely be back next time I need a good romance. Prices were very reasonable too, including a discount section and a free community pantry.

Incredible nonprofit organization that serves the Thurston county community by providing free books…read moreand activities for children and families to promote reading at all age levels. The foundation leadership is exceptional and the staff is committed to the mission and values of the program.

The South Sound Reading Foundation is a wonderful organization that collects and distributes free…read morebooks to children across the South Sound region. Their booths can be found at many local fairs including The Duck Dash and the Lacey Spring Fun Fair. They collect books for all reading levels, but prefer books geared toward small children and middle schoolers. Their office is located in the North Thurston Public Schools District Office at 305 College St. NE. If you have a few bags or boxes to donate, go to the receptionist to sign in. They will tell you where the South Sound Reading Foundation's office is. If you have a large amount of books the South Sound Reading Foundation can send their book mobile over to your location. Everyone I've talked to from SSRF is very nice and helpful. I'll be back to drop off some books and to take some photos of their main location.

Cool Indy store that plans on staying Indy. Eclectic stock, very nice owner, reasonable prices, a…read moreworthy addition to the local scene. I never know what I'll find, but I will always find something before I leave.

At this point, the art and money were essentially both stolen from me. I've reached out countless…read moretimes after Heather again confirmed that she would ship it, only to be ignored. This is going on 3 months since I purchased the art piece and have yet to receive it, let alone be contacted by Heather at all. This is EXTREMELY unprofessional and disheartening, especially when I went out of my way to support a local business and artist. On July 13th, I bought a few vinyl records and a piece of art that was on display for a local art show. Heather, the owner, was present in the store and assisted with the purchase of both. She informed me that the art show didn't end until July 31st, so if I were to buy the art, she couldn't ship it until the 1st week of August. I agreed to this and purchased the art. Obviously giving her the address where she could ship the art once the art show/exhibit was over. After not receiving the art within the first 3 weeks of August, I began calling the store, but it only goes to voicemail. I left a message and never received a call back. I sent a text to the store's number as instructed on August 24th, but that was ignored as well. Finally on August 30th, after calling each day, Heather answers the phone. She searched for the art for a few minutes, then informed me that it was "just sitting on our shelf with no info". That's odd. But regardless, she reassures me that she would ship it on the following Monday (September 1st). On September 11th, I reached out to Heather directly via a number she had given me and described as her personal cell phone. I sent the text at 5:27pm and she read it at 5:28pm. However, Heather did not reply. I've continued to call the store's phone number in hopes of speaking with her, but I only spoke with a guy once who told me to reach out to Heather's personal cell phone to get assistance with the artwork. On September 28th, I again sent Heather a text message, to which she hasn't responded.