The Long Haul, Berkeley CA

Attended free ink day and borrowed a book. Definitely coming back for more books.

I liked the staff person I met, felt more comfortable with them than the study group I came for. It does what it says on the tin. It has info. It is a shop. Also on my visit I found a place anarchic to the extent that one doesn't even have to be an anarchist to be there, or work there, and that is like a whole new level of freedom for me. Like I maybe didn't have to prove anything, just show up as I am, similarly respectful of those I encounter. That's what I want to return for - to see if I can reproduce those results.

There aren't too many infoshops left, especially not ones thst escaped going full bourgeois coffee shop/book store like red emma's in bmore (for ex), so the long haul is kind of a gem in that regard, the way it hasn't betrayed itself & the values that led to its very existence.may it outlive global capitalist hegemony, eh?

Went there this past night.amazing! Wonderful people, each individual with such different focused interests yet sticking together in the same space: punk, politic, art, craft, music, food re-distribution / justice, prisoner love, nature love, "harm reduction", etc. People from food not bombs, punks with lunch, omni-commons, etc. I was able to get all the info i needed and more: local spaces, communities, co-housing, and most importantly, meeting great people!

it's more than a simple library / bookshop, it has a massive zines archive (for lending only, though many zines for sale or for free too), a kitchen, a projector, a room in the back for holding what event you dream of.it just needs some loving music.although the current hours are short (6-9pm), its worth going to, and keeping as a night hangout spot (third space).