Skylight Books

Great, small bookstore with a lovely setting including a tree and circular bench in the middle. Because the store is on the small side, the selection in some of the topics/sections isn’t as broad or extensive as other bookstores. But the store more than makes up for it in other ways. They have great gifts for bibliophiles, fun temporary tattoos, fantastic branded T-shirts, and artistic greeting cards. And you can always have the store order a book you don’t see in stock! It can get a bit crowded on a Saturday or when they have events. But I don’t believe in taking off stars for something like that. The size and capacity is what it is. This is still a great bookstore to visit! Staff are friendly. And the location is good, right on same section of street as lots of other interesting businesses like an independent movie theater, taqueria, diner, nail salon, and more.

What a nice bookshop, the tree in the middle makes you want to stay there forever

I was searching online for a specific photography book and Skylight Books was the only bookstore to carry it. I hadn't previously heard about Skylight Books but went ahead due to their good reviews. The order was professionally handled from start to finish. Shipping was fast! The book was carefully packaged and arrived in great shape. So, I'm happy to write this review of my experience.

Love everything about this store. It’s got a high ceiling and bright naturally lit interior. The books are very well curated with lots of categories for a wide range of interests. A true gem in LA.

Lovely bookstore! They’re open pretty late as well - we went at about 9:00pm after going out to dinner. They were having an event of some kind, and they offered lots of flyers for other local events at the front of the store!

I love this store so much and the books are lovely, but the woman with black hair and white eyebrows was so rude. I was curious about literary events in the area and regret approaching her to ask. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough after that encounter.

I am overwhelmed when it comes to purchasing a book. It’s an intimidating process every time. I asked for help once in my life a the guy sold me on purchasing Infinite Jest. After that I would never ask a book seller for help again. But that’s just me tho. I love this bookstore, I love that bookstores can still exist in the age of Bezos. They had many good titles suggested on the end caps. Eventually I just chose a book at random based on the fact that a lot was in stock (which signaled it was popular) I liked the title and cover, and the back said something like “sometimes the perfect book finds you.” Which vibed like a fortune cookie and totally worked. The book is called Outline and I can’t remember the author. I’m on the first chapter and so far my little gamble has paid off. In summation, support your local bookstore, preferably this one.

It smells great but it’s cramped at the busy hours (usually at nights because they have author meetups during the evenings). It’s a small bookstore, and btw, they sell the books at full price (check Amazon’s full price for the book, that’s the price they’re sold). It’s good for convenience’s sake, but if you would rather wait for your book, I’d go with Amazon. Sometimes the books are bent, so not all the books are totally brand new (as most bookstores suffer from). Additionally, it’s cool that they have the Annex. The Artist’s Annex (located on the right hand side of the bookstore) has magazines from Thrasher to film magazines to naughty magazines and in between. There is where all the comics, magazines, art and music related books and the historic comics are. Going back to main bookstore, book selection is sparse regarding each category. There is stuff on the war in Palestine, philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the contemporaries, classics, contemporary fiction and non-fiction, etc. Cons: Sparse selection and a cramped space during busy hours (usually in the evenings). Pros: Wide selection of books, you can order online and pick up, great location with superb restaurants nearby, author meet ups happen at night (check their schedule).

Excellent selection of everything, especially progressive political books. Highly recommend to stop by for anyone who cares about the future of our world and justice in the middle east.

I haven't been to this place for YEARS!! Last time I came here, my kids were in elementary school!! For some reason, this place looks so much smaller to me now. Navigating between the aisles can be challenging if there's a lot of people. The children's section is small. The selection is OK. Not too many places to sit. The tree is still there. The cat has passed due to age, but apparently the cat was around for quite awhile!! The people behind the counter are friendly. Parking can be challenging. There's street parking or metered parking if you are lucky to find a spot. I hate to admit it, but I prefer the BIG chain stores like Barnes and Noble. SORRY!! I would definitely come though especially if I'm killing time before the movie starts (theater next door).

I'm not a big reader and to me, books are clutter, so I don't patronise many bookshops. I enjoy the quirkiness and selection of the Last Bookstore downtown. Skylight is the opposite of that - a modest, simple shop with curated offerings. They have a small selection of lovely gift items, which can be difficult to find in L.A. when looking for a unique present. They host events often, so I had the opportunity to attend one and meet my favourite authour, Bret Easton Ellis. In the years after that experience, I've also purchased a few of his books here to honour that special memory.

Skylight Books bookstore is absolutely fab! Located in Silverlake next to vibrant coffee shops, brunch spots and an old theater, the bookstore has this cool, hip and inviting vibe that you don't want to leave. There are actually two bookstores, one focuses on what I would deem as "coffee table books" - think large and small, expensive, lavishly illustrated books, especially ones intended only for casual reading - and the other bookstore is everything else. The staff was very helpful and friendly.

Wow such a cool independent bookstore with a tree in the center, they have a astounding selection of interesting lit - I have never seen Speculative Fiction as a category before. Highly recommended!

Friendly staff and a great selection of quality books. The art books annex down the street (same owner) is also worth a look. Clean, warm vibes.

It is nice to see an indie bookstore alive and well! A dying breed in LA, unfortunately. Friendly staff and always a fun, good vibe here. Check out the art books annex down the street. So many gems!

What a find. We were in the area walking around and happened upon this place. They are very specific in the types of books and I found books I have never seen before. They have lots of options and it's a great place to find some cool books. The staff was helpful and showed me some great selections. Great find

Cute shop with a great selection but the service is surly!! Three people up front who seemed bothered by people coming up to buy stuff. Witnessed them being rude to everyone who came up. Major turn off. There are too many cool bookshops in LA to tolerate bad service.

First of all, I don't know how I missed a tree in the middle of the bookstore, but I did, and I'm sad. But wow, what sweet bookstore! Skylight Books is a local bookstore with a plethora of books in all genres for all ages. While it's local, you won't find yourself stuck without a book like a small shop. I think they have signings and other cool events here from time to time but I've only been here once. While I'm not much of a reader, I did purchase a book that I didn't expect to purchase, and did enjoy my time wandering the aisles. I hope to come back to Skylight in the future as it's always good to support local business!

I have been coming here for close to 20 years. The past few times customer service has been sub par. Yesterday I came in to buy some books for my daughter and the people working were so unbelievably rude. It just sucks because its so easy just to buy things off Amazon , but I love the experience of coming in a store and I also love to support local business. After yesterdays visit I think Ill spend an extra 25 minutes in my car and head to Vromons. Such a bummer and so avoidable.

It can get confusing at first because there are two separate stores that are not connected to each other. I come here for the unique travel stories/guides and hard to acquire magazines (in chain bookstores). It also has a huge selection of graphic novels. A simple picture of the tree in the bookstore shows everyone in the LA area that you are at Skylight Books. A star is docked because I prefer another local bookstore with good seating area. However, Skylight still gets the job done to fill your bookshelf with interesting finds.

Overpriced bookstore with awful service. I asked the cashier (very politely) if she could look up if they had a specific book and she said she would get back to me so I went perusing around the store. Next thing I know I hear her complaining about me to a co-worker, who tells her to just ignore me and hopefully I will go away. I never did get an answer about the book and am honestly just so confused what was so offensive about asking for help locating a book ‍ I wanted to support a local business but I guess I'll be shopping at Amazon after all...

There are two stores on Vermont st, one is the "main" building and the other is a smaller room. They're not far apart, perhaps one or two stores away from each other? We parked in the back lot, however there is metered street parking as well. What I really appreciate about their website is that it updates on how much of a book is in stock. I was able to come in and buy an issue of Viscose magazine (just in time for Pride month)! The smaller of the two is where their fashion books and manga are located! Their manga selection is pretty small, it's mostly the popular shonen/seinen such as Tokyo Revengers, Chainsaw Man, Death Note, etc. However there are beautiful small zines printed by local artists which is definitely recommended. The art is beautiful!

Skylight Books customer service is very hit & miss. Sometimes it's outstanding, like when they wrap your gift that you order from the website. But, sometimes the staff seems aloof or disinterested. I'm tempted to call out the person at the front of the store that I had a bizarre encounter with. But I'll just leave it as this: I can't remember a time I walked out of a store in such dismay. Incredibly rude. Inconsiderate. Advice to management/ownership: Have a company meeting and provide some tough love to your staff. Tell them to shape up. Stop being disinterested hipsters. Stop talking amongst yourselves, and start helping your customers. Amazon is only a click away, so get it together.

Okay, I absolutely loved this bookstore. Some of my favorite things: They were playing Reggeton music, which I mean if that doesn't excite you already , then I don't know what will There's a lovely tree thriving in the middle of the bookstore, along with some other plants They have skylight bookstore merchandise, cute merch if I may add, I bought a corduroy hat The poetry section is bigger than most Barnes and Noble stores, which us poetry lovers appreciate They have a cute gifting section with journals, book-related novelty items, and cards The self-help section is a bit limited, but they have a decent variety. Overall, it's a great bookstore with nice people working there. I would definitely recommend checking this spot out and buying something to support this bookstore.

I brought my baby here to buy some new children's books. As I checked out, I noticed their bigoted, racist display up front. I made it halfway down the block before turning back. I asked to return the books because as a Jewish member of their community, they had made me feel very unwelcome. One associate simply walked away from me the second I said I was Jewish. The other shrugged and said they don't do returns, but I could get store credit. I didn't escalate because people with that level of apathy are, quite frankly dangerous, and I did not feel that myself or my son were safe in the store. I will never set foot in Skylight again. So much for shopping local. Barnes and Noble it is.

Love this place. Great selection, fun events and awesome staff. They carry a lot of books on social issues and have great staff picks, translated literature and a mix of every genre. I have a membership but I only rec it if you shop often, as it is regularly 10% off. You can order online or over the phone and they can get you pretty much any book.

Skylight Books is my neighborhood bookstore, and it's definitely one of my favorite bookstores in Los Angeles. Sure, it helps that it's right near one of the movie theaters that I frequent the most (Los Feliz 3), but the selection and breadth of books on offer at Skylight is impressive. From children's books to recent fiction releases to literature classics, I've always found a great gift or a new addition to my library. They also stationery if cards are your jam. They do offer an annual membership, which I would recommend if you are a frequent shopper given the discounts it will unlock for you. I've also found their employees to be patient and helpful if I had questions about locating a specific book.

My favorite indie bookstore in LA so far! Handfuls of the author and literary events draw a decent crowd and following, especially into the late night. The annex a few stores down seems to focus more on art, and the whole direction boasts a strong emphasis on graphic novels that go beyond pop superhero stories into a more adult and artsy realm of comic books. I love browsing the value section in the back, and the easy access make this place a welcome establishment in Los Feliz. Can't get more LA than putting a tree in the middle of your brick and mortar store. If you want to make sure your money goes back to supporting emerging writers and artists, this is the place!

As a Jewish person in this neighborhood, I felt unwelcome when they show their support of one side of the War in their front of the store. I always like to shop local and support businesses, I will go elsewhere.

A local bookstore with big selection and stock, I love that I can NOT shop Amazon and have a local bookstore to shop at instead. They also sell cards and little things to give as gifts. Helpful staff, meter street parking.

An awesome selection of books. There's the art book store annexed to it too, worth checking out. Easily spend hours at both bookstores.

Easily the best bookstore I have been to in my entire life. I don't know how I've lived here for this long and didn't know this gem existed! It didn't look too promising when we walked in as the space felt very claustrophobic but the zines and rare books they had available had me camping. Parking was non-existent but worth the $7 for the time we were there. I picked up a zine and look forward to coming back for more. Keep up the great work with the hard to finds!

Located in the Los Feliz area and off Vermont, Skylight Books is one of LA's best bookstores. Whether looking for the most mainstream or hidden gem, Skylight has an eclectic choice of options. In the main store, you will find more of the traditional book options while the Annex contains the art, film and entertainment type books. I love visiting Skylight before/after grabbing food in the area or checking out a movie at the Los Feliz 3 next door. The staff is always courteous and there is plenty of street parking- just double check the meters and/or street signs. On my most recent visit I was picking up an online order and I was able to get in/out with less than 5 minutes. They're very efficient and I thank them for all their help!

Skylight is a classic L.A. bookstore! i had one of my books there for a few years, and i felt so proud. The physical space is gorgeous, with a tree in the middle of the space and several places to sit and read. Bookstores like this are a rarity these days. i hope it sticks around forever.

Please Skylight, expand, move, whatever...You're the reason Los Feliz is great...You're the supreme ruler of Vermont Ave...For the love of Pete, you need a bigger store... More space means more books and more room for your happy customers...Yeah, some of the employees need to get their heads outa their tender asses, but well, it's a bookstore, and I'm not there to make friends. But more than a few times while visiting I'd wish I didn't have to listen to the repartee amongst the workers...hello? I'm a customer? I need help...Stop talking about your screenplay, zine, Wim Wenders and help us! Seriously though...Get a bigger store. It's too crowded. New bookshelves ain't gonna help.

Great selection of books! Easy to find the genres you are looking for. Clean and welcoming! Love this place! Will definitely be coming back.

I wanted to take my boyfriend on a bookstore date. This was the only bookstore in my area that was open passed 9pm. It's in a nice area close to LACC. Most of the books were for college students. I like reading classic literature, but all I found was Poe. Most of the Poe selection were plays. They did have a good graphics novel section. Books on photography and art there were plenty. The bookstore itself was clean and neat. I didn't find what I was looking for but it was still a good experience. I would highly recommend this store if you're into arts like films & photos.

One of the very best bookstores in LA - could spend hours in here. They have a great variety of literature in such a small space, and staff is friendly and helpful.

a book store that hopes ro be an attraction ,,,and that helps the area be part of what it is today,,,

I am very sad to write this review and have been putting it off in the hopes that this would change. I have been a loyal local patron of Skylight and a member of Friends With Benefits for many years. I would have given them 5+ stars without a second thought. I have spent a lot of time in this store and have very happy memories here. Sadly, I no longer feel comfortable and welcome here. Since October 7, Skylight has consistently featured incendiary titles such as those in this photo in the front of the store under "Current Events" and "Staff Recommendations." The titles Skylight has elected to feature give only the Palestinian perspective on the history of the region, and many of these titles blame Israel, "Zionism" (and by implication, Jewish people). Some of these subtitles are very aggressive (for example: "How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World" and "How Zionism Forged An Apartheid State from River to Sea"). In my many visits to the store since October 7, I only saw a featured book from the Israeli perspective once. The impact of this wall of titles in the aggregate means that any customer seeking to truly understand the attacks of October 7, the war, and the history of the region are instead bombarded with this singular viewpoint on behalf of the bookstore and have no other options or viewpoints to consider (unless they know what they want already and special order it). I expected a lot more from Skylight. The Middle East has a complex history, and there are many interesting books about it written by scholars and historians. Featuring only these titles upon entry to the store has had the impact of alienating local Jewish clientele. I have heard from my neighbors and many customers who feel similarly. Many have brought this to the store's attention in person, over the phone, and in emails and letters. The store's response has been disappointing. They do not see a reason to include other titles about the region alongside these selections for a variety of reasons, and claims this is what sells. Since October 7, I have sought out and have read many books about Israel and Gaza, and will continue to do so. There is always more to learn and understand. I would have bought these books from Skylight, but now I no longer feel good about supporting this store.

This is average sized book store with a plethora of options. If you like a wide variety of options and many great places nearby this is a perfect bookstore to visit. I like the warm feeling you get when you walk inside. Not to mention there are many plants on the shelves which make it feel a little more like home.

My happy place. The best staff, the best book selections! Support your local independent bookstore!

Great customer service. Thank you! Came in to pick up a book (received email). They handled the problem!

My new absolute favorite bookstore in Los Angeles! Beautifully set with a wide array of books, and an incredibly friendly and helpful staff that keeps me coming back. This place is warm and inviting, and also has a really insightful selection of books on the Mideast conflict.

Really cool spot with lots of kids books, which was why I came here. Street parking only from what I could tell. Friendly staff and easy to search for a book from a specific category. I love that the locals support this spot and I will definitely keep coming to pick up books!

New to the neighborhood, stumbled in on my evening walk. Instantly fell in love with the place, found a bunch of plays I haven't been able to find elsewhere, & for a great price. Elizabeth and Kaveh were awesome, made me feel right at home. Definitely going to keep coming back here!

Very good selection of books. Many (mostly left and far-left) political/philosophical titles. Some French and other foreign language titles. Notebooks and other items. (Art books in nearby shop.)

cashiers were condescending and unhelpful. i asked for non-self help recommendations and they recommended self-help with "no knowledge" beyond that. fire playlist though -i have empathy for apathy as i work in retail, but having made the trip from midcity, it was disappointing.

Great book selections and chill atmosphere, with little seating but that's alright. Love going there to get books and read!

Horrible prices. Horrible service. Terrible selection. Every single title they have is much cheaper online. One of the most poorly-run businesses I've ever had the displeasure of wasting my money on.

My fav bookstore in LA - the perfect size store and the staff is great with recommendations!

Thank you for this gem of a place. During the pandemic, they are very cautious of numbers in the store, offering hand sanitizer throughout, and keeping distance. This place made me realize how much I missed going to bookstores. I walked in with a book in mind, got carried away (or inspired, really), and walked out with 3 books. The world needs these adorable, independent bookstores. Support local businesses, support the authors, and stop ordering your books off of Amazon and ripping off these creatives. Skylight books makes me so glad I ventured in. I'll be back again, and then many times more!!

Its one bookstore split into two stores. Its a bit confusing. There was a book signing happening when I visited but I didnt know who the author was. I would go again. The bigger store is where you find the fiction, history, biographies, and other books. The smaller store you find more of the art books, music, and comics.

i always stop by skylight before seeing a movie at the theater next door. it's a cute, cozy shop with a wide, yet curated selection. the staff are helpful and knowledgeable of the inventory. books are quality and always a great purchase.

Best bookstore in L.A., hands down. Stop buying things on Amazon and get to this store.

I always love looking for independent local bookstores! This place has improved over the years! They have a variety of books, a great atmosphere, and many nice items that can be gifted (mugs, wellness items, notebooks, etc.). The staff is super friendly and this place is such a great place to stop by for any of my book lovers who need a book to read by the beach during their time in LA or before they head back home.

Skylight Books is a relatively small shop, but the use of space is smart, intentional and well-designed. Each time I come in, I am delighted to find new books I'd love to read, as well as some of my top picks in each category. The staff is dedicated and helpful, and also do a great job of highlighting local authors and bringing them in for talks and signings (as seen in this recent conversation with Mallory O'Meara for her book "Girly Drinks").