Rakestraw Books In Danville, California

Rakestraw Books Storefront

I enjoy visiting indie bookstores, don't you?!?! Earlier this week, I discovered a new (to me) independent bookstore in Danville, California called Rakestraw Books. I have fallen in love with the Rakestraw Books for several reasons... I love its location in downtown Danville, its size and layout, and their awesome selection of books on hand! 

Additionally, Rakestraw Books offers many wonderful author signing events and as well as book groups for adults as well as kids. There's nothing like a well rounded indie bookstore.

I even enjoyed learning more about Rakestraw Books from their about page as follows:

Founded in 1973, Rakestraw Books is a small, independent bookshop that remains dedicated to the principles espoused by its founders: to sell a variety of books of merit; to help readers discover those books; to sponsor events that bring a diverse range of writers and artists to our community; and to accomplish these tasks in a manner that is both professional and friendly. 

Our particular strengths are contemporary fiction -- although we maintain a strong showing in British writers from fifty years ago; literary essays; biographies; and literature of travel. Each month a number of authors visit Rakestraw Books – as part of our successful Writers and Readers at Rakestraw program -- to share their latest works with our audience of readers. These events allow us, and our community, to take part in the larger literary conversation of our day. Past guests have included Jon Meacham, Salman Rushdie, Jeannette Walls, Calvin Trillin, and Elinor Lipman. This list, and a glance at this month’s calendar of events, should prove the dynamism of this popular program. We also have an unusually strong selection of children’s books – both contemporary titles and classic works. Moreover, we support our young readers with specialty book groups and a lively program of author and illustrator visits. Some of the best children’s writers and illustrators have visited Rakestraw Books over the years. From Peter Sis to Philip Pullman, from Jean Craighead George to Jamie Lee Curtis, our children’s events program is a lively and successful one.

We are generally thought of as a "literary bookstore," and with writers such as Russell Banks, Marilynne Robinson, and Michael Chabon dominating our bestseller list, it is easy to see why. We make no apologies for purchasing decisions motivated by our sense of quality and by our enthusiasms rather than by a cynical perception of what “will sell.” It has always been our aim to be a general bookstore, a refuge for the wide-ranging mind, a place where everyone will find something to her taste – original, first-rate, and somewhat out of the ordinary. This is not the direction in which the big chain bookstores or the big websites are heading. Nonetheless, it is the one towards which we strive. This is the reason we exist and why we continue to thrive.

It's so awesome to see an indie bookstore still thriving after 40 years of business!! Gotta love the positive message Rakestraw Books shares on their about page with their customers/readers. 

I wish them continued success in the years to come and look forward to visiting their store in the months and years ahead.

I enjoyed sitting at this sunny spot to peruse books!

So, which indie bookstores have you visited lately?