It shouldn’t be too surprising that a vast city of unique neighborhoods should abound in utterly distinctive local bookstores. These 65 shops include sleek temples of art books, dusty treasure chests of arcana, massive comics emporia, proudly Black-owned storefronts, bilingual learning centers, mom-and-pop labors of love, one soaring central library, a skylit Barnes & Noble and the beloved Skylight Books. Each listing gives a sense of the store’s vibe, its customers, its selection and testimonies from both customers and authors. You may not find your husband at Book Soup, as the children’s author Pseudonymous Bosch did, but you’ll never know unless you close your Amazon app and leave the house.

This story is part of Lit City, our comprehensive guide to the literary geography of Los Angeles. Hear from customers and shop owners at 10 selected stores and find out about authors’ most inspiring L.A. places.