In the fall of 2005 Tim & Mary Wilmot decided to start a small, old fashioned, independent, bohemian style used bookstore with one main motivation: So Tim would never have to get a job. Since Tim is largely unemployable the last option was to purchase a lot of good books, find a location and open up a bookstore. But the good news is that Tim’s inability to tolerate any sort of structured work environment, even to the slightest degree, has resulted in a very nice used bookstore on the western portion of Alameda Island.

While we are a “general” bookstore since we have all the usual categories, we do have some rather large sections such as: Literature (classic & contemporary), sailing, poetry, religion, philosophy, children’s books, nature, art, mysteries, science fiction, history, cooking, gardening, California history, American & world history and much, much more. New books arrive every single day.

All of our books are used, though since we are very picky in how purchase many appear to be in new condition. This is how our bookstore is set up, we have approximately 20,000 books and we also have an online site where we sell on Alibris & Amazon with about 1,500-2,000 titles, many of which are our “high-end” books. Other books we decide for some reason to put on eBay. We have books there you can “buy now” as well as weekly auctions. If you’re looking for something specific feel free to check Alibris, Amazon, eBay, or better yet give us a call at 510-865-1443. If we’re in a good mood we’ll be very happy to help.

We buy books and do both cash and trade. We purchase books every day except on Wednesday and on days when we’d rather be out sailing. So it may not be a bad idea to give us a call first to see exactly when we’re buying. Also, if you have a large collection you are selling we can arrange to come by your place to take a look.

If you’re looking for a casual shopping experience, great books at a very good price and think it’s a good idea to have small businesses in your community come by and shop! Oh yeah, Tim & Mary want to thank every one who helped us to be named best bookstore of the East Bay during our first full year in business!