If you like magic book stores this is a magic book store. Not the type that sells books about magic (although they do). The kind where you walk in and a book is sitting on a shelf suddenly becomes highlighted in a glowing beam of light because you were meant to find it. The staff is phenomenal. Be respectful and you will go far in there.

One of my favorite gems at Pike Place! Ive been here countless times, and its a must-see for me every time I come to the market. Despite being right at the entrance, its usually not crowded at all. I 100% recommend spending some time here to admire the unusual collection of books and the awesome interior decorations! They have books on all sorts of obscure topics, ranging from American meddling in South American governments to eco-terrorism to the occult. There are multiple levels, and on the highest level is a window seat where you can read. They also have all sorts of fun pins that you can buy for like $1. My favorite place to window-shop in Pike Place!

Literally have never gotten a bad book from this place. Cannot recommend enough.

Interesting variety and peopleThe walls have interesting posters on themWould highly recommend going to check this place out

The opportunity to go here is always the highlight of working in the downtownish areas. I would recommend bring your own bags if youre planning on heading down to visit as there are a couple things in the area bookish (and hungry) folks may find themselves into.

The wife loves books and we visited as many as possible while in Seattle. This was by far her favorite. Great collection for a small store and the ambiance was really amazing.

Cozy nook upstairs, chill staff, metal soundtrack in the background. Good selection on the dollar cart. This store has a strong unique identity. If youre looking for mainstream/common, this isnt it!

I heard many great things about LBBC, but upon coming here I was pretty disappointed to say the least.For starters, the selection in the store was pretty lackluster; came here looking for leftist theory and there was only one bookshelf dedicated to economics/Marxist theory from obscure authors (Noam Chomsky was the only author with any recognition I could find). No Marx, Engels, Lenin, etc. I understand this store has an anti-authoritarian streak (which I admire!), but it seems wrong to me to leave these authors out. Maybe all these titles were already purchased, but even then I had a good laugh at the fact that the fat liberation section was 3 times as extensive as the decolonial studies one.Maybe Im just not on the same wavelength politically as the workers, but I have to scratch my head at a store that claims to be radical when Lindy West titles are displayed prominently while classical socialist/anarchist thinkers are almost nowhere to be found (I was able to pick up the last copy of a Mark Fisher title, thank god).Even though I found the selection to be kind of disappointing, the reason for my overall negative review was the atmosphere of the store/attitude of the workers. My girlfriend and I spent thirty minutes in the store and experienced ourselves and other people get consistently talked down to or flat-out ignored when asking questions.It just sucks because I really wanted to support what I was told was a radical, worker-owned co-operative and got nothing but a prepackaged Seattle stereotype of pretentious hyper-liberal nonsense.

Left Bank Books is a radical cooperative with a focus on leftist, alternative, and revolutionary books. With both new and used books, their selection is targeted and interesting. I found some very cool postcards there, too. I didn’t need help so had little interaction with the staff but the person who checked me out was friendly and efficient.

SO UNIQUE. Everything I love to see in a bookstore. Quirky, local titles. Little nooks to explore. Tucked inside the market thats bustling but this place is never slam-packed. Truly one of a kind.

This is such a unique place. Its rare to find a bookstore with area studies section. How impressive!

Decent selection of books and staff was friendly enough.

Absolutely awesome selection here.

Really great book store with cool options, but just a warning - its three stories and theres no way to get upstairs other than stairs.

Love the quality of service and excellent prices on socialist theory.

I was asked to leave this store in 2003 when I was home on leave from Iraq for saying I was in Iraq. I quietly left with my wife like professional. Never went back. Political discrimination is a thing.

Love this store. You can always find something good and they help support sending books to prisoners

Seattle is truly blessed by this gem of a bookstore. Gods gift to the PNW.

Others come in and try to take photos of this bookstore, but this store does not offer its consent to be photographed except for the outdoor section. I would appreciate it if more people respected this.First off, this is an Anarchist bookstore with a fairly distributed stock. They have things from Science Fiction to philosophy to political histories of all countries of the world. The staff are somewhat busy because they own the store and have to file taxes and shelve books as well as place orders on new ones. But theyre all extremely nice and happy to help you find what youre looking for.I volunteer here once a week, and I love it.

Whats not to love about this place? So cozy and moody I wouldnt believe it at first. Its just so different from large chain stores out there. The book collection seems to be very unique and selcted. There are also posters and pins to buy. I just lived the place and I hope I can make time to go there once more before I leave Seattle.

Wonderful book store!

Very warm, and welcoming atmosphere right on the corner of first and pike next to the public market. This was my introduction to left literature, that nearly ten years later Im still into. Ive ordered from their webstore after moving out of state and received my book quickly. Cheers!Next time Im in Seattle Id love to put a weekend in volunteering here!

A nice bookstore. Prices are great and the selection was fantastic. Friendly staff. I recommend this place.Billy

A fantastic place. Huge selection, friendly helpful staff, great prices... Its got it all.

Visited on Wed. Jan. 24, 2018 around noon.Positives:+Extremely easy to find at street level.+ Had great PNW Native American books not found in major retailers.+ Helpful, laid-back book team of three or four people. I inquired about a Native American shop and though they hadnt heard of it, they googled it on their computer. I credit them for trying!+ LGBT+ friendly: and have a good selection of books in this genre.+ Offered local lit mags, chapbooks.+ Offered non-lit extras like button pins, quirky stickers, hand-assembled journals, calendars, stationery/postcards, bookworm tote bags.+FREE promos: I spent $100 and got a free tote bag of my choice.Negatives:- Cramped space - isnt a problem unless you are prone to flailing around or have energetic / mischievous small children.- High taxes - a given, if you shop in Seattle.- Irrelevant to bookstore, parking is close by, but it was $18 for 2 hours. Budget time & $$ wisely in adherence to your parking constraints - this part sucked.

This place is one of a kind

Attractive place with many books which handles issues of human. If i were enough for reading english book easy, i would buy much more books from here.

Stopped in today for some quick breakfast and learned they have $1 any size coffee on Monday with purchase. I mean, yeah. Sure. Ill buy a bagel for a large delicious coffee. Move aside McDonalds, my Mondays now belong to these guys.

The staff were friendly, the collection was stunning, and the prices were amazing! A spectacular place to spend an afternoon.

Very refreshing cozy vibe that really stands out being next to the most touristy section of downtown. So happy to find another bookstore in town that sells indie artsy zines as I enjoy collecting and reading them.

Intimate space with an eclectic mix of books and subject matter that you wont find anywhere else. Mainly focused on activism and politics.

Visited Left Bank recently and came away with a book they published in-house from their own press. An excellent selection of not just radical books but small zines, pamphlets and other bits and bobs. A must for anyone with an interest in left-wing politics and culture if they are visiting Seattle.

Found this p[lace while roaming around. Love their nook. Perfect for reading!

Great place to spend the afternoon with friends and family. Lovely selection of books for sale.

Stumbled upon this gem of a bookstore while visiting the Public Market. I love everything about this shop from its political nature to its selection of books. I will definitely come back if ever I find myself in Seattle.

Cute and surprisingly well-ordered book store. quiet vibe but staff were friendly. new and used leftist, progressive, radical, anarchist books, postcards, memorabilia...they also publish

Support these guys during the pandemic! They are a worker owned local bookstore (whats not to love about that), plus they still deliver. They even left me a little note and some radical bookmarks. Screw Amazon, this place rules!

Great selection, this place had a book I couldnt find at any of the B&N or Half-price locally. Fairly busy due to the proximity to the market, but didnt feel crowded.

Adore this place..very cozy, lots of variety in content.. just brilliant over all.

They told my bf he cant have a backpack in the bookstore and tried to take it from him, which is very rude. Also there were women wearing purses and people with messenger bags and the worker didnt harass them. I didnt appreciate the workers attitude or the way this bookstore treats some of their customers.

Love this little bookstore and plan to visit again soon. Staff is very friendly and helpful.

Great store with good selection of expected genres, and with friendly staff.

Always good to see a worker-owned business!

Best place in Seattle to find a great collection of books from people of color.

Very close to my idea of paradise on earth!

I love this place! You can find indie authors, zines, buttons... The staff is friendly.

Great bookstore with a manageable curation!

Great place to read idiotic, intellectually dishonest indoctrination material!

Wonderful heaven of books in a agitated pike place. almost very similar in style with Shakespeare and Co from Paris

One of the best bookstores in Seattle! Great books, great people. Check it out!

Good size book store in the main entrance the Pike Market area.

Excellent choice of new and used books.

Went in to find Khalil Gibrans The Prophet and when they didnt have it I watched them buy it off of Amazon. Doesnt seem very left bank to me.

Very welcoming staff, interesting book finds.

A unique used book store thats with a visit.

Go here if you swing left.

Lots of books and publications that are hard to find in traditional outlets

I would love to be part of the ppl who work there.

If you want a book on anarco/socialist feminism this is the spot.

Left Bank is the best book store in Seattle.

Cool alt book store

Always good.

Im gay

Like the recommendation of the bookstore owner