I swear they curated the art, photo, and "gift books" section just for me. Amazing selection of great non fiction books and friendly staff. A go to place when I'm visiting Arcata / Eureka area. read more

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They appear to sell used books at new prices, which is unconscionable, in my opinion. They are in very good condition and mixed in with the new, so it might not be noticeable, but there are definitely used books on the shelf. Astounding! On the other hand, good curation. Some less popular literature I don't see in most bookshops. read more

Simply put, I am physically and psycho-educationally unable to walk past a bookstore without going inside. Despite the fact that I had three kids with me at the time--and perhaps against my better parental judgment--I somewhat involuntarily walked right into Northtown on our recent visit to Arcata. Inside, I found a cool bookstore that was decidedly Arcata-- an eclectic mix of authors and books that might dwell in some specialized section of an old Vroman's or Borders. The magazine rack had the usuals and the obscures, without a hint of overdetermination or veiled self-aggrandizing nonsense. A bookstore that is so cool it doesn't care if you think it's cool? Yep, this is it. Nice kid behind the counter, maybe even a little square for edgy Arcata... but like all college towns, everyone here is either on their way to self discovery, or trying to find their way back to the path. In the meantime, grab a good book here and get lost in it... indeed, not all who wander aren't lost, but a few folks in this burg sure seem to be. read more

Awesome local, small-town book store in Arcata, CA! I perused the store one afternoon - looking for a specific book - which they did not have in stock at the time. Not a big deal, I still appreciate how neat this little store is. I will say it was about 70 degrees outside the day I visited - and the inside of the store was quite a bit warmer/stuffier than I would prefer. I'm guessing they have no AC as part of their business. #NorthtownBooks read more

Northtown Books - Bookstores Near Me - Arcata, California

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Always excellent kind service. They have gone above and beyond in helping me find books that I want. Thank you Northtown Books!!

Beautiful shop and great selection of books, average price comparable to any other new book store, will definitely be back just for the atmosphere of the shop read more

this store is so cool! they have SO many books. unfortunately i can't read but i love this tote bag that i bought read more

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A wonderful independent bookstore, run by very nice long-time employees. They have a great well-curated selection. Anything they don't have in stock they can usually special order for you, and it will arrive quickly. I've stumbled across many terrific treasures here over the years! read more

Northtown Books has a great selection of books, cool postcards, and hip magazines! I love that I can order books from them (like Amazon, but NOT Amazon!)---and they will be delivered to my home, or I can pick them up in the store. Trying to keep it LOCAL!!! Also, they have this unique collection of free bookmarkers that I LOVE. read more

I don't get up to Arcata (The Berkeley of the North) often enough. I particularly love the "Ying and Yang" between this town and nearby Eureka and enjoy the "Aren't We Precious?" Progressive vibe, the square, and of course Northtown Books. It's a great place to hang, read, wand watch. Local authors and periodicals are a strong suit, and online ordering is available. read more

Great bookstore! Great staff! This local store has just about everything--a solid collection of the top-selling reads, plus a variety of titles I had not seen before, which piqued my interest. They also had a few sale tables with books priced as low at $5. Like all great bookstores, they had a few fun, funky gifts (Wonder Woman stationary, anyone?) and gift cards. They even sold those old-school book plates (the stickers that you write your name on to place inside the cover of your books so your roommate remembers to return them to their rightful owner). Another unique, quality touch: free, do-it-yourself gift wrap in the fanciest papers with a selection of ribbon and gratis, tiny cards to complete the package. I was tempted to wrap up the book I had purchased for myself just so I could use the delicate paper! The store clerk and I joked about that, and she admitted that it's hard for her not to spend her whole paycheck on the fancy papers they sell. You should definitely check this place out! read more

I bought a book for a gift and asked if I could get it gift wrapped, which seems pretty standard at bookstores. I was told:"We don't do that, but there is wrapping paper, tape, etc. at the end of the counter." OK, that's fine. I was expecting to find a roll of paper but instead there was a small box of wrapping paper scraps. I had to patch together two pieces to cover the $30 book I had just bought. Whatever.... read more

Not as cool as Tin Can Mailman but newer books available .................................

Love this bookstore! Just a few doors down from the beautiful Arcata plaza. Well organized it makes your next read that much easier to find. And the people behind the counter are super super helpful. read more

A very nice upscale literature bookstore I'd say. Newspapers from all over. If you wanted to find out what was going on they are in the loop here. read more

A wonderful independent bookstore, and I always spend too much when I come here, which is not often enough. Big selection of magazines up front, and new paperbacks greet you at the entrance. New hardcovers are close behind, and there's stacks and stacks of books beyond. There's a very friendly standard poodle in the store! Come to Northtown Books and lose yourself in a reader's paradise. read more

Great little bookstore! Maybe a little overpriced, but that's what you tend to expect from a small place like this. Great selection - I enjoyed looking around for some time and ended up leaving with a few nice small items. Worth stopping by to see if you're in the area and love books, in my opinion. read more

Excellent INDEPENDENT bookstore. I find what I want to read online and then go buy it at Northtown. If they don't have it, they will cheerfully order it. Good selection of quality books & a good sale table, too. read more

A nice little place. Their staff is always amazing (and cute) and they keep it so clean and organized...a big relief from Border's in Eureka. Being Humboldt County, their stuff tends to be more on the liberal side...but easy to look past, considering the area. Being such a small place, they may not have EVERYTHING but they are very up with the times (in literary assortment and in mere newspaper selection). It's hard to choose since they're so close to two other bookstores, but their service is great and the store is maintained so much better while still looking like a bookstore, not a pristine gallery or cluttered bibliophile's house. read more

Great magazine selection that totally dwarf's Borders, incredible deals on older releases and totally up to date as any college town bookstore should be. read more

Great local store. Drifted in here looking for a newspaper but found lots of great books. I had to hold myself back from buying too many books that I did not even know I needed! read more

They have or will easily get whatever you need or desire! Comfy chairs for skimming and pre reading. Great complimentary book marks of all kinds! read more

Great bookstore. Helpful staff. They'll order anything they don't have. Great selection of local writers, books on nature, flora, fauna, travel. Good graphic arts & graphic novel collection. Great magazine selection. They host their own book club as well, I believe. read more

My God! I'm almost willing to move to Arcata just so I can be close to Northtown Books. The awesomeness of the Redwwods themselves are dwarfed by the coolness of this bookstore. We stopped in to browse while killing a little time. Stayed for an hour. Ate lunch then went back. I stayed in the car while the kids went in with their own saved-up money to buy books. If you have kids you know this can be an iffy situation. Many store employees are rude to or suspicious of lone children. Not here. My 10 year old came back to the car talking excitedly about how the woman at the register had been so friendly and talked to him about the book he was buying. Incredible selection - almost a museum of literature - and friendly people? Hard to believe, but it's true. read more

Love this bookstore. It is the perfect place to find a gift for anyone. It is not overwhelming because the owner/buyers select only the best. Only thing missing is the coffee bar. It is down the street though. Take a book with you. Max, the poodle is adorable, too. read more

My favorite Arcata bookstore. People working there were alway really nice. Great selection of books and magazines. Feel free to browse. You never feel rushed. Relax and find a good book to read. Great clearance section too! The two men that own it are also very nice. A+ read more

An absolute mecca for booklovers, the only thing that could improve this place is more square footage so they could expand their fantastic selection. In other words, if you love perusing books, this place is heaven, mainstream and alternative selections, any interest, any style, pure book fun. read more

If I were able to afford new books at consumer prices, I would buy all of my books here. I love this store. It is a smart bookstore. I love a bookstore that knows what to display and they know! Large and in-depth poetry section. Great magazines. Awesome ambiance. Lovely lovely bookstore. read more

Great bookstore-great staff. It's small, so maybe not the biggest selection. But very good. The biggest selection seem to be in children and travel--not exactly what I was looking for. But that's okay. It's the kind of bookstore you hope sticks around in the age of e-books and Amazon. read more

One star only because last week I was in there shopping for books and had my 11 year old granddaughter with me who had to use the restroom. I told her to ask the man at the checkout if she could use the one in the bookstore and he said yes and sent her to the back of the store. A few moments later she came running out very frightened and totally freaking out. She yelled 'grandma there is a doll with a knife back there'! I was like 'what?' so went back to investigate and found indeed what she said. There was no restroom in the back at all, only a door that said 'restroom' with a stack of chairs in front of it so no one could get in. To the right of the entrance of the back room area was a closet like area with no door and the whole thing was dark and dimly lighted. Standing in that darkened area were two life size dolls about the height of a ten year old child, the dolls had no eyes and one was behind the other with its hands on the one in front of its shoulders. The doll in front was indeed clutching a knife in it's hand as if it had just or was going to stab someone. The whole thing even scared me when I came upon it so unexpectedly. I can imagine how scary it looked to a child. I was angry and went to the man who had sent my granddaughter back there to use the non existent bathroom. I related what had happened and he laughed saying 'oh we get mixed reviews about it some people like it and some don't. some people even bring there friends in here because they like to be scared and see them be scared.' He could not seem to comprehend what I was telling him, that I did not think it was funny and that my 11 year old granddaughter did not enjoy being scared, and that he should not have sent her back there without informing me first; or just not have sent a child back there at all. He just kept laughing his stupid laugh and saying 'oh some people like it, we get mixed reviews about it'. This man has worked there since the 70s as I remember him back then so am sure old timers will know who I mean. So, I can see perhaps they are tired of all the homeless people on the plaza coming into their store asking to use the restroom or whatever so perhaps they thought this would be a joke on them or whatever. But to do that to a child, NO, so wrong. I am sure she is going to have nightmares because of this, she is a child who does not like dolls and clowns to begin with. read more