Alexander Book Company

Great selection of books here from business and personal development, sales, philosophical and religious texts. I could go on and on. The staff here have been kind and courteous and light hearted every time I’ve come in the store. Made my day on more than one occasion. Thanks Alexander Book Company. My go to shop. I’ll be in the next time I’m looking to purchase a new book for my personal collection. Yes.

Witnessed the owner assault a young woman on the sidewalk outside the store today. Not sure what prompted this, but *nothing* merits him grabbing this woman by her throat and dragging her screaming for help down the sidewalk. We called the police to intervene. A huge crowd of onlookers tried to get between them and help. This guy was WAY out of line, no matter what that girl did. They will NEVER have my business again, and I hope other people refuse to support them as well. Shame, I used to really like that store, but I don’t give my business to violent, abusive people. Shame on you Alexander.

After locating a last minute holiday gift, the sum total of the reluctant conversation from the cashier was «PIN.» No, hi, thanks, bag with that … I am pretty sure I was the only customer (around 9:30 am) so not an issue of being busy.
Time before when I was in, I needed to check the balance on a gift card before I went book-​buying crazy… another pseudo-​silent, brooding type impatiently got the information and said, «Thirty» and turned away. Alrighty then. So sorry to have been such a pesterment two consecutive visits while spending money in your store. Appreciate breviety and efficiency, but this was just… well…rude.

New favorite bookstore! Great service and all employees are super friendly and knowledgeable.
The first time I came with my bf, we both came in to browse. I settled on buying a book on medicine then talked to the cashier, who had actually read the book and gave me other suggestions. I definitely didnt expect someone else interested and having recent books on a topic like medicine. The employee ended up suggesting a different book that talked about medicine in a more positive light, which I needed! Great suggestion!
My bf was interested in starting a new sci fi series and upon walking to the second floor, he was greeted by an employee who had read the series and offered help in picking out a book. She was friendly and knowledgeable of the series and gave great suggestions to him. He was super impressed and left with one of the books from the series.
See? Already a spectacular first experience here! The second time I came back, I had finished my book, and came back to buy another. The employee who helped me the first time, still remembered me, and made friendly conversation.
Overall, I’ve never had such a positive experience at a bookstore. There’s three floors of books and an extensive selection. They also have cute and witty postcards/​cards, which I love looking through. I’ll definitely be back!

A sizable bookstore with an excellent selection. Looking for the latest literary novels? You can find them. Looking for classics by your favorite authors? There’s a good shot you’ll find what you’re looking for (Gabriel Garcia Marquez has his own shelf marked with his name and everything). Want to look through international books in translation published by smaller presses? Yup, they’ve got that too. A great place to spend an afternoon — and a whole bunch of money.

This is one of the best bookstores I have been to. I found the need to get a book to read while waiting for the bus. The books with a sale sticker on the front cover is a bargain. I am definitely coming in again. There are shelves of books to browse from on the main and lower levels. Friendly staff team member on duty.
Reasons for rating:
— Clean facility (+1)
— Spacious path between shelves (+1)
— Good service (+1)
— Three levels of books (+1)
— Books placed neatly arranged on the shelves (+1)

A bookstore isn’t just a place to buy books: it’s an experience. At least, that’s how we approach it – so when we’re on a family holiday, we spend a lot of time in bookstores, browsing, reading and buying.
But not every bookstore can accommodate a family with members whose interests span fiction, business books, graphic novels and Curious George. The Alexander Book Company can — beautifully. And unlike big box bookstores that accommodate everybody by being utterly generic, this bookstore feels more like a set of carefully curated mini-​bookstores catering to different interests.
Take the literature floor: it not only has a great array of recommended titles, but has a particularly impressive selection of African-​American titles. The non-​fiction section includes a lot of surprising titles I haven’t seen in other stores. And in the children’s section we were greeted by a friendly, non-​intrusive bookseller who suggested titles for my son, but was just as happy to see him sprawled on the floor, reading greedily — because this is clearly someone who loves to see kids reading.
This was probably our favorite bookstore of our Bay Area trip. And in a city with a lot of great bookstores, that’s high praise!

I visited Alexander Book Company twice on my week-​long visit to SF in July. During those two visits, I managed to walk away with 10 books and a tote bag. I love the selection, organization and atmosphere of the store. The staff was super helpful, as well. I am moving to San Francisco in September and cannot wait to make this my regular shop!

Stacy’s how I miss thee. This is only one of two remaining bookstores in the downtown area. The other would be Book Passage in the Ferry Building. I really love browsing through their discount section. There are some deals to be had there!
Staff is ok. They leave you alone to browse at your leisure.

I have always love Alexander Book Company, it was my go to spot when I worked in the city. I was always able to find a good book at a great price. Those were the days, commuting on Bart and devouring a book in a week.
I was out in the city for some business and stopped by «for olé time sake» and again was please with a deal and great book. I will definitely go again when in the area.

Huge selection, fun bookmarks and great staff.

Not only does this local bookstore create a homey, cozy ambiance to search for your next set of books to binge read, but it also has great customer service. What i assume may have been the owner was very helpful, as were the assistants on the bottom floor.
Some awesome perks are that the bookstore allows special orders, has complimentary gift wrapping, as well as author events and a frequent buyer program (if I lived in the city, I’d definitely hop on that). They also support local authors, woo!
I can be incredibly indecisive, so it was great having personal reviews from locals give their insight on why they loved reading different books. There are dozens of book commentaries in every single section! It’s a bit pricey (a book that would likely run at Barnes and Noble for $ 14.99 was priced at $ 19.99), but if you know someone who would want to borrow your book, I’m sure you’d get more bang for your buck.
Definitely go there over any other bookstore in SF!

Another one of my favorite book stores in the city. Three floors of books! Plenty of sale items! Books ranging from Dover Thrift to Penguin Clothbound! Participated in Indie Book Store Day! What’s not to love?

I really don’t know why I didn’t give this place 5 Stars originally. Whatever, over time I have learned to swallow my pride and admit my mistakes. Alexander Books is truly a 5 star establishment.

Understandably difficult to find a quality brick & mortar bookstore these days. I found myself in a situation where I needed a very specific book, and schedule was an issue — no time to order online. Alexander Book Company to the rescue! You can check their stock online, and to my surprise their system said they had multiple copies of the book on their shelves. I dropped in and, sure enough, picked up the particular book I needed. Browsing their shelves, I ended up grabbing a couple more paperbacks to enjoy on an upcoming trip.
Great selection, friendly staff, and reasonable prices. Thanks, Alexander Book Company!

Wait, there are still brick and mortar bookstores?
Finding a REAL bookstore is hard to come by these days so I was balls to the walls happy to see that Alexander’s was still around. The storefront looks small but they have several floors of books with what looks like a decent selection.
If you’re looking for a happy place (I loooove bookstores!) near a BART station check out ABC!

This bookstore sort of struck me as out-​of-​place amidst all of the high rises, corporate offices and restaurants on 2^nd Street, but in an awesome way. It’s got three stories of books, mostly new from what I recall. Great selection and diversity of subjects, I must have spent a lot of time in here nosing around at everything. Definitely worth stopping by if you’re in SoMa and need a nice literary distraction!

Three levels of books. Extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff.
I came in for a cookbook and the staff really listened to my dietary needs and suggested some great books!

Quiet, unassuming storefront in SoMa. 3 stories of books, wall to wall, table to table. Love the diverse and neatly organized fiction section with index card reviews that are written by staff as well as library owners across the nation. Definitely a good store for that lunchtime break or afternoon disappearance.
FYI: the store is no more than half a block away from the Montgomery BART station. Bathroom available for customers and staff.

I love books, which makes it hard for a place with three floors of them to go wrong.
Nobody seems to mind when I spend my lunch break getting lost comparing several types of travel books or reading a couple chapters of a novel to determine its bus-​reading worthiness.
Their shelves are also well-​organized enough that I can surgical-​strike for something specific when I’m in a hurry.
Card selection doesn’t always meet my needs, but this is a bookstore so that’s really just missing extra credit.
To top it all off, the friendly and knowledgeable staff make it easy to want to return. They offer gift-​wrapping, too!