Abednego Book Shoppe

The owner was knowledgeable and so kind to speak with. So much history behind the book shops! Also love that Anthony Hopkins wrote the best review! 😍🥰 they also have great first time customer coupons

Been wanting to go shopping here. This is a great bookstore. The shelves were packed as the owner (maybe) shared that so many people are cleaning their homes during COVID-19 and dropping off books. I didn’t expect much but was Pleasantly surprised by the variety that the store had to offer. I was really looking for some specific books and was able to find them. Many of the books that I found seem to be brand new. It looked as though no one had ever used them. There were no writing in the margins no underlining, or nothing of that nature. I would highly suggest going to check out this bookstore. It’s a great place to walk around and check out. We also found some children’s books for our kids here. They seemed a little pricey for soft cover books but I understand. It’s just nice to get the kids a new book.

Neat bookstore. I've been going here for years. Great prices. Love supporting local small businesses.

When visiting Ventura, Abednego Books is always on the list of places my husband and I visit. Not only are the owners thoughtful and friendly, we always end up purchasing a pile of books from Abednego’s wide selection. We love it.

Great family run bookstore with a very large selection. Love shopping here. If you're looking for a specific book, check here first ☺️

Huge selection and great prices. Talking with the staff and owner, you can tell they are passionate about books. I find myself visiting at least once a week and finding treasures on every shelf.

It's so nice to have mom and pop book stores still and revisit that old book smell. However, a few things I wish they'd address: 1. The overstocking of books still in boxes. We're in an earthquake state, and it looks like a fire hazard. 2. The prices. For books older than 2010 that are beat up, the price shouldn't be the same as if you were to buy new. 3. All the religious books that are beat up. I don't have anything against religion, but I was thinking all the books were antiques. They are just beat up books that are barely held together anymore and they make up the majority of the books here. Just cause someone donates it to you, doesn't mean you have to accept literally anything.

We have been customers of this store for a long time and have usually enjoyed our experience. Today I took my child shopping for books because we got a call that they were open for the first time since quarantine. I am a part-time teacher who depends on sub work for extra money, so we didn’t have a lot because I lost work when school shut down, but my child read all the books during quarantine and needed new ones. We bought a big stack and there were a couple I couldn’t use full credit on because they were new. I asked if I could switch them for older ones. My child protested because he liked the covers. I had to check and make sure I had the money for it before I paid for it. The lady at the counter said, “Some people got work-furloughed. It sounds like that wasn’t a problem for you.” I’m sorry, what?! Why on earth would someone say this? Was she angry because I tried to save money on the books? She threw in a couple of bookmarks and said, “I didn’t charge you for those. That will make up for your books.” The books marks might have been a couple of dollars while the price for the new books came out to an extra $7.50. I understand that this has been a difficult season, but to treat your customers with resentment because they can afford to buy your products is ludicrous. Not to mention that this woman didn’t know anything about me and made a very wrong and hurtful assumption about someone who was making a sacrifice for her child. Seriously, what the heck.

This is my favorite bookstore to purchase my books. I also have brought books in to get credit to be able to buy more books. I was in there last Friday and purchased about 25 books. I figured that would keep me busy until I could get back to this area. After I purchased the books I got back to my home here and realized that I have already read 12 of the books I just got. I am hoping that they will let me do a close to even exchange for ones I haven't read. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will and this bookstore will be a 6 star shop in my book. lol! I was told I have to wait until Monday

This store has everything. The staff is very helpful, but make sure you come in there with plenty of time to browse. They also take special orders so when we have a book club meeting I order my books from here... Every neighborhood should have a good bookstore... And this is ours

We love checking out used bookstores. This one in Ventura is really cool. Lots and lots of books. My wife was looking for her current favorite author, Scalzi, and the helpful staff showed her right were to look. While there are lots of books, it does not feel overly cluttered. I've been to some stores where you couldn't even move around. We bought a few books, and their prices were good. If you're looking for some reading material on your next visit to Ventura, give Abednego's a try.

Be prepared to be overwhelmed with the number of books in this bookstore. They're literally stacked to the ceiling. Anything you could ever want, they have it, this truly is amazing. And it's even more amazing to know there are still wonderful people in this world who actually love a good book in their hands. Let's keep this alive with the love of books!! The owner is such a nice guy. His mom owned this bookstore in the 1950s after she got out of the Navy as a nurse.

If it's not on the shelf, it's in the warehouse. The owner knows books and I have found many books that have been out of print there. It's my go to. I donate my books and then turn around and normally buy more than I donate! It takes time to look, so plan accordingly. My favorite place to get lost!

It's so nice to have mom and pop book stores still and revisit that old book smell. However, a few things I wish they'd address: 1. The overstocking of books still in boxes. We're in an earthquake state, and it looks like a fire hazard. 2. The prices. For books older than 2010 that are beat up, the price shouldn't be the same as if you were to buy new. 3. All the religious books that are beat up. I don't have anything against religion, but I was thinking all the books were antiques. They are just beat up books that are barely held together anymore and they make up the majority of the books here. Just cause someone donates it to you, doesn't mean you have to accept literally anything.

Impossible to shop. Boxes upon boxes of books in front of most sections. Wasn't my cup of tea.

Wonderful bookstore, great prices and amazing discount rack. My son who is an avid reader always finds something great here. The staff are so friendly and passionate about what they do. I highly recommend to anyone on any budget to stop in and support local(:

I was calling around for a specific used book from the 70's and Abednego said they would check and call me back. The woman called me back within a day and said they had the book in their warehouse and could have it in their store in a couple days. They would call me when they received it. I didn't get another call so after a week I called again. They said they did have the book and the only issue was it smelled musty. I asked them for advice and the woman gave me some good tips on reducing or removing the smell. I came in and saw (and sniffed) the book in person and decided to buy it. As others have said the shop is pretty densely packed and there are a TON of religious books (at least around the check-out counter). All the staff who helped me were polite and professional. The woman in charge said she asked someone to call me when the book came in, but obviously that didn't happen so I'd say minus one star for that. Everything else was great. Would use them again to try to find unusual used books.

Terrific second and bookstore! Sister store Bank of Books in Santa Paula. They'll "buy" your books with value accrued to use to pay for 50% of purchase price of other books you have to have. That's not as good a deal as Barts Books in Ojai, but Barts is much more selective in what they accept...

I feel like I walked through the door and into a portal to another world. A world where one can get lost in the treasure trove of books to be discovered here. This will be a recurring getaway for my daughter and I as we look forward to exploring the shelves of wonder here on a regular basis. Lovely owners. New and used books aplenty. Everything a book shoppe should be.

Stumbled across this gem this morning. How'd I never been here before? I used to work in 2 different bookstores so I have a huge love of books! The store is quite large, I think a person could spend 4 days in here and still not look at everything in here! The 2 employees I interacted with were nice enough, and pointed me towards the area I was looking for. I love they have a section of Newberry award winners! My only complaint/concern is that it's quite cluttered. Maybe that's the "vibe" they are going for, but just be careful that you don't trip and fall over any books or things. I have horrible balance issues and the small kids' chairs in this section were constantly in my way. I moved them on top of each other and placed them in the corner. I just donated a bunch of books but I can't wait to come back to participate in their trade offer.

Anyone can love reading, but it really takes a certain type of person to love antique bookshops. I didn't realize they held antiques here - I thought it was just a run of the mill used book shop and since my husband is a big reader, I thought it'd be a good Sunday funday date. Well when we showed up he was outwardly unimpressed with the boxes of books all over the place and the lack of "newer" material. I, on the other hand, fell in love on the spot. The smell of old books, the beautiful chaos that is an antique store, the endless rows of clearly well loved books - I was in heaven. I could've spent the entire day there perusing the huge selection but I settled for a deep dive into the history section and was able to find a few books regarding african american history that I don't yet have in my collection. There was a shelf with books over 200 years old on it - I didn't dare touch it with my bare hands but it was so awesome to look at. I can't wait to return for a solo day and spend my time thumbing through everything I can get my hands on :). Also, the owner was there and he was such a nice guy. Very helpful and informative!

Way to many unopened boxes that leave many isles cluttered. Hoarder bookstore & Fire hazard?If you're looking for religious books, this is the place for you. (Isles and isles of them) I didn't see one person that work there who had a mask on. Most are senior citizens. No mask mandate signs on doors. Larry elder books displayed at cash register check out. What does that tell you??? My sister has been coming here for years, she loves it. But it gives me the heebie-jeebies! Prices are high for used books in my opinion.

I have been purchasing their books for many years. They have a hughe selection, quite overwhelming, but actually pretty well organized. They buy back books, so you only pay half the marked used price. Friendly, helpful staff, who just with a phone call can almost always come up with a hard to find book in just a few days.

I was visiting this cool book shop when I was staying around LA. I ventured out to Ventura (pun intended) because I had visited their sister bookstore, Bank of Books, on another visit here with my friends and was impressed with their selection. The selection of trivia quiz, puzzles and games, and sociology reference books was really impressive here. I got one of my favorite trivia quiz books ever that is so comprehensive it has a couple of months' worth of questions. I also found a great sociology textbook with a built-in study guide and practice tests. I also came here because they have a buy-back program here. It was great that I got 50% off my entire purchase for donating a good amount of books. Interestingly, this was due to my persistent questioning about the buyback because I had no idea they were backed up with books. The process was pretty unorganized and confusing and I had to wait around an hour after searching through the books to get my books expedited. I had some good conversations with the staff around the store and when I told them I was worried about the traffic going back to LA, they gave me half off on my purchases. This was a great deal! I would go back here but recommend calling ahead if you have a bag or more of books to sell and are visiting the area or just stopping by.

Good selection of books and friendly staff. My only criticism is that for a used book store, their prices are very high and not willing to budge. I found 5 copies of the same 35 year old paperback barley under the original price. They will not budge on the price! I found the same book (new edition) at Barnes and Noble a dollar cheaper with their sale price. I wish used book stores would try to be more competitive. $$$$ Update: called to find out how much credit was left on my account. They said they have no record of me having an account. I know a had a few bucks left because the last time I bought a book they would not let me apply my whole credit to the purchase. There are better used book stores with better trade-in prices if you are willing to drive another 15 miles.

Lots of books here but you have to be very careful. The store keeps a double row of books in front of the stacks containing the fiction. Most of the good stuff is out of reach and above the stacks by a good 6 feet. The problem is if you're an avid reader like I am and you like certain authors, you really need to review the cover jacket to see if you've read the book or not. Also for a used bookstore these people charge at least twice as much as anyone else.

This is perfect for hunting for unique reads that may be currently out of print. You can also donate your used books for credit. I think that they apply 50% of the credit to each sales transaction.

Fantastic kids section and section for us adult kids that love cookbooks. So this adult kid walked out with five vintage Sunset cookbooks. Loved the feel and paper smell of this classic used book store!

I love this place! It is packed floor to ceiling with every type of book imaginable. Everything from Science fiction to Israeli cookbooks in Hebrew. It is well laid out and has paperbacks, hardbacks, First editions and friendly and knowledgeable staff. They take books and the let you know how much credit you have. Ask them how their book credit policy works, it is their store and I do not want to misquote; but I have never been disappointed. They have four locations now and a website. I have been able to order esoteric SF paperbacks from their warehouse through the Bank Of Books website then go in a pick them up. If you are a true reader, go here with time to spare. I have been going for about a year and still have not seen everything. Definitely worth making it part of a day trip to Ventura.

Abednego is My all time favorite used bookstore. I first started going to the store when I lived in Ojai many years ago. I turned in my books and used the credit for additional books. My sister did likewise. We spent many hours cruising the bookstore. I have since moved to Northern California and miss this bookstore tremendously. On a recent visit to my sister, I took time to go look for one of my favorite authors. I was helped immediately to find the desired books. They were friendly and even checked just to see if I still had credit on file to use. This store has a great selection of all genre and an especially large Christian section. I was gratified to find that after being away from the area for so many years, the quality and service has not changed!

Same ownership as Bank of Books in Ventura, apparently, and I'm not even close to being surprised. Holy smokes, guys, don't tell customers that you "have" a book in stock in your "warehouse" and then take two whole weeks to give me a call when all you really did was order the book from some other vendor online! That's what Amazon is for, they're direct, and they're much quicker than you. Never again.

Love just hanging out and browsing. This bookstore is the casual sister store of "bank of books", which I also love. All of the staff members are wonderful and always willing to help. Great deals on hardback fiction around 2 and change. Make sure to ask if you can't find something because the stores are just a fraction of all their inventory. Don't forget to trade in your old books at abednego for credit at both shops.

Nice and friendly staff. Rare, vintage and antique books. A bit cluttered and stuffy but it kind of adds to the old book store vibe. They could make it more aesthetically pleasing with a little effort. I guess they are affiliated with Bank of Books in Ventura and just opened a shop in Oxnard with really cheap books. I could browse in here for hours.

This place is wickedly expensive. A fairly recent paperback with a broken spine was $5.50. A trivia book originally priced .99 was marked at $6! Really?? It was a grocery store impulse item! There are thousands of books here-- for a reason. No one can afford to buy books here.

A small shop with rare and beloved books that melt the heart and ignite the spirit. This is truly a jewel for anyone with a love of Books. It's a slice of Nirvana for the heart and soul. More books than one could read in three lifetimes but excellent titles that will keep you wanting to try.

I wasn't sure where to put this review as I believe this store is affiliated with Bank of Books but is down the street. In any case, this is the store I went to this afternoon and I was quite disappointed. I collect a teen series paperback that was published for twenty years. It's a dumb collection but I enjoy it. We went to this bookstore today and I was impressed with the selection. They had a lot of the series I was looking for plus a very cool children books section. I love used bookstores and this one was certainly well stocked. However, they are WAY overpriced. Typically the books I buy are less than $2.00. They were pricing these books at $3.00 each. I asked the clerk if they negotiate. The sales clerk was very unprofessional and told me that the series was hard to find. This is laughable as I have yet to walk into a used bookstore that hasn't had these books. The manager offered to knock a quarter off of the books but ultimately that's still a very ridiculous price. I bought a total of nine paperback books for $25. For comparison, at a smaller bookstore I bought a total of ten books for $20 which were originally priced at $3 each. I suppose maybe that store enjoys less business but I always appreciate a customer friendly environment. We also went to the Goodwill down the street where I found one of the books for $1. So basically, nice selection but not worth it at the price they want you to pay, nor in a way I wish to be treated.

This is the best bookstore. It has everything you are looking for. Aisles and aisles of books. Staff are helpful. There is also another location up the same street, Bank Of Books.

Such a nice little bookshop. There aren't any places to sit and read, which is something I am always tempted to do because of the treasures there, but there are thousands of books to make up for it. Although the prices can be a little up there, there are some great put of print books that I was unable to find anywhere else. They have store credit for books that you bring in-they price your books and then keep a tab, giving you 50% of the regular price from that whenever you buy books. The salespeople are super kind and helpful. Again, prices are a little high, but try finding better ones at a book chain!

Nothing better than a used book store! And this one is tops! I bring my old books in and drop them off, get credit against new old books! So much to browse! I always find unexpected gems when I'm here!

Come here often. Great service every time I go here. Wish they would stay open a bit later but its just my schedule.