Old Capitol Books is a woman-owned bookstore located in Monterey's historic downtown. It is a first-rate, must-visit site for bibliophiles and a favorite book store for many. The store stocks a wide variety of used and new books, with an incredible and interesting selection covering every topic under the sun, from best-selling novels to radical political theory and local interest topics. It has a bunch of leftist books very prominently displayed. The store is extremely cozy and cute, featuring a reading room with a reading nook and a few chairs set out for reading. The atmosphere is perfect, complete with a cassette player and pride flags in the window. It also serves as a venue and art gallery, hosting lectures, book clubs, philosophy discussion groups, poetry readings, and an amazing local author spotlight. Visitors are hosted by friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable staff. Prices are reasonable, and customers can easily spend a day perusing the aisles and finding gems. Monterey needs more bookstores like this independent, locally owned shop. It is strongly recommended to any and everyone, and places like this are in dire need of support from the local literary audience.
Excellent service, great music, found a great book for my son.
March 2025
Such a cool used & new book store in the heart of Monterey on Alvarado Street! A must see for sure!
February 2025
Great used bookshop with wonderful staff and fantastic curation of fine books in all fields. Good trading policy for store credit. Very fair pricing. Town's best !
