Calico Cat Bookshop

Are you looking for that one-​of-​kind or hard-​to-​find book? Look no further, you’ve come to the right place! Don’t let the place fool you by its size. Even though the space is small, it does have quite the selection. This place is a treasure trove for the rare and hard-​to-​find books! The couple who own it are very knowledgeable and friendly. If they do not have the book you’re looking for, they can probably order it for you, or, at least, tell you where to find it.

I adore the Calico Cat Bookshop. I’ve been visiting it for years and I’ve always had great luck finding rare art books, especially on Golden Age Illustrators or Pre-​Raphaelites and they also have really neat postcards or prints taken from gorgeous old books.
The shop itself is small, cloistered, and packed with interesting books. Nooks and crannies and comfortable corners with a couple of chairs to sit on if you really feel the need. The owners have never been anything less than helpful and kind and personable, and it’s very clear that they love their shop and that they love (and know quite a lot about) books.
It’s ecclectic but well organized, in spite of the appearance of clutter. Clutter is what happens when a lot of books are living together. The Calico Cat has a fiction/​classics selection, but I don’t go to the Calico Cat for fiction per se. I go for the art books, children’s books, poetry, gardening, and history books. I go because I like the owners and I like the ambience and I feel they should be supported.

A wonderful little book store with a lot of great hard to find titles. The ladies there know quite a lot about the tomes they sell.
The owners are from Norway and have been there for several decades!
I will return to this place often! One ofthe better used book stores in the area.

NOT your average book store. LOTS of old/​used books … stacked and in tight spaces. My sister-​in-​law actually found a paperback copy of a book no longer in print. She’s been looking for it on the internet and couldn’t find it, but voila! it was here.
Lots of antique/​2^nd hand shops up and down the main street. This is one of them.

Adorable little book shop on Main St. in Ventura. I love seeing the old books and have found some real gems here.

THEY DON“T ALLOW KIDS!!! My three children and I went in looking for some books to read on our vacation. The moment that we set foot in the store, the cashier informed me «this is not a good store for children ma’am». I then stated that they would be okay, and I will watch them. She then said that it is just to dangerous with all the stacked books, and followed me around the tiny store. I told her that we would leave, that clearly we weren’t welcome. She said «Thank you.» We then went across Main street to the GoodWill store and bought our books there. I was appalled at the store clerks attitude toward my family. My children are well behaved, and I understand that some children aren’t, but to be stereotyped is offensive.