Esowon Books

Have love this authentic book store for over 20 years.
They have the Best selection of Children books. Although they have great enrichment and fun books for children of all ages, they have a WIDE selection of books for adults and young adults.
You will find books here you will not find at Barnes and Noble. If your looking for true history, real authentic literature, then it’s a must that you vist them.
They also have a webpage
There’s a very welcoming felling when you walk in the door, customer service is great and smells pleasant.
Sometimes you can even meet great authors at book signing!
Great place to pick up your Kwanzaa candles or other items of great quality!
I purchased my entire kit about 15 years ago and it is still in perfect quality!

One of the last great indie bookstores in LA.
I used to go to EsoWon both on La Brea and in Leimert Park (to where it moved)– i don’t know why the previous reviewer is calling it shady.
Great books, my fav bookstore in my neighborhood… wonderful events with great authors and book readings… fantastic collection of black literature, history, and contemporary writings about art.
While you are there you should check out 5^th street dick’s café next door…
;-)

Have you ever used the words «sketchy» or «shady» as an adjective for a neighborhood you drove/​walked through, but never really meant it because you just like using those words?
OK. Well, here’s an example of using these words, and it’s actually an understatement:
Walk a 100-​yard radius around Esowon Books when the sun is down, and see if you’re underwear is still dry.
Now if you just have a wet spot on top of the dick hole on your underwear, then you didn’t walk far enough because it should be full-​on wet.
This is exactly what I did (uh, visit Esowon and walked around, not wet my underwear) on a Friday night because one of my favorite authors, Amiri Baraka, was holding a reading, and it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve felt as a writer.
But since this isn’t a review on the reading or Amiri Baraka, I’ll focus more on the actual bookstore.
What makes Esowon special is that it caters to those in the truncated areas of society. You won’t see stupid-​ass books by Stephen King or Tom Clancy here.
Rather, you’ll see authors like Chester Himes, Piri Thomas, and Gayl Jones lining the shelves. Writers whose work encompass all that is wrong in society and humanity.
A real read, if you will.
So even though it was a «sketchy» neighborhood, it was worth driving/​walking through because Esowon is a true hidden gem in Los Angeles. And a must-​visit for anyone interested in literature.