Downtown Book & Sound, Salinas CA

I found the perfect book for my husband for Christmas here. Wonderful store with so much to explore!

I love coming to this bookstore: staff are personable, friendly and the array of book options has something for everyone.

There are things people should keep to themselves.

I placed an order for a book 3 weeks ago, I went today to ask if the book had arrived since I had yet to hear from them. The owner told me she had been sick with Covid for 2 weeks and the store had been closed. I asked if she was feeling better to which she said no, but she had to be there.

I asked if she could check the status of my order. I was told it was on its way. When I asked for an estimate of when it would arrive I was told maybe next week. I thought the right thing to do was to be honest and tell her that unfortunately if the book wasn’t here by next Friday I would have to order it elsewhere since I need to read it for school purposes. Her response was “I get it, that’s understandable, it is what it is and I’m too sick to care”.

I get it, I’m sure everyone has felt like that at some point but that’s the kind of thing you keep to yourself. Not something that you tell the people supporting your business. If you are still too sick to care then why open the store?

This is not the first time I seem to catch her in a “bad day” since is not the first time she has been rude to me. It will definitely be the last since I will no longer support this business.

Down Town Book & Sound is the go-to place for books and sound recordings anywhere. Trish and Dan offer superior service to the community. Their broad selection of books on every subject is stellar. From Manga books to magazines, DTB&S has what you want; even a complete selection of John Steinbeck books. 10 stars, easily.

A great place in Salinas, a great book store, a great excuse to visit old town and pick out a new book, or at least one new to you.:)

Always a great place to shop, from rare to contemporary books, paperback and hardcover. You name it; if you like too read, you go there.or for gifts.

Thanks to the owners for having this great store

I love grabbing a new read as often as possible so I'm no stranger to hitting the bookstore, and I have to hand it to this book shop for being one of the best ones I've been to in the world. The staff and owners are very friendly, willing to strike up a conversation on just about anything and are very open minded. Their knowledge on books is almost as vast as their collection and if they don't have it, they will order it, even if it's a very hard to find book. Highly recommend at least a stop here.

Very helpful. If they don't have a particular book you are looking for, they'll find it and get it to you!

Great selection of books, was happy to be able to purchase my first copy of a Steinbeck novel from his home town. Pleasantly surprised by the range of foreign language materials, was able to purchase a copy of Fahrenheit 451 in french which I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

I wish I wasn't just visiting so I could make use of their "Blind Date with a Book" concept. They have a range of books wrapped in paper so that you can't identify them, on which is written some relatively vague but interesting details about the book's theme or setting.

Went there for the first time looking for manga, they had a decent sized shelf for it, also was lucky to come across Dan he is a great guy. They will also order books for you if they don't have em. Highly recommend it great way to buy novels and help a local business.

The records and media are housed separately in a building across the street from the bookstore. There are thousands of records and a nice selection. Well worth checking out! Great customer service as well.

Outstanding secondhand book store. Super friendly with a very wide selection including SF.

The best "hidden" bookstore in the Monterey area. Both new and used books in a beautiful, historic building. The owners are friendly and knowledgeable.