Red Rock Books

.Went today to find a couple new books. As we drove by, the lights in the store were on and there was a sign that said «open» in large print, so we stopped. Got out of the car and walked by three people standing to the side and the woman rudely asked where I was going. I said the bookstore. She said they were closed and I said ok. She wanted to know why I thought they were open and I said the lights and the open sign made me think so. The man snapped at me that there was no open sign. They were both very rude and acted like I had done something wrong. I started walking back to my vehicle and they continued with rude comments to me «We’ve been standing outside for TEN minutes, we are CLOSED!!!». I was very disappointed, not because they were closed, but because of their rude attitudes. My husband and I just moved here and I guess we will not be going back to this bookstore. (After they left I walked by the front of the store to look and see what I had mistaken for an open sign. There was a large sandwich board that said «OPEN» then listed the hours underneath. It was incredibly misleading.)

This bookstore is great! Huge selection of books, home décor, and even awesome toys for kids ;-). I just wish they had a more eclectic magazine selection… like BUST, Juxtapose, etc.

Use to take my kids here on special days to get all kinds of different books. We would spend the day in there looking for books and just chill out reading. It was one of their favorite things to do and now both kids like to read chapter books as entertainment.
Would definitely go in here again their prices always seemed fair and they have great selection of used books.

Great place to go in and get lost amongst the broad collection of varied and rare books. Also a great place to get novelty items like bath products, candles, stickers and fun stuff. Ann is the best — friendly and helpful owner.

Unilocal the word «book» in Ridgecrest, CA and this is the only thing that comes up.
There are no malls in this town, no Barnes & Nobles, no other place that primarily deals in the written word outside of Red Rock Books. I actually wonder how the bibliophiles here get by without going to them. Amazon, most likely?
If this were a bookshop in L.A., New York City, Chicago, etc, I’d understand rating low for selection, but alas they’re smack-​dab in the High Desert, away from most of the big name dealers.
Are their books new or used? Both. The front of the shop is mostly new titles, while the rear stacks are worn and yellowed.
Here’s where I feel spoiled with places like The Last Bookstore and every $ 1 bookshop in the land: Red Rock’s used selection, which isn’t all that ordered, is priced at 50% off the publisher’s price, $ 1.50 minimum on most books, but $ 3 minimum on science fiction.
I’m just so used to paying a mere buck for used reading material. But again, Red Rock Books pretty much has a monopoly on the tome trade for dozens of miles around.

Maybe I am too familiar with the used bookstore back home, but I find it silly that they don’t bother grouping the books written under pseudonyms with the authors that actually wrote the book.
At least the employees are nice. I find it frustrating that you have to start the conversation even though they are the ones who are supposed to be in customer service, but that seems to be the trend these days.

Good for browsing but if you are looking for 1 book in particular you will be better off somewhere else.

Ridgecrest is a city of over 30,000 people and is the only population center for miles around. 8.5 percent of those people have advanced degrees including many PhDs held by scientists working at the Naval laboratory on the edge of town. Presumably in a town with such well educated people, they read books and many of them at that. Well, if you look around, you will find that if they do read books, they are most certainly buying them online. Indeed the only non-​religious bookstore in a 60 mile radius is Red Rock Books which is a USED bookstore. Worse than that, their selection is a bit mediocre.
I visit bookstores (used, new, and academic alike) all over the country in my travels, and the selection here was definitely in the bottom 30 percent. They had books, but not many in key categories like classic literature for example which took up a mere 3 bookcases of their small store. Their selection was much heavier on science fiction and fantasy than in any other category. With that said though, I did find 2 books I was looking for in a matter of minutes: Shakespeare’s «King Lear» and Anton Chekhov’s «The Cherry Orchard». The first book was $ 1.50 and the second book was $ 1.00. At those prices, I really can’t complain at all. Yard sales and library fundraisers charge more money than that for their books — it’s a wonder if they make any profit at all. And really, being the only sanctuary for bibliophiles anywhere near these parts, the place should not be denigrated but rather praised. They are providing a key service for the few of us who actually do seem to read these days, and I applaud that. The service was pretty friendly too. I just pray they can expand in the coming years — I really feel bad for them.