Recycle Bookstore

This bookstore has a huge selection of used ( and new) books - like HUGE. Their kids section is especially big and my kids would love it. So many rooms to explore with books up the ceiling and stacks on the floor. Also BOOKSTORE CAT 🐈‍⬛ 😍!

Amazing selection in a labyrinth style with multiple rooms. It's half priced prices with books I haven't seen on shelves in 20 years near mint. Alot to explore and find. Worth 3 to 4 hours.

One of the best collections of any bookstore I have ever been in. The shelves are overflowing, both with tons of copies of popular books and unique ones you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. The store is deceptively huge as well. The used books are all reasonably priced and in good shape. The one downside is there isn’t a store catalogue to search for a particular book but digging is part of the fun and the sections are well categorized. Bonus shoutout to the two kitties that live here!

This store is incredible! They have so many books you won't be able to see them all, I recommend going often and searching through the stacks

This place has a great selection of curated books together with exciting nooks and crannies which seem haphazard but are actually sensibly organized. Every inch of the store is fascinating with books categorized in a whimsical yet appealing manner. There would be some wide-eyed discovery as you go through the shelves here. Of course there is a cat with a very strong personality!The only thing that kept me from giving the store five stars is that there was a sign which stated something similar to ‘Only for employees, trespassers would be kicked out’! Now, ‘kicked’ is a little too harsh!

This is an amazing bookstore that I fully recommend. There may be some one star reviews that may occasionally be true but that doesn't make it a bad bookstore. It is a small business yet still owns hundreds of thousands of books. Though it may be hard to find your specific book sometimes you can ask the staff and they usually know. They have a buyer who buys back your used or new books and is there all weekdays for most of the day. They also have a cat! I have had a great experience coming here for 3 years.

The whole place is a calm vibe within the wall of great literary treasures. The children's section is just adorable and I love the homie old-school vibe. The smell of old books is soothing and comforting to me. Hard to control me from buying everything. Parking out front and great prices. They also buy books on certain days. Love love loves this store.

Yah know, I wanted to try selling some books a few weeks ago. They say they buy. Now i get it, they see a lot of stuff. These days people probably don't really care about buying a book when they can just go on Amazon kindle. But what irks me is that they quickly scan the see through box of books i have and quickly say no. Not even interested in actually looking at anything. I think they want books in pristine condition. Chances are they'll go find my books at savers and see what they missed. There's an air of snobbery in the store being surrounded by pristine condition books that nobody wants.

This place is great! They've got an enormous selection of new and used books to go along with comics and dvds. So much that could strike the eye of the collector. The prices are decent too. I bought two comic books and two Curious George books for about ten dollars total. The service was also phenomenal. They were very helpful and polite. Its definitely worth checking this spot out.

Came across this book store through Reddit! I was looking into places so I can sell some of my books that I don't plan on reading anymore. This recycled bookstore is humongous with a great selection of genres and specific fields you are planning on looking into. It felt small when I walked in, but little did I know there are other rooms to explore around. I ended up staying here for an hour! They also have a huge range of vintage books from the 70s/80s! I came here to sell my books and ended up buying something that peaked my interests. It was a used book for $10, which is not too bad! The workers here are super nice. Would definitely come back again to browse around.

Absolutely love the workers here. You can tell that they're enthusiastic about working and seriously love this place. It's a great spot, cute interior that you can get lost in! It's definitely worth the visit if you're in the area. You're bound to find a book that sucks you in!

Located off Alameda ave in SJ. 2 hour limit Street parking. Tons of vintage books available. Signs in store stating what subject In section. A maze of hidden rooms with more books to explore. Random seats in the aisles to get lost in a book. -Small DVD section. $4.99 up -book Prices from $1.99 and up. - Jazzy relaxing songs overhead -they buy books Last not least - friendly cats snoozing in the corners.

Was in town for Fanime and wanted to check out their manga section. They have about 5 shelves full of manga (with some stacks of them on the floor, guessing they werent able to fit them onto the shelves yet). I ended up picking up 5 used mangas. Prices for manga (at least for the ones I picked up) are about half off of the listed retail price on the book. There is some kind of fee for using credit card, so I suggest having cash to avoid the extra fee.

I would certainly not come back. I brought in some pretty valuable brand new books to sell and they gave me $13 for them all . looking back at it I feel like I was scammed. robbed. and I guess I was just so shocked in the moment when they offered me that amount I didn't even question it. An extractive, dismissive, and distorted exchange. y'all are lame asf. do better

Beware!!!!!!!!! I would not recommend coming to this store!!!!!!!! If I could give this place, and ALL who work there negative stars I would. People are disrespectful, unprofessional, and they are so rude!!! The place looks like a disaster, and there were huge piles everywhere, and it was hard to walk around the store without tripping. I was really excited to check this place out because I heard good reviews, and that they had cats here. I looked everywhere for the supposed cats of the store, and when I found one, and went to cautiously pet, someone there chewed me out in front of everyone. So horrible experience, and I will just go online to buy any books I want.

This is my new favorite spot! The store was quiet and filled with many different books. The service was lovely and the books were pretty organized too. I will say that some of their new books can be found for cheaper on Amazon, but nothing beats the experience of buying a book in a bookstore

I love this store! It's so fun to look around and search for unique books. They have a giant selection of new and used. I also enjoy the funky independent feel of the store. This place is one of San Jose's treasures if you love books.

Wherever we go, we check out the local used bookstores. This is one is a gem! It's packed full of excellent selections, even graphic novels. I appreciate that they have staff picks and highlight indie picks, as well as organize books by genre. The store cat, Max, adds to the hospitable feel of the place. Helpful staff. I'd say the prices are higher than some used bookstores but the quality of the books is also higher(gently used). Wish we lived closer so I could come here often!

This place is everything you want from a local bookstore. My impression is that they've been a staple in the neighborhood. I came by to sell some books and the staff was so kind and very efficient. Of course I picked up another book for myself. Their selection is expansive! For your next read come by here and you won't be disappointed.

Could spend days there. Rooms and rooms of books. Great selection of old and new kids titles.

I really love this bookstore. We were there on a Sunday and the two guy staff members were talking so loudly non stop with each other , and at such a loud volume that it was hard to focus on the books. Not to mention ignoring the customers. Won't go back again if they are there.

The Alameda Recycle Bookstore has a much bigger collection of used books compared to the other location. I can spend hours going through the aisles and checking out old and new titles. You can also sell you books at this location. I was offered either store credit or cash based on the books I brought in.

This store is great! There are plenty of used and new books, as well as very beautiful books that can be given as a gift. I have bought Agatha's Christie's collection and some books as gifts for others. There are a few shelves with beautiful covers, and even though they are priced higher than the majority, they are worth it. There is a cat that lives there and it adds the "cozy" feeling to the store. The atmosphere overall is great! All the staff are welcoming and helpful.

A great neighborhood bookstore for all ages. Perfect as a pit stop after/before coffee and breakfast or lunch at near by eateries. The staff has always been helpful and welcoming each time I go in (during the COVID masked era as well). An adorable feline to add to the store's ambiance is the cherry on top. A definite recommend if you're looking to dive into aisles of books of all genres, and at fair prices.

If you haven't been to the recycled book store you must change that quickly. They have a book selling program where you can come in, they pick from your selection, and then either give you cash or store credit. The staff is always friendly and there's a bookstore cat so if that doesn't get you in the door I don't know what would

My friend and I arrived here around 4:30 pm on a Thursday afternoon. There's street parking available and a private parking lot for the store next door, which is rare in the Downtown Asian Jose area. We were on a quest to buy books and sell/trade books. Walking in with a box of books, an associate immediately understood and recognized that I was trying to sell my books to the store. Great customer service. While he was evaluating the books, I decided to explore around the shop. Lots of books with personality and variety, clean and well kept shelves with subdivided sections on genre, and so many rooms like organized chaos. It was easy to get lost and wander in the sea of book covers and descriptions. After about 10 minutes, I returned to the front and got my valuation from brining around 15+ books; there were some that couldn't be taken in but I was offered either $23 cash or $38 trade in value. I decided to trade books in and got 3 used mangas for my sister and a music history book for my friend. Their trade in policy only applies to used books in the store. A wonderful experience and a hidden gem in downtown San Jose. They also have a furry friend, a black cat, wandering the store like it's playground. :)

Amazing place to check out used books as well as they also have new books! It is a huge bookstore with basically every genre ranging from Manga, Kids, Non-fiction, etc! The books are very reasonably priced. There are also 2 very cute and adorable cats that are around the bookstore! Parking is just on the street from what I see and it's not difficult at all to find parking.

This place is my favorite bookstore in the Bay Area. They have a wide section of literary genres. Multiple rooms with shelves filled from floor to ceiling. Easy to spend hours in here exploring. Friendly staff and great atmosphere. Also, I love the cats running around the store.

It is a treasure hunt here. There are books EVERYWHERE and the most surprising part was how organized the shelves are, despite it looking like there rows of book behind rows of books. The employees seem to know where all books are by heart which just shows how passionate this bookstore is built upon. Keep up the good work Recycle Book Store!

A fantastic bookstore with an AMAZING selection, helpful staff, and solid hours. Would recommend going here before any chain bookstores!

Truly, one of our favorite bookstores in northern California! Always fun to wander around and see the extensive range and size of their collection. We never leave without a pile of books! Both new and used options and very kind and friendly service! We find their used books very competitively priced with a large array of choices!

Be Kind and Feed your Mind. This bookstore is on my migration route to most of my downtown San Jose haunts. I've found and fed my mind on many treasures here. Before any travel to an exotic country, I like to come here and peruse the works of travel writers who went to the same place. I love reading about the real adventures of authors. Especially interesting are the works that are decades or hundreds if years old. The past is vividly described by gifted writers. Yes, it is amazing to see with my own eyes how a historical event reverberates throughout the modern country. The persistence of a historical cultural experience plays out for years later. Walking in the aisles, there is an energy to the books. It is almost as if the words are alive. Given life by the passion and emotion and emotions of dedicated writers who sat hour after hour writing and rewriting and reliving memories. Trying to transform all this into words is daunting. A literary Gordian knot of what is in the mind being untangled onto the page word by word.

Paying homepage to my all-time favorite bookstore with this review. Recycle Bookstore is my safe haven close to home, as someone who loves literature and grew up reading in bookstores all the time. I've been going here for about 8-9 years now, even before their expansion. I love coming here with my niece and she enjoys seeing their cats. They have 2 cats that live in the bookstore. I'm personally terrified of cats but these guys are pretty chill and give a homey vibe to the place. I've been able to rely on them consistently, which I prefer to support an independent bookstore over a purchase from Amazon, to find books that were required for my English courses for college. For stellar prices too since they're a used bookstore. They have every single genre you can think of-- from manga, comics, and even vintage books/DVDs! They have many copies from classic writers such as Plath, Steinbeck, and Kafka. They also do a book buy-back service which is always great for a bookstore to provide, if anyone is looking to sell or trade books. Love going here and getting a coffee after at Crema Coffee right across the street!

There's always something interesting to pickup and read, and their trade-in value is so much better than the online book resaler's offers. Friendly staff, old school wooden floor to ceiling bookshelves, and cozy/friendly fur balls to set the classic book store feel. If it's your first time in this bookstore, grab your coffee first, you'll be surprised how long you can spend browsing the shelves.

This may be the best used bookstore I've been to in terms of its selection of currently popular books. I feel like a lot of bookstores that carry used books usually carry mostly books published a long time ago, but Recycle Book Store had everything. Books are well-organized, the store is clean, and the workers are very friendly. Prices are reasonable, too. Most used books I saw were around $7-$8. The books I got (Tender Is the Flesh) was in almost new condition, and I got it for around $7. Definitely recommend!

Dropped by for the first time today and was extremely surprised by the large selections in store! Shelves and shelves of books galore, piled high throughout several rooms! It was seriously a lot of books and I could've spent hours there. I recommend that you have specific books in mind before coming here because browsing can be difficult because of the organization and sheer number of books. I ended up walking away with a copy of Wuthering Heights, which I've been wanting to read for a while. In general, the prices for many of their books are cheaper compared to other recycle bookstores, so that was nice as well! They also buy back books (but not textbooks)! I'm thinking of coming back to see if I can sell any of my old books. Also, there's a cat that roams the store as well which was cute haha. Will be returning soon!

I could live in this store. It is filled to the brim with a wide variety of books. It feels nostalgic going through the aisles. I found so much of what I was looking for an incredible price. There is also a cat who lives there who is adorable. The staff will also hold books for you if needed which is great. This is probably the best bookstore I've been in.

Loved! Great selection. Picked up a few titles at good prices. Most things I was looking for were very easy to find. Cutest cat.

I've been looking forward to coming here for months now and finally decided to make the trek here. The plus side is that they have a large selection and the store is massive! Unfortunately, for a used bookstore, I feel like the books are extremely expensive. I understand that they're a local shop that needs to pay rent, labor costs, etc, but it's extremely hard to justify purchasing books at such a high price point. Every book I wanted, was ~$12 which I was shocked when I saw it since the condition of the books were visibly used. For instance, book of the month sells brand new books for $10 (free shipping) and all of the BOTMs that I saw in the store were $12 in used condition. Its great supporting this local shop, but when I'm on a budget, it's difficult for me to purchase a used book here when I can get a brand new book at a lower price. Obviously, Amazon is a huge corporate company and you shouldn't purchase books from them if you like to support small businesses, but the prices are just so much lower for new copies. For instance, the mortal instrument set is $30 on amazon for a brand new set and the used version at this bookstore is $40. I did see a lot of people perusing the aisles so I'm just glad that they're getting good business.

Super for the reader in anyone. They have so Much you just need patience to look. It's not a macys it's more of a Ross - you need to just enjoy the experience.

The books are really affordable here I left with at least 11 books and didn't break the bank. The kitties are a plus !

Wonderful bookstore with a fantastic selection, nice prices on used books, and fun maze-like rooms.

I miss browsing book stores, I like used book stores they are really rare now a days and it's nice to see this store open esp in covid times. I was looking for something a little sci fi and ended up the relationship section of all places. I like being lost in a spiral of relationship matter and psych case studies, ethereal information and assessments for fun and non fiction. Found some Thich Nhat Hanh Living Buddha, Living Christ. Its nice. The store is pretty big, came in Covid era and the store seems more organized since the last time I went. Cool! Covid safe, lots of book cases and they don't keep track of the books via comp, so it's like a treasure hunt having to physically look for a book. No big deal. All are alphabetical. We're living in some fucked up times and we have for a while, it's not a secret or taboo either. It's nice to go to a quiet place reflect and just stimulate the brain. Since I moved to this city I have been somewhat of a loner, In my hometown is where I don't feel like a tourist and I have friends IRL. I think it's kinda obvious that I am not from San Jose. :) Great place for used book finds, and get lost in a old world style bookstore. #thankful #peaceful #patient Enso forever +- Adorable black cat in the store. Love it. New and used titles at a discount. Browse book for scuffs or under linings. Street parking is limited, park at Creama lot it's free. :) Get some coffee after. _ "I met this girl, when I was 10 years old and what I loved most she had so much soul." I used to love H.E.R. _Common

The whole place is a calm vibe within the wall of great literary treasures. The children's section is just adorable and I love the homie old school vibe. The smell of old books its soothing and comforting to me. Hard to control myself from buying everything. Parking out front and great prices. They also buy books on certain days. Love love love this store.

I love the cozy atmosphere here. Such a fun place to just browse, play with the cats, and find signed/second hand books. I come here often and the workers are very helpful. It's my happy place along with the one in Campbell!!!

every time I see one of those videos or movies of a girl looking at books, this is literally what I imagine. This store is literally floor to ceiling filled with books. It is like a dream come true. I love the way the wood floor creaks in the store. The staff are so friendly. I love the concept of the store and the way it works. I'm always able to find parking outside the store. And best of all I always walk away with so many goodies!!! 10/10!!!

My son takes all of his books he no longer reads to Recycle Book Store. It's a great way to move into the next stage of reading and also get new books from what they have in the store.

First time here today with my bestf !! She recommended this place for affordable books. was very quiet and peaceful. there were many stools and chairs laying around if you wanted to do some reading. it was bigger than i expected with many sections (categorized into genres: mystery, poetry, fiction, e.t.c) with multiple rooms. There was also a cat roaming around which was pretty cute, and i think the (owners??) leave out bowls of food for it as it ventures the book shop which is really cute. I think there are some pretty good deals here, with used books being very affordable but still looking SPANKING NEW. overall, i really loved the variety and how helpful and positive the customer service was :D i could spend hours in here tbh there's just so much to browse. didn't get anything at the end because nothing really intrigued me too much but hope to snag a book or two next time !!

Huge selection of all types of media. I could spend hours in this store. Prices are reasonable plus you're shopping local. Staff is knowledgeable and approachable.

Easily one of my favourite book stores in the area! I used to live right down the street from this place (which was, uh, freaking awesome!), but now I live quite a way away, but don't you fret, for I still "find ways" to make it over here ;) They have a pretty solid selection. I don't think that I've ever not been able to find a book here, and they also have this thing that I'm currently working on called the Franklin Library. Here, learn yourself a thing or two, or just skip it, cuz I just straight up C'n'P'd it. "The Franklin Library, a division of The Franklin Mint, was a publisher of fine collector edition books from the early 1970s until 2000. Known for beautiful leather bindings, Franklin Library books were published in three styles - full genuine leather, imitation leather, and quarter-bound genuine leather." It's like, remember that scene from Anchor Man? Where Ron Burgundy goes, "You have an absolutely breath-taking hiney. I mean that thing is good. I wanna be friends with it...I don't know how to put this, but, I'm kind of a big deal. People know me. I'm very important, I have many LEATHER-BOUND BOOKS, and my apartment smells of rich mahogany." Yeah. It's like that. So anyway, I've got a bunch of them, and I will keep adding to the collection. Thanks, Recycle Book Store! You number 1!

This is easily my son's favorite place on earth. Close enough to walk to and easy buybacks and great (read generous) trade in credit on the books he has consumed. Now it really doesn't matter what you are looking for and in some ways it is better here if you have no idea going in. Kids books are to the left when you walk in and there are comics and classics right in front of the registers. Then there is the rest of it. Wandering around can be overwhelming the first time (maybe on subsequent visits as well) but schedule an afternoon to familiarize yourself and really enjoy the seemingly random but incredibly well cultivated selections.

Unique Bookstore with a lot of selection and friendly cat. They also have a small selection in Spanish

So cute so fun you can find excellent finds here for a good price! Nice staff and there's cats!

This store just stays amazing! The prices are pretty good and there's a million books! Def a great place to stop at(:

Reasonable price, clean, quiet place with a cute kitty! Gave me a free bookmark when purchasing books.

Tried out this used book store before our group of friends headed over to Lunas. It was a lot of fun! I especially loved the cats roaming the store like tiny emperors. The books plentiful in all kinds of genres! Definitely gravitated to some YAs, Scifi, Fantasies, and Manga. But I saw so many other books there too. Highly recommend for a place to drop off some books and pick up some new ones! Great place to hang out and browse.

I'm sure that this city has tons of great bookstores, but this is one of the best in the area. If you like to read, they definitely have something for everyone to enjoy. Everything that they have is spread out throughout the store but is very well organized. It may seem overwhelming at first as you browse, but the fact that the rooms are numbered and labeled for content; helps make the experience that much better. It's nice that they carry new and used books at prices that beat out many competitors, but just know that it's very easy for this store to consume a days worth of time.