Circus of Books

Horrible service!
I never got a chance to go to this store thanks to the guy answering the phone. I called to ask what kind of DVD selection they have and what time their closing.
On the first call the guy answered by saying please hold. No hello just please hold. So I said ok and stayed on hold for 5 – 6 minutes. I then decided to hang up and call back. This time the guy answered circus of books. I said hi yea I was just on hold and no one picked up. The guy said hey what’s going on buddy in a real sarcastic manor. I said first what time do you close tonight. Instead of giving me the closing time he said how’s your girl. I said I’m confused what do you mean. He then asked me two more times how’s your girl. By this time I was so confused I didn’t know how to respond. He then hung up on me! It was the weirdest phone call ever. I really don’t know what to think about this store and why this guy was asking me about my girl. So needless to say I never went in to check it out.

They will sell you defective goods. Very unfriendly service.

I love bookstores. And now there are so few left.
Unfortunately, the service in this Circus of Books have gone downhill. The old staff who were friendly and helpful are not there.
Now there is this clean shaven plaid shirt wearing guy who seems to judge you based on every question you ask. Very unpleasant guy who glares at you when you enter. He then stares at the monitor the whole time as if you’re gonna steal something.
Okay, I understand security concerns.
But at least try to be friendly when a customer asks questions.
Okay, fine, he doesn’t have to do that.
But the staff makes the environment and this bookstore has a horrible vibe now. I won’t be supporting this circus of books.

Do yourself a favor and avoid shopping at this establishment. At one time, I was a regular customer and after the second negative experience with a rude employee, I will shop elsewhere.
(1) The big black and white sign on the door says they are open until a certain time at night, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the door will be unlocked. If the late night employee doesn’t feel like staying open, they will close early, so don’t think you can walk in 30 minutes before they are supposed to close and get what you want. They may or may not be open. Go ahead, knock all night, knock until your knuckles bleed. They can tell time just like you, but the door is locked, and you are not getting in.
(2) Do not attempt to exchange an item without a receipt. Sure you bought it yesterday and it’s obviously broken. Sure you can see the identical item beind the counter. You can speak to the employee who sold you the item, as I did, and they can acknowledge that, but do you have your receipt?
— No, but I bought it from you. You sold it to me.
— «Yeah I know, but do you have your receipt? «
— It’s probably at home. You will be closed by the time I can return. And besides, I don’t want a refund, I just want one that works.
— «We don’t have to take back anything, so don’t waste your breath.»
— That’s ridiculous; I’m here all the time. I just want one that works. If that’s the case then not buying anything here from now on.
— «Don’t waste your breath, just go next door.»
Save your breath. Save yourself from some unnecessary trouble. Shop next door, shop elsewhere, shop anywhere but here.

Great selection of porn… Found some movies we wanted for a cheap price. Love to browse this store.

cool little store with a decent selection of magazines, used/​new books, records, junk food, and even an adult section in the back with dvds/​vids/​skin mags. i usually stop by this spot sometimes on the weekend to peruse the newsstand area for new issues of Front magazine (UK mag… kinda like Maxim but with some nudity) and other mags like Loaded… and the occasional Italian or Australian Vogue if there’s a female celeb i like on the cover. staff is pretty chill and keep to themselves so you can take your time browsing.
only issue is that parking can be a bitch since the street parking situation is pretty horrendous. be wary of parking across the street at El Pollo Loco since they do tow… but once you do find a spot, this place is definitely worth a quick look.

A friend and I were walking down Santa Monica. Since he has lived in the area for a number of years, he was sort of showing and telling me about the different places found along the busy street.
As we approach this corner block, he briefly mentions to me about Circus of Books. From the outside, it looks like it could be one of those Used Books bookstores. We go inside and make our way past the counter.
Once truly inside, you can find an array of porn material. The main room is pretty much your printed material like magazines and books. They do have non-​pornographic magazines (fashion, travel, fitness, etc) here as well. But the prominent material is porn.
Looking through the racks of magazines, I didn’t realize that there are so many magazines and book titles. There are these saloon doors that lead to another corner of the room. There is a sign that states «18 years and over» or maybe it stated «Adults only» or something like that. At first I had to wonder why they even needed that since the main room had porn magazines and other types of material displayed out for anyone to browse through.
I go through the saloon doors and it is mainly DVDs, toys and lubricants. And in one area I did see VHS tapes ha ha. It’s like how long have those been on the shelves.
During this visit, I didn’t spend a whole lot of times in the store as it was after 1am. Even though I quickly browsed through, I did see a couple of items that sparked my interest. I am sure if I had spent more time in there I would have purchased a few items.

Nice place for fetish bondage illustration books like the house of gord style. Go take a look.
In weho and walking distance to some other interesting and great places. Mark out a few places and make it a afternoon to remember.

LOL — I mean I seriously laughed out loud when I walked in.
I should have read the reviews before coming to this store — um can you say men galore?
Bookstores are known to sell maps at least every bookstore I’ve gone to, so I searched on Unilocal to find one in my area & Circus of Books popped up 5 minutes away to where I’m staying, I told my hubs Perfect! We’ll be in and out, and back home to map out our trip!
We walk in & to our left gay porn to our right pipes, and in front a bunch of dirty magazines. Let me say all I could think of is how much my 3 friends Tony, Tony & Danee would love this store!
We asked the front desk if they sold any maps which we figured they didn’t — yup they didn’t…
I have to say though if I were a gay man, this store would be ideal!
4 stars because the store is organized, clean, and a variety of things to pick and choose from…

Amazing selection of books and international magazines
Publications found here that you won’t find anywhere else

This place was not too bad. I went here and I saw a lot of adult magazines and porn (mostly gay). There was only a small section for straight porn, but that’s not my thing of course. The used gay porn was a cheap as $ 10, but the covers were a little sticky so I didn’t buy anything here. I saw some good dildos.

The website for this wonderful little piece of history bookstore says that it has EVERYTHING! Rare and hard to find titles, etc… That is far from the truth… this is simply a porn store with a news paper rack! They may want to update the website! Don’t go here if you are looking for a real book!!! This place is OLD, dirty — yes in both senses of the word! Time to clean up a little and maybe paint a little??? I felt like I needed a bath when I left!

Not much to look at. Kinda sad to look at, really. But where else can you get obscure magazines and hardcore smut in the same place? You can’t beat Circus of Books for utility. They have decent prices on sexual lubricants and accessories. Much better then The Pleasure Chest down the street. The staff is efficient. Parking is very easy in the large metered lot behind the adjacent bar. Circus is one of those places I frequent more than I should. But heck, its been reliable for what it is for a long time.

Visit one of the last real bookstores before the huge chains took over the universe. The younger generation just doesn’t understand the simple joy of the neighborhood bookstore.

OK I do have to write this one up as it is a great place to hmm err restock on condoms, lube, porno, smut mags, etc… from what I have heard. I am a good boy and just walked in and was horrified at what I saw! hmm yea… I found the exact stuff I needed! AHHA… anyhow It is right across from Gold Coast so you can pick up some daddy on the way out too!.. from what I have heard and read… :)

Well, well. On one side you got your newpapers and magazines. On the other, you got your porn and your toys and your oh-​so-​dirty videos.
Three guesses as to which side I like the best. And the first two don’t count. But I can also buy a London Times or the NYTs here, if I’m in the mood for print. And I get crazy like that.
It’s run down. But for what it is… It gets the job done.

Okay, i will totally agree with Cee on the dirtaaay factor here, but I still have to give it 4 strong stars for the fact that this was the ONLY PLACE IN LA that carried Runaway Midget! It’s true, who knew such a title was SOOOO popular. I mean, I knew it kicked the ass, but wow, talk about hard to find!
I looked everywhere for this thing; Hustler, Pleasure Chest, Le Sex Shoppe, NADA! But yes, oh yes, after almost giving up I thought I would try this stank ass store and low and (I do mean low) and behold, tah dah, there it was.
So thank you Circus of Books. You made my twisted friend oh so very happy on his birthday! Woot :)