Cool bookstore that originated in the early 70s, and is Oakland’s largest independent bookstore. They buy and trade books. They also carry LP records, greeting cards, and they sell rare and collectible books on eBay.Ambiance***** There is a lot to explore. Theres a large collection of masks high above the books on the west wall.They even have their Rare Book Room upstairs.Service***** Friendly staffAccessibility *****Cost****

WaldonInboxJJOANN SKYWATCHERto me3 minutes agoDetailsWaldron Ponds BooksThis is a very cool bookstore that originated in the early 70s, and is Oakland’s largest independent bookstore. They will be starting to buy and trade books again this September. Besides books they carry LP records, greeting cards, and They sell rare and collectible books on eBay.Ambiance ***** If you have never been in a bookstore, you owe it to yourself to drop in and check out their scene. I love how much there is to explore. There is a large collection of masks above the books on the west wall. The wooden floors actually creaked when I walked in reminding me of some really old libraries. If you’re into really old books, you might want to check out their Rare Book Room upstairs.Service***** They have a very friendly staff ready to locate what you need.Accessibility *****Cost****

This is one of our favorite neighborhood bookstores, and they offer so much across a multitude of genres. They can also order books for you if they dont have them in stock, which is handy. They have comics, boardgames, and fun gift items as well. The staff are always friendly and helpful too. I highly recommend you visit!

I’ve never been to a bookstore I didn’t like. This place is fabulous. Thanks Walden Pond for being here.

Good bookstore for interesting titles you might not have thought to look for

Very practical bookstore, no frills. Well organized with unique selections of local relevance and depth. Vintage vynl records across several genres. A consignment model exist as well that draws in rare offerings.

Ive been going here for 40 years (or thereabouts) and its as Oakland as Colonial Donuts, but much healthier. They have new and used books, an Oakland section, and knowledgeable staff who are always willing to help. Im so grateful they made it through the pandemic and stayed open. This is the place to buy your books (also records, tarot cards, and a myriad of other goodies).

My local bookstore. Great place to spend a few hours. Helpful staff. New and used. Records too!

Why I love Oakland! The staff are Always friendly and informative and Cassie is dope and what we need more of in the Oakland community. Come check them out when you’re weary of digital print and want a good ol’ vintage world in your hands, capturing your mind.

Love this place. I stumbled on it when killing time cause I locked myself out of my apartment 😅 great way to spend an hour! They have a lot of genres and wide selections, especially love their comic section and queer section.

Cute bookstore with new & used books. Good selection and good prices

Very cute book store. Nice people. Cool books

Nice family-owned business theres a great guy that works their name Paul and he can appoint you to whatever book that you may be looking for

Great inventory, helpful staff, neat vibe. I love this place.

Good postcards. Great service.

Fun happy relax full :Hooray.

The best part was the vinyl section where I quizzed my wife on album covers.

All three employees were completely unprofessional, I walked in asked a question. My presence was never acknowledged and I wasnt greeted they continued to eat and talk amongst themselves. So I left I would never return there

Good selection of new and used books

Outstanding science section. Also love the staff picks, clearly put lots of effort into the reviews. Overall, love the neighborhood charm and feel.

I love wooden floor that squeaks! This is a gem with a staff to match.

I always try to come when I visit Oakland. Huge selection of books and really nice employees!

The only bookstore that makes it a point to keep mycological books in stock. Its floor boards are sturdy but creaky. It smells like books.

Love the selection, very helpful and knowledgeable staff.Love the place.

Walden Pond is an institution on Oaklands Grand Ave, I hope that it will still be so for my great grandchildrens children

Its fantastic. Distance protocols, quiet, and full of highly desirable books! Harder for me to browse with fogged up glasses but I just need to practice. Buy more books, and do it here!

Amazing staff, solid and eclectic selection. I’ve never left there empty handed, even when I went in to kill time and browse. Perfect! Go there and buy all their things!!

Love this store. Feels great to be there.

Just an FYI: If you order online, its through another company. I was told I couldnt return the book in person at Walden, and had to mail it to the third company, at my expense. So I kinda only got a 50% refund.

Great bookstore for browsing, little toddler play area, new and used books.

These people are cool. I Ive bought several cook books from them and there always pleasant and polite to me. 5 star baby all day. The lady the answers the phone is always got some extra info for me thats helpful. Thumbs up.

Great stuff!

I loved this bookstore its big and has a cool vine about it.

You like books? They got those. You like comics? Vinyl? Youre good.Whats really great about this place is the staff; they pick out what to highlight and their selections are smart, inclusive, and well-considered. A lovely spot.

Use at your own risk if you sell books

This shop is a museum and a boil store! Probably one of the most avant-garde book store I’ve ever seen. Great store! Get your copy of Harvest Moon here! You will find it right next to my pal, Harry Potter.

An absolute, unadulterated, non-rounded 5*. This is the book store we all wish we still had in our neighborhoods, and I recognize my good fortune for having it. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate and Walden Pond hits that mark between being well-curated and comprehensive. Very deep in fiction, both recent release hard and soft-cover as well as a huge array of used. Some bookstores now have that desultory vibe of a place to step into when you have a moment, but you leave once you and your friends have figured out your next stop. Not here. This is a destination where you can bring your out-of-town guests and spend an hour+ inspiring one another, before you all head out with an armful and you get regaled on the way home about how lucky you are to be able to walk to a neighborhood bookstore of the highest caliber. Thank you for so many years of inspiration!

Always great selections

Great helpful staff

They are all just absolute dears : if you account for the fact that I am the laziest person you will ever meet, they probably have at least 6 stars. I have NEVER had a bad experience, either in person, or by phone. I now know everyones name who works there because in whatever small way they have always managed to make my day a little bit better. Of course, they have no idea who I am, and its the introverts cross to bear not presuming over-familiarity with favorite book-seller(s). all the best to my secret bff over there. Also, Real books have spines! dont use kindle.

I WENT IN THIS PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY 10/28/20 I WENT IN TO ASK THE PERSON BEHIND THE COUNTER WILL HE ORDER A CERTAIN BOOK FOR ME HE SAID YES HE WOULD SO HE ORDERED IT BUT I BOUGHT A BOOK BECOMING BY FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE TODAY I LOOK FOR THAT IN STORES ALL THE TIME .

A great selection of books, gifts, and games.

Good luck getting help, but plenty of attitude.

Great selection, local business, you will always find something great!

I enjoyed the atmosphere. It is a neighborhood book store with creaky wood floors. The space is tight but that is part of the atmosphere. Going into this store sure brought me back in time. Also have a great variety of books. Loved it.

It has a bit of something for everybody: vinyl records, graphic novels, beautiful notebooks, and a random assortment of colorful vintage post cards. I could spend hours sitting down and reading before I realize just how long Ive been there lost in a book. Its just that cozy. I love this place ever.

A great selection of both used and new books. The staff has always been really helpful and they clearly care about books. I picked up some local history books for my parents Xmas gifts this year, and I always stop in when Im in the neighborhood for another used sci-fi paperback.

Great bookstore. Both new and used books. Great selection. Incredibly helpful staff. They are able to order both new and used books and books arrive very quickly. No need to order from Amazon. Support this wonderful local bookstore!

Theyre selling my anthology: Shout

This is one of my favorite book stores in California. It is small and well curated with used and new books interspersed. There is definitely a literary atmosphere, which I greatly appreciated, and there are books that I struggle to find at other stores. Books definitely reasonably priced.

Great selection of books which was properly organized. Staffs were knowledgeable and friendly. The books were prices fair and the place was always clean.

I was the kind of person that love to read books everywhere. This Walden Pond Books was great and has a lot choose. Loved it! Great selection of used and new books with an antique bookshop feel with seating to pursue some books and a hidden little kid nook for children to explore.

If one is for the interest of a self-study lifestyle then you may find some teachers here with the staff and books that could provide assistance for a painted language: my favorite soup of a bookstore that the chef keeps dishing-out. For any that enjoy space felt through the scripts of literature one may find some rest upstairs within the rare used books.

What an amazing books store! Great kids section, a large selection of used books, and friendly staff. The new books they have are diverse and plentiful. I go here maybe once a month to grab books. Highly recommend.

Great staff and awesome selection. Real gem of Lake Merritt / Oakland area. Youd be hard pressed to come to Walden Pond Books and not walk out with a new book (or books!) you love. Like a little Strand right in Oakland. Enjoy!

A great selection of new and used books. Love the staff favorites reviews. A fine place for book lovers!

Open! Great selections as always.

Loved it! Great selection of used and new books with an antique bookshop feel with seating to pursue some books and a hidden little kid nook for children to explore. They are also super friendly to pups and one employee pulled a dog treat out of his pocket to welcome my dog. Definitely a gem worth visiting!

This place is an epic gold mine of all of the stuff I want to read, and all of the stuff I want my friends and adversaries to read. They carry a wide range of titles both classic and contemporary, with many thought-provoking and mind-expanding challenges to the status quo.

New and used books, great selection and a knowledgeable staff. Also, they buy books.Plus a good selection of cards and some music.

This small local bookshop holds an untold number of curious finds and exciting new reads. It has a bit of something for everybody: vinyl records, graphic novels, beautiful notebooks, and a random assortment of colorful vintage post cards. I could spend hours sitting down and reading before I realize just how long Ive been there lost in a book. Its just that cozy. They even have a small play house with no few toys for the kids to play with while parents browse. And youre a bit low on cash, no worries! They have a few shelves of books outside for under $5. As if it couldnt get any better, this place lets you bring your dog inside to browse with you! Their rare book room is always worth a good look-see whenever its open. Please come by to visit, the staff are friendly and there are just so many books to enjoy.

Walden Pond Books sets the trend for the modern day bookstore. Drawing upon its long history and their staffs capacious knowledge of every genre, they provide both scope and depth in their selection. Walden Pond features a selection of new books that are remarkable not only for their ubiquitously captivating natures, but concomitantly for their variety. Beyond the superficial items of which you may choose to avail yourself, recommendations I have personally recieved are excellent and open doors for exciting avenues of exploration, such as science fiction by women of color. This place is a hallmark of the grand lake area and is worth a visit from any bibliophile.

Great place to exchange or sell books. You can get used or new books here. If youre like me and like the feel of a book and not so much a Kindle quite yet, consider giving them your business. Parking is a bit difficult but not horrible. Even if you have to walk, its a nice area with several small shops to browse.

Fantastic book store with a wide selection - something for everyone! They also have a record selection, notebooks, and plenty of cute buttons, pins, and bookmarks.

Walden Pond Books is my happy place. With a stellar selection of new and used books, cozy energy, and helpful staff, this indie bookstore is a dream come true.

Great SF/Fantasy section, lots of other interesting things, decent selection of vinyl records, staff knows their stuff but stays out of your way, and a solid kids section that doesnt pander. You will come out of this store a better person than when you went in. Cant say that about many shops these days.

Great selection of new and used books. I found some vintage copies of the books I was looking for and chose them because they had so much more character. Cute little childrens section with great books for kids. There were books on every subject I could think of and more- a very well rounded and well stocked store. Prices on used books were good. I spent a decent amount of time here and really enjoyed it! One thing to know- sometimes books are in two different areas of the store, so it behooves you to look around or ask for help.

I love this place. Definitely a jewel that everyone in Oakland should visit. The neighborhood is wonderful and worth experiencing. Great selection and very friendly staff.

This bookstore is amazing. Wide (and well-curated) selection of both new and used books, as well as some local chotchkies like pins, magnets, and post cards. I could easily get lost in this book store for hours on end. They have an employee recommendation display that is great for getting ideas for gifts, or for simply finding out about what youve missed recently in the book world. It is worth trying to find parking on Grand Avenue just to make a trip to this book store. *Highly* recommended.

Great old school bookstore. Esoteric and art titles. Great cookbook section. They buy here also but I never have sold so I dont know their policies.

A great bookstore with a very wide selection of new and used books on pretty much any subject you can think of. The books are well laid out so it’s pretty easy to find what you’re looking for and the staff are friendly and helpful. There’s also a selection of notebooks, calendars and other paper ware. The opening hours are long making it very accessible.

Old book store with the smell of paper and ink. Odd little nooks. Delightfully quirky and very knowledgeable staff. Check it out!

Its nice to have bookstores. The small ones that remain almost have to be superior to survive. Walden Pond is no exception with its blend of new and used books and super discount bins. I could spend a day perusing the shelves. Its a smart, will-curated shop.

Its a cozy little spot that some how almost always has what I am looking for. Usually in the used section and under $10.

Great selection of books, i picked up Shirley Jackson, great San Francisco native and Author of some really great short stories.

So many books! It has a wide selection of books and I was surprised to find a section Spanish (or Latin American section - as it was titled). The atmosphere is very nice, it has an old mansion vibe to it which I live for.

Always glad when I come here... Makes me feel good. Great selection. Expertly curated. Support your local bookstore. Shop here...#worthitsweightingold

I love this place, its so cute and small. Prices can be a little up there but overall good!

Local bookstore with both new and used books as well as a nice childrens section, an interesting magazine collection, postcards, records and cds, as well as a wall of art books.The staff is knowledgeable and helpful, browsing is not uncomfortable. They also feature talks by various people of interest in an upstairs space, at times.Outside, in front of the widows, racks of used books arranged according to categories, invite browsing, also.This store is a local treasure and a favorite stop for many of us.

Great bookstore with a huge selection of used and new as well as out of print books. Friendly and informative staff, and did I mention the ambience? Just like the old days!

This is one of my favorite bookstores in Oakland. I miss living in the neighborhood and having it nearby... Cant wait to go back next time Im in town!

Fantastic selection in many genres. Pretty affordable and good used selection, too.

My favorite bookstore in Oakland. Take a sec to browse the $1 book bin on the sidewalk for some great/cheap finds. Also my go-to place for greeting cards.

Great old and used books as well as new. Love a good, privately owned, neighborhood bookstore!

Support local! A well organized, deep collection of old/used and new publications, ranging from philosophy to paranormal romance, graphic novel to contemporary fiction, with a special counter and window for rare, limited editions. So many curious titles to dig into. Where else are you going to match Sartres Wartime Diaries with an R Kelly Trapped in the Closet DVD?

Great selection, fair prices, excellent service.

Excellent!!

No David Carr lol, but variety is great! Dont miss out on the $1-5 sale on used books; So many authors and genres to choose from!

Everything that youd want your neighborhood bookstore to be!

Yet another good Oakland secondhand bookstore. Large selection. Has a good mix of the recent with the old and odd. This place has been here for a very long time.

They have a good selection of books. I found it unique that they have descriptions of a lot of the books they have on the shelves.

One of the last really well stocked used and new bookstores! Knowledgeable and friendly staff. A delight!

Excelente selección de los libros, used and new, often on sale prices. Also, previously owned LPs (some vintage) DVDs, and CDs at attractive prices. They buy these items for resale. Call first. An inviting, warm, comfortable community bookstore with kind, attentive and knowledgeable staff.

Great bookstore, Ive been going here since I was a kid. Has a section of selected books with recommendations. Nice to be able to browse the aisles.

Great book shop! Whether you are looking for new books, collectible books, or just some old books, this place is great!

This is one of very few local bookstores left in the area that carry a nice selection of current best sellers and hard to find used books. If they dont have it, they can order it and have it in store for pick up usually in less than a week.

They are great. A good variety of titles and range or prices. Helpful staff.

This place is filled with Art Books among other things. You can walk in and flip through many of them for as long as you like. They also have vinyls and cheap CDs. However the staff can be pretty aloof and not hospitable. But theyll help you find something or order books for you.

Its a book store. Very helpful employees

Great selection and staff picks.