King's Books

I absolutely love this local bookstore! This was my first time. The selection of books is fantastic—there's something for everyone, from bestsellers to hidden literary treasures. The staff is always warm, and welcoming. One of my favorite things about this place? The friendly cats that roam the store! They add such a cozy, homey touch and make every visit feel extra special. It's the perfect spot to browse, unwind, and maybe even make a furry friend or two. Highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area—this place is truly a gem!

I have enjoyed coming to this store now and again. The staff were nice, they gave me a book rec that I liked and ended up buying. They have both new and used books alike, I have to plan out time to visit because I end up perusing numerous titles across different genres. They have ample seating across the store, so you can do just that. They also host variously themed monthly book clubs (Ex. Feminist Utopia, Tacoma Sister Cities, Buddhism Today, etc.), and hold regular community events. King’s Books has an overall great and welcoming atmosphere. I am thankful for the time I have spent here and for their business!

My favorite stop in Tacoma. Fantastic selection in all areas, local history and children’s book ranges are vast. Also two store cats in residence. Helpful, friendly staff. What an independent bookstore should be! Did I mention store cats?!

This bookstore is my favorite in downtown Tacoma! it's a bigger bookstore with lots of shelves, a discount section, and a great new book area in the front of the store. There are lots of tables and chairs to read or hang out. They have book clubs that meet each month you can join too. The bookstore will also order books they don't have if you would like. They just got two bookstore cats that are the cutest!

Realy nice books selection. Somany books that I haven't been able to find at other book stores, also loved there pride section had so many great books I have never heard about. :D

Great selection, fantastic atmosphere. Supporting an independent bookstore in a cute location. They will also order you anything if you call ahead.

Great selection, good prices, and cute kitties!

Great local Indie bookstore. Great staff. Tons of variety (not the stale offerings of THAT major book place), and very Indie author friendly!

Really cool bookstore connected to a vintage clothes and bag/purse store that's much bigger than it looks from the outside. When you walk in, there's a small lobby area with the cashier, but then you walk to the back and find a whole new room full of books! Great selection of reads, you can easily find some hidden gems in this bookstore. Everything was reasonably priced for being used and new books, and they offer dollar books in the back on a shelf with some of the very used books. Would love to come back someday when I'm in town!

I'd been by the store a few times and always wanted to stop in. They had a decent used book selection and the prices were mostly reasonable. The new books were cover price, which is fair (and what I expected) but the selection was not that good. I saw at least six books covering the same subject from the same perspective, and just not much variety overall. I don't know if it was a special occasion or if they do this every Saturday, but there were a group of vendors set up in the central aisle of the store. They had prints, soap, jewelry, et cetera - it was all very nice, but it made getting to the books an exercise in frustration. I had to work my way around the backs of the aisles and there were still sections I couldn't get to at all. I found several books I wanted and took them to the counter. There were two clerks - one didn't acknowledge me at all. The other clerk took my books, told me about a book crawl promotion, and rang me up. I purchased enough that I needed a bag, so I took out my reusable bag and laid it on the counter. The clerk left it there. I looked at it and back at the clerk - she looked back at me and made no move to put the books in the bag. I bagged the books myself and left. Yes, it's petty. It's also a reasonable expectation on my part, especially when I provide the bag, and would have been a basic courtesy from the clerk. That she could not see fit to provide it was bad customer service. Between the poor new book selection, the difficulty getting to the books themselves, and the attitude of the clerk, I'll give this place a miss in the future.

I used to be in this bookstore couple months ago and I was surprised that it's been improved today especially with the customer service. It's so nice and welcome of them which is what I expect when I came here at first and I'm glad that this independent bookstore has reviews some comments here so they would be able to know that the customer service has gone worse lately but anyway it has changed. All staff is very nice and helpful!

Yay for King's Books, the best bookstore in Tacoma. They've got a very large and smart selection of new and used books, well organized but not OVERLY organized. There's idiosyncratic minds at work deciding which books get shelved in which sections, which means you're likely to find a title you didn't know you were looking for. I find exactly what I came for about 30% of the time, and leave with something excellent close to 100% of the time. Them's good odds! And used book prices are perfectly fair.

Used to love this store but the customer service is awful! They would rather read their books or look at their phones than help people. My most recent experience was even worse than the last. I saw on their website they sell books for store credit which I have done once before and so I packed up 3 bags of books and brought them over there. But when I brought them in the lady very coldly told me "we are not accepting books until further notice" Classic Tacoma believing books will give you COVID - wash your hands and get over yourself like everyone else has. Wasted my time!! Please update your website clearly you are just sitting around doing nothing anyways.

As much as I wanted to love this bookstore, the customer service was horrendously bad. It was a simple Saturday afternoon, and my daughter and I decided to take a stroll down St. Helens since the sun was out. We both like used bookstores, and she really likes vintage, so Kings Books with the attached vintage shop was an immediate find. We rolled into the store, and my daughter went to the vintage side and I went in to check out the bookstore. My lighthearted whimsical Saturday mood was quickly and harshly dashed by the unusually despondent and emotionally disassociated cashier. Sadly the cashier is the first person to "greet" you as you walk in, so my first interaction with the human component of the store was offensively horrid. I looked around, saw no distinct genre signs, and thought, hmm, let me ask the cashier as this was my first time at the store and there were a lot of books. I walked up and the cashier had this dead faced scowl with a cold penetrating stare that was reminiscent of what gave children nightmares from watching the overly CGI'd Polar Express. I brushed aside my initial gut check, as I'm not one to put anyone in a bad light upon my first interaction. I asked the cashier how the books were organized so I knew where to start. Wow, was this the wrong question to ask! She just looked at me like I was an idiot, and then very condescendingly with her signature dead stare said, "There are signs." Umm, okay, cool. So I said, "Oh, cool, I uh didn't see any at first. So this front section must be the 'featured' section." [Insert awkward pause akin to a dead punchline] Then she said, "Yeah." I was really getting somewhere here. Her personality was just bowling me over with rainbows. I thought wow, okay, I'll just be on my way and go look at the umm signs. Yikes. I proceed to peruse the books and find a Taoism book I like. I begrudgingly come back to the register as there is no other commerce based points of escape. Oh dear, again with the scowl. As I'm checking out, I ask about the signs [Insert internal cringe about saying anything] stating "Do Not Re-shelve the books yourself." As a laid my book down to purchase, I asked, "So how does this work, do I bring the book back once I've read it?" I was thinking with a shop full of used books, perhaps we pay an initial price and then can bring it back and receive a small discount or store credit for my next book. Once again, absolutely wrong question. The scowl became more pointed and intense, and she looked at me with what I can only describe as a "What are you stupid?" look and said, "Uh, this is a bookstore, we sell books." At this point, I was downright offended and put off by the whole ordeal. Asking basic questions is a grand offense, trying to checkout is a grand offense; I mean even walking through the door was seen as some vile act apparently. As we finalized the sale, my last ditch effort at bridging the gap between customer service specialist and cyborg anti-customer death unit, I noticed that she had been working on a Microsoft Surface laptop while waiting for customers to checkout. I said, "Oh cool, how do you like your Surface?" I'm a techie and I love my Surface, just saying. Well, you guessed it; absolute wrong question. She looked at me, looked at the laptop, looked back at me and said, "It's not a Surface." Well ya coulda fooled me Ms. Cyborg, cuz it sure has a damn uncanny resemblance to my laptop which is a, well, a, Surface! Needless to say I walked out in a combined state of pissed off and stunned. I have never experienced such an offensively pitiful display of garbage customer service in my life, and I've shopped in some pretty low class places in my time. For as much as the bookstore is one of the coolest I've been in, the cashier quite literally ruined the experience for me. I had to muster up every bit of "I can only control my response" self-talk to move on and salvage my Saturday afternoon. The cashier's attitude was condescending, snarky, bratty, awkwardly frigid, unapproachable, offensive, hostile and plain out rude. From my experience, I can very honestly say a broken self-checkout machine with a rusted can taped to the screen that has a slot for cash only would be an upgrade. Sorry guys, but at King's Books this past Saturday customer service = epic fail. Just to clarify, the attached vintage clothing store was awesome! The lady at the counter was friendly and really did brighten up my day. Go to the vintage clothing store, but for the love of all that is holy whatever you do do not talk to the cashier at the bookstore. Remember the rule about not feeding the Mogwai after midnight? Yeah, the do not talk to the cashier at the bookstore recommendation is basically at that level of advice.

This place has an excellent collection of adult & children books, which was perfect for me, as I am an adult with children. I called ahead to ask if they had a particular book I was looking for in stock, and when I got there, it was already sitting on the counter, which I thought was a very nice touch. Overall they were extremely friendly and helpful.

Great customer service. Comfortable vibe for browsing. Both new and used books in stock. And a very dapper tuxedo cat that is excellent at greeting. (When not napping or otherwise occupied with cat things) What more could you want in a bookstore, really?

Very nice community used and new bookstore that's not crowded or over stuffed. Mostly new books. Has its own parking lot and store has a clothing thrift store and comic store shared space that open to each other. The Yelp map takes you to the wrong location. It's actual the next street down the hill. The address listed is correct but if you depend on Yelp direction it will take you to the wrong location. On the pics submitted Kings Books is the blue dot!

CATSCATSCATS i'm a cat lady and a reader (aren't we all) and this is a match made in heaven. As soon as i walked in, Herbert the tuxedo came up to me with a loud raspy meow and demanded a welcome pet. Atticus the black cat was snoozing on the cozy arm chair but I calmly let him smell my hand to see if he'd let me pet him and he said "I'll allow it". If you don't care to read about the cats, skip 2 paragraphs down :) ** the cats ** As I browsed, Herbert came meowing and looked to jump up on a chair. so hopefully i sat down and patted my lap- praying he'd take the hint and he did! So friendly! I sat blissfully with him on my lap like a little heater and he took a good nap. No one bothered us, no one told me i was hogging the cat. A few people came in and out of the store while Herbert napped - I was in that chair for a total of 3 hours. THREE HOURS. Herbert got up and rearranged himself a few times, It was amazing, I would've died in that chair if he didn't want to move ever. Atticus came up and I had TWO CATS at once! Then eventually Atticus came by to bug Herbert and Herbert finally took a jump off of my lap. As I brushed the cat fur off my pants, I finally got to browse the store for my purrchase (pun intended). ** the store ** They have a comic book section which was awesome, it seemed well stocked and manned, honestly the most impressive comic space I've seen in a while. The store itself is charming, lots of open space , the shelves are a mix of old and new, they had Marie Kondo's "Art of Tidying up", a newer viral sensation as well as used books and a large history section on Tacoma alone. They have a lot of history books, language books, a good used sci-fi section. It seemed like a good place for kids too, with all the open flooring. I found a little section next to the register with fun cat books and tacoma stickers. They had some games, strange local greeting cards and more fun stuff. I got a cat book and a book of cat tattoos ! The staff was so nice, they only smiled at me as I sat for hours with Herbert on my lap. When I checked out, she was calmly telling Herbert it wasn't dinner time yet - I feel assured that Herbert and Atticus are well taken care of. I feel that I bonded with Herbert today, so I'll be back for more soon! TLDR: TWO AWESOME CATS that will hang out with you and awesome selection of new and used; friendly staff, large welcoming store!

Wonderful space with creaky wooden floors. And BOOKS of every kind. New, used, many genres, many languages. Helpful staff. You can ask them to order a book you don't find in the store. And I live close enough to walk there!!!

I can't believe I haven't written a review for King's Books yet. I have been in there enough times, that's for sure but some places slip through the cracks on getting a review out in a timely matter. I'm trying to do better about that. So at long last here is my review for King's Books.... What I like about King's is it is an independently owned book shop with a great book selection. They sell new and used books and they have a very solid selection of various subject matter throughout the store. They have their books categorized by topic sections which are easy to navigate and is not complicated at all. The presentation of many of their new books are displayed on tables which is arranged in a way that also is easy to browse. One of the coolest features with this book shop is that they have lots of book groups that meet here, many groups that are very specialized on a certain theme which is very cool to see. The books that are selected for these groups are on an end cap and which group has assigned the literature to read and discuss. Some of the books or topics for that matter must get very popular because sometimes the assigned reading books are sold out here. And what book store isn't complete without at least one or two pet cats roaming around to greet you and to pet. Yes, King's has this integral part of a complete book shop experience as well.

I love King's Books. Best bookstore in Tacoma, in my opinion. They have a wide variety of books. I can easily find my favorite authors, Palahniuk, Bukowski, Vonnegut. They have a great selection of history and nature books, they sell new & used, and they have cats - which is an added plus for a dog person who likes to occasionally pet cats. They host book clubs, which I love. Great way to read interesting new books and meet interesting new people. Tacoma is blessed by this bookstore. Check it out if you like books, and if you don't... you should.

I love how simple it is to order online and pick up curbside! They're great at updating you via email if there are any delays (remember, this is a small local business without the capacity to get books to you ASAP). I've always received my order in a timely manner but plan ahead a bit if you're ordering gifts, just in case. Many book prices are comparable to Amazon and Target, but ordering here ensures you're putting money back into our local community. I will continue to order my books at King's!

Driving down I-5, I cannot resist the urge to pull off the highway and drive up the hill through downtown and spend some time poking through the treasures for sale at King Books, a truly wonderful independent used bookstore any city would be proud and lucky to have as its own. It's not Powell's nor does it need to be. It's simply a wonderful place to browse, explore and read for as long as you want. This might be the most stress free bookstore I've ever been in; it's just got the perfect vibe. There's something here for everyone and if you can't find something you're interested in - then you're not interested in anything. I've been coming here for about six years and it's just one of those uber-comfortable environments where you can think and relax. They have a very strong fiction section but almost anything you want is here. They also have book readings and lectures so there's something for almost everyone.

I love the open tables with suggestions. I always find a new book, author or topic to read about. There are several different book clubs that meet here and they have always been supporters of the Tacoma area. Great staff that is knowledgable.

Fun place to spend hours....rare collections, cool vibe, different selections. Love the atmosphere and eclectic choices available.

I'm visiting from Eugene, Oregon and I absolutely love this book shop! I love the vibe of the store and it sells used books. There are also cute cats that greet you at the door! (: (but I guess that means if you're allergic to cats you may want to be careful) I was able to buy some good books at good prices and they even carry some books with the authors autograph in them! Pretty awesome. I'll defiantly be looking to visit the shop in the future when I roll by Tacoma again!

It's a really cute bookstore, and they have 2 adorable cats that just wander around. Highly recommend this place!

This place is AMAZING! The first time i went here was for my high school Black Student Union Fundraiser! the owner was so amazing and donated so many books to our club and allowed us to use his space! Also this place is just fun! the amount of books and how they are placed makes the layout fun and makes you eager to explore more. They also have books of all kinds! The book selection there is broad and wide and full of many possibilities for anyone. I HIGHLY recommend this store!

Not open during COVID for walk in guests. Curbside pick up only starting at noon. Disappointed I didn't see any information about it being closed to the public before driving there.

Finally stopped in to check out this bookstore a couple blocks from work. Fell in love as soon as I walked in. Two sweet cats greet you along with a great selection of books. It was much larger than I was expecting with a maze of topics. Books are new and used. Very friendly people running the show. Now I know where I'll be spending my lunch breaks.

Great inventory of books! I found two new authors to try and I'm super picky. Curbside pickup was quick and easy. Staff was friendly. Books were in excellent condition and reasonably priced. This was a great first time experience with King's

Fantastic place - Huge selection and knowledgable folks runnin' the place. I also really enjoy the random feline companions you'll find whilst parusing the rows of books. Prices are fair, too, and there are several nice spots to sit and have a conversation or just take a few minutes to preview. If you have time, I recommend looking through their special room (No, Todd, not that kind of special room) at the super old literature they have. Some of it is under lock and key, with good reason, but it's still very cool seeing the really oldie but goodies. I highly prefer this kind of shop to a Border's or BD Dalton's where you best being wearing a sweater and holding a cup of coffee or you aren't getting helped.

King's Books is, by far, the best bookstore in the Pierce/South King County area! After living in Snohomish County my entire life, it was a bit unsettling to suddenly find myself living in South King County - so far from my beloved bookstore (and a fellow Indie bookseller of King's), Third Place Books of Lake Forest Park. I was yearning for something - ANYTHING - by Brady Udall and didn't want to make the trek up to TPB, so when I called and explained that I'd just moved to the South King County area, I was strongly encouraged to check out King's. Thus, a love story between a girl and a used bookshop begins... I visited King's on an idyllic, sunny, perfectly spring-inspired day. Walking through the door and being greeted by a friendly feline was wonderful and made me feel like I'd stepped back in time - far from e-readers and Amazon. The staff (sweet pea in particular) are very helpful and willing to help you search for anything you may need - or recommend something if you just can't quite find something on your own. The prices... oh, the prices! For a used bookstore, this place is CHEAP! I almost feel bad about how cheap some of the books are sold for, like there should be a donation jar on the counter for guilty souls like myself. I walked out of there with 5 hardcover books, and after tax, only paid $25. Well, that's enough rambling for me... and enough Yelp reading for you! Get on down to King's Books this instant - you'll find me somewhere amongst the Literature section or basking in the sun on the floor with one of the cats. :-)

What a fantastic book store! I went in to find something about the history of Tacoma, and I am so glad I did! They have a whole section on it! And neighboring towns, too! I spent nearly an hour just in this section alone, then when my arms were LOADED up with books, I thought I'd better check out the rest of the store...and I didn't make it halfway back before I needed a whole new set of arms to carry even more books! (They got me with their $1 rack!) The store was clean and customer-friendly...who could ask for more!?! I'll be back, and I'm happy to tell anyone who wants to listen: this is a great local bookstore!

I love this place!! It's everything that I crave in a good bookstore. Tons of aisles for browsing, cats that wander around and lounge on counters and stacks of books, an assortment of cool events, but most importantly a great selection of books at reasonable prices. I've never come to browse and left empty handed. If they don't have a specific title I'm looking for I can always order it and come back later to pick it up. The last two times I've gone searching for a new read I've left with something I knew little about but ended up thoroughly enjoying. Sweetpea is great too, super friendly. *sigh* I heart King's Books.

This is a store by book lovers for book lovers. The fact that they support Tacoma's literary and arts community makes King's a SUPERSTAR! Read on.

King's Books is a Tacoma landmark. This place has so many great books that you'd be lucky to find at other bookstores. They are a solid part of the stadium district community and I hope they stay here for a long time. Strike up a conversation with anyone behind the counter. They know their stuff

This used to be the best used book store in Tacoma, until new ownership came in a few years back. Now the inventory is a hybrid between new and used, and the used inventory isn't what it used to be. The place by the Dome and Culpepper Books are each better than this place, and depending on the day you go, so is the Goodwill. I give it three stars for the cats and the readings that the store hosts.

Go at once. Great, friendly, eclectic store for the true booklover (or luster). Smells like a bookstore should. Has fine cats and savvy, cordial staff. Not for OCD people; heaven for browsers, wanderers, and the generally curious.

Wonderful store, great location next to a comic store! I love their personal recommendations.

This is one of my favorite places to spend time. Great books, customer service is perfect, cool furniture, and cute cats!

If you like to read this is a totally fun place to go and spend a few hours looking for a treasure.

If you are a book person, if you want to browse and shop among a great collection of new, historical and used books and meet some interesting people, then King's Books is IT for you! They have a very knowledgeable staff and can order anything you you want that they do not carry. They also have many fun and interesting events that go on throughout the year, so check back often to see what is coming next.

AMAZING!! Such a huge selection of books and I always find super cute/funny ones. The staff is always super helpful and friends. Of course I can't forget the kitties too =)

Great finds at this small, open shop in Tacoma. When the weather was dreary and I already had coffee, I'd head over to King's books to look for a unique find. There was a cat that used to run around and sit in the armchairs that were scattered around the place. This is a good place to find good prices on used books, and they take orders for new books if you want to support the independent bookstores in Tacoma. I found some unique books in spanish for cheap, as well as older versions of books from long-gone authors. It's well lit, not musky, and not intrusive on the shopper. In the winter there is sometimes cider out for customers to sip while shopping.

My absolute favorite bookstore in Tacoma. If you're looking for a good used bookstore with that local atmosphere, King's is your place. The store comes complete with two cats to hang out with (if you are so inclined), sometimes goofy but adorable staff members who are pleased to help you, and tons of used and new books. Everything is arranged in an easy-to-find manner and the store is pretty large so there's space to move around and check things out. They have tons of books but not crammed here there and everywhere like some used bookstores I've been to. All in all a good experience.

A great independent bookstore in Tacoma. The staff is always friendly and more than helpful. Books are easy to find and they put on great events.

I went to King's looking to buy "Team of Rivals". I was told they'd just sold their last copy, and it was about to be mailed out. I stayed to search for an alternative, and after about 10 minutes the owner came to me with the Lincoln book. He said they'd rather support a local who comes into the store than mail a copy to another. They'd send the other fellow his/her copy as soon as their new shipment came in. That's great service!

King's Books is an institution in Tacoma. They have a small selection of new books and tons of used books, ideal for browsing. The best new options are in books with a local focus (think local authors, cookbooks, gardening focus, etc.) and cool local gifts like cards featuring Tacoma landmarks, sly tee shirts with insider jokes for Tacomans, and clever calendars. My favorite part of this place: the cats. They run around the store and snuggle in cat beds where they are willing targets for humans who can't resist petting cats.

This is the place in Tacoma. It smells and feels like Powell's and is even more comfortably sitty. King's has curated an good bunch of books overall and their literature section rivals that of much larger book sellers. The staff is friendly and I keep hearing about the goings-on they host and am looking forward to attending.

This is such a cute little book shop! And they have such a variety of books too! From children's books to religious books to everything in between! It's amazing :) and there was an adorable friendly cat there who showed us around~

This place is huge. I expected a smaller book store but no. The selection is fantastic. The prices are reasonable too. The best part is it actually SMELLS like a book store! (For true book lovers you know what I'm talking about). I am happy I found this place.

One of the few, proud independent bookstores left in this desolate, culturally deprived/depraved land. It smells like books, something Costco, Barnes and Noble or any other big box retailer will never legitimately achieve. It has a cat (or two, I don't remember). It hosts unique events (like http://www.kingsbookstore.com/wayzgoose, a letterpress/book arts event). I am lacking for not visiting more.

This is an odd primarily used book store which damages my wallet with the new books up front and not so much with used materials.. There is always something I just can't leave the store without sitting on the front table. This store is always worth a stop at when you are in the area. Excellent staff also. Tacoma has many shopping jewels and this is yet another reason to venture out of Seattle.

Best bookshop in Tacoma, love the posters. Found the used Jean Stafford collections I have been looking for. Good old-fashioned used bookstore full of my fellow crackpots and free thinkers, even has that indescribable used bookstore smell that makes you start thinking of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Thumbs up up up.

Nice and friendly bookstore. My local stores in SD have spoiled me so I have to take a step back when visiting out of state bookstores. A fair selection at your standard used book prices $9 and below.

I gave a short round table presentation here for my cookies cookbook. Before and after I roamed around the store and spoke with Sweet Pea. The book selection is excellent, well organized, and there are plenty of places to sit and read or consider what to buy. An intangible, I like feeling like my purchases support the community and in King's there is a neighborhood intimacy that offers a clear relationship among buyer, seller, and story.