Forest Books

Great place! Very peaceful, pleasant atmosphere and a nicely tended to selection of used books. The owner (Gregory) is an old-​school SF local and a great guy to chat with. He moved Forest Books from The Mission to Japantown a couple of years ago and the shop has been a great addition to the neighborhood.
Please stop by this lovely shop and buy a book when your in the neighborhood!

I happen to come across when I happen to take a different route then my usual. This book store has a lot of hidden treasures and finds. I browsed through the cook book section. There were plenty of older cook books which I prefer because they usually have recipes where everything is made from scratch. I found a large book on Italian cooking and looked it up on my phone. Turns out this one of those books referred to as a Bible of Italian cooking. The prices listed from online sellers for a used, coverless, or damaged book was pricey. The copy in the bookstore was in great condition and reasonably priced.
There is a children’s section with miniature seats and a table. Looking through the different sections of the store, I noticed books on anarchism, local history, Eastern religions. Very San Francisco. With what I saw, I could tell the owner puts much thought into each selection. All the used books I saw were in good condition.
The owner treats people well and strikes up conversations with customers as he rings up merchandise. He has an easy going demeanor and is very knowledgeable. On my second visit (months after my first), I was surprised he remembered me and our conversation about a French movie he was recommending. You don’t experience this kind of customer service with these huge franchises these days. In addition to the Italian book, I purchased cookbooks about pastry making, Thai cuisine, and Vegetarian Chinese cuisine. I am proud to support this wonderful bookstore.

Lovely eclectic selection of books and an extremely friendly owner.
They have a nice selection of limited and first editions of some fascinating niche publications along with more contemporary work.
Definitely worth a browse.

reasonably priced. has a good asian fiction section

What a super quaint little find! A used/​collectible book store located in Japantown, we stumbled across this on the weekend while checking out the Cherry Blossom Festival. Being fans of bookstores in general and wanting to support a slowly dying business, we stopped in.
The selection is a bit sparse compared to most other types of used bookstores, but I did find something interesting to get while I was there. Unlike other stores of this type though, it lacked that musty, dusty, dirty book smell. Very clean, brightly lit, and quite neat, this was a pleasant stop. Not that used bookstores are unpleasant, but anyone who goes to these types of stores knows the smell I’m talking about.
The store owner (I’m assuming that’s who was behind the counter) was super friendly and nice, always a bonus!
We didn’t look around much, mostly sticking to the sci-​fi/​fantasy/​horror section, but I liked what I saw and would be more than happy to stop by any time I’m in the Japantown area.

Great Find! Stumbled upon this book store in Japantown. Great atmosphere, interesting selection of books, and the man who rang up my purchase, who I assumed to be the owner, seems to take great pride in his business. Walked away with a great book of Haikus and feeling like I had had a unique shopping experience. I recommend you seek this place out.

Used book, NEw books, Books on whaatttttttt?
This place has a very unique selection of books. It’s a bit quiet so you can hear your thoughts and the shop keeper is very nice and informative. I found a lot of good books here for the liking and different books that’s hard to come by. I love the selection of this place. And very grateful for it.

What a great find! We were visiting San Francisco and found Forest Books when walking around. Great selection, well organized, and the owner is a delightful and very positive person. We’ll definitely be back the next time we visit SF.

I am so happy to have stumbled upon Forest Books while visiting SF. It’s perfectly curated with hard to find reads, and I can tell the owner loves going to «work» everyday. He is helpful in sourcing rarities, and I purchased a 1948 Anais Nin short story compilation. The only downfall is that I cannot scoop up this library all at once, because there are so many good finds. Meticulously kept and organized, I came across first editions of Ezra Pound and Virginia Woolf; interesting cultural and art books, as well as an ample selection of philosophy. I will always stop by Forest Books whenever I’m in SF from now on

The store owner, Gregory, is a delight and his shop is a treasure. You will feel better having met him or visiting his store.
A real gem in today’s world.