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Love Leigh's!
I go to the chiropractor behind it and they're both connected on that side.
Leigh's has an awesome collection of used and new books.
PLUS, if they don't have the book you want, they can order it for you with a discount off the normal retail price! Is it 10 or 20%? I forgot.
But yea, it's killer!
Fantastico!
Who lacks the love for a room filled with shelves and shelves of reading pleasure? Hopefully, no one that I know of personally. I was down in Sunnyvale to catch up with a good friend of mine and after a rather large lunch, we wandered next door to Leigh's Books and ended up wasting, lavishly, time and interests amongst the books.
Cute set up with rows and rows of new and used books. I, of course, ended up walking out with two used books: A Short Cultural History of Japan (used apparently at Stanford back in the day according to a stamp on the inside cover) for $6 and Crabwalk, by Grass, one of my fave authors.
I've found my new independent bookstore when I'm down in Sunnyvale!!
If you love literature, poetry, politics, fictional novels and sci-fi, this is the place to go to. If you're more into technical, music, arts and crafts, etc. it's best to go elsewhere.
There is a great selection of old books, especially their historical biography selection!! Love it's location - quiet and quaint. One problem I did have is it says "Dog Friendly", and one day I'd come in with my pooch, who was barking a bit - but that's what dogs do, right, well apparently it rattled one of the staff's nerves a bit, and she asked me (she was an older prune type of lady) if my dog could stay outside.
I've never had complaints before...so it was a bit off putting. But other than that, the staff has been super helpful (other workers, not her) and so for that I gave them 3 stars.
Also, I'd like to see them expand more of the hobby & crafts section. They have TONS of political books - and not enough hobby types of books.
Whenever we have dinner on Murphy street we always stop by this bookstore. It's a really great store, with carefully selected books, both new and used. I especially love the children's books section.
I love going to this bookstore on my lunch break. I work at a business park not more than a 15 minute walk from here. I get some fresh air, bring in a couple of old books to trade and leave with a few new ones.
The sales associates there are INCREDIBLY knowledgeable. I think I had a solid 15 minute conversation with one about Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and how difficult it would be to find a follow up it (fantastic novel by the way, go get yourself a copy stat). I'm a little disappointed that after I called ahead to ask about buying the newest edition of Malamud's The Assistant that I saw on the site they informed me after I arrived that it wasn't available in store. Aw snap. So -.01 a star for not having a fully up to date cataloging system. +4.99 stars for everything else :)
Wonderfully charming bookstore in the middle of all the other local shops in the downtown Sunnyvale area. They have a wide selection of new and used books, which is so awesome. The staff was so sweet and helpful. What I also liked, was they divided the books up into very basic genres. It wasn't super specific to the point that some books were over-categorized. I admire that because I think some books are cast away (i.e. the LGBTQ section, which most times is just called the "gay & lesbian" section) into a small little area and kind of segregated from everything else. Here, all literature is mixed in with each other. I just had to add my 2 cents, because places like Barnes & Noble tend to do that. :)
I found a book to a series I'm reading that was used, in mint condition and cost me only $7. I will definitely return here when I'm in town again!
Love! Just really, love. It's convenient to my office, so I can go hang after work or during lunch. They are very flexible with trades, taking many more books than Recycle West did. I got lots of credit and was able to spend it very easily. The staff is knowledgable and helpful when you need them, and it's awesome being able to check their catalog online.
I usually work straight through my lunch hour while in Silicon Valley, in order to make it back in time for boxing glass, the gym or a fun city event. On rare occasions that I must expend my lunch hour I prefer to rendezvous at Murphy Avenue with Natasha or my cousin Cherry for a laugh or two to break the monotony of being a serious and focused geek.
During times when I wait for either one of them, I am always drawn into Leigh's bookstore. It is a quaint old-fashioned bookstore that offers a unique selection of books that perfectly suits my mental and intellectual palate. I never fail to pickup a book or two to keep me company during my weeknights. They also carry uniquely styled notebooks that caters to my taste, you see, I collect them for my writer's journals, travel logs or even for special work projects (like customer meetings).
One of the last few boutique bookstores left, in the Bay Area.
Ok so I have yet to purchase any books from here but a friend of mine got me turned on to this place and I can't wait to explore it some more. I loooove the fact that you can trade in books for cash or exchange them for other books (note to self that could be very dangerous to the space in my room) I am stack piling books as we speak to take there and either trade in or exchange for cha-ching!
Leigh's Favorite Books is a comfortable little book nook tucked into the Murphy avenue of Sunnyvale. I love this place cause it's dog-friendly, people-friendly and, has a good selection of used and new books. We always walk down and take a look after eating at Dish Dash or another one of the yummy eateries in that area. :)
There's not much more I can say that hasn't been said.
See ya there!
One of the seldom few used book stores that make you want to shop more for the atmosphere than for the actual book selection/prices. I guess, I'm being subjective in judging their selection .. but I saw an overrepresentation of some authors in their fiction section and an unexpected oversight when it came to stocking other authors. Also, I didn't think their books were all that cheap for a used book store ... actually, a lot of them were new. Anyway, they have a computer inside so you can look up authors and titles, and everything is kept surprisingly clean, organized, and undusty, and they let the sun and air in on nice days. They have the whole charming indie used book store feel down pat.
as of now going forward they only accept credit for books no cash and offer below even 50% value of the book ( they give you 25% of the actual retail price) which I think sucks especially for credit for there books.I knew I had gotten a deal when I originally traded my books. Thumbs DOWN!
Very good price offered here for used books and the staff really accomodate you and don't make you… Read more »
This is by far, one of my top fave recycled bookstores! I always feel at home when I'm visiting this store and looking for a good book to read. I feel my mind come a buzzin' when I pick up an interesting book that catches my eye. The lady here is always sweet the minute she sees someone walk through the door, plus she's helpful with what you're looking for. I've realized that with the selection of books, they carry a lot of fiction novels. The store is very well-organized which doesn't carry that stench of old pages waiting for the book to mold. The books that come in and out of this store are very well kept, so it's in great condition! Their website is helpful if you're searching for a book title, author, etc. There's not much parking on the street, but you can park at the back lots behind the store. A definite place to shop if you're not up to shopping at Borders nearby.
What a cute bookstore! Everything is so organized, and there's even a computer you can use to search for books. The selection is great, and it's really easy to find what you need, and then some. The store is the perfect size; I really love how there are books on shelves that lead out to a back exit... it's a nice place to chill with a book. There's also another nook in the back with a comfy chair and cozy lamp. The staff are soo nice; they can special-order books for you and give you a good recommendation in a heartbeat. The prices are also very reasonable, especially with a sale. It's such a family kind of feel... and a great location, too!
A nice bookstore, though there are better prices at places like Recycle for the Used stuff, but they've got a good combo of New and Used.
The best part is the atmosphere. I love hanging around bookstores and this one rates right up there with the best in the Bay Area. Plants and a bright lighting design make things much friendlier.
The organization is strong, and having an on-line search option is very nice. It's easily the best Science Fiction & Fantasy selection in the South Bay.
What to love about the bookstore: the staff actually reads (sorry big chains) and can make recommendations. They stock books that are up-and-coming not just the parade of best sellers and some business books. Leigh's has both a strong selection of fiction and non-fiction books which is becoming bit more unusual these days. They will order anything for you which is really great as Amazon really doesn't get more than 25% of my order correct or to me in under 3 weeks.
Dislikes: the amount of space. But on the other hand it is always cosy. I really nice place to browse if the big stores make you overwhelmed.
They regularly discount best sellers if you want to support an independent bookseller and not feel so guilty. Enjoy!
I am so happy that Leigh's opened in downtown Sunnyvale. Murphy's was in desperate need of a little intellectual footing amongst the dive bars and restaurants. And, let's face it, a gal needs a good book source (in addition to fast food Chinese and a late night liquour store) in her hood.
I love the narrow aisles and heady milieu. The people are friendly and helpful and the selection pretty good. They have a small selection of new releases but the bulk of the stuff is used. There is a liberal trade in policy and the prices are good.
Okay, soapbox time......Everyone should support these dwindling neighborhood bookstores. Yes, it's easy and cheap to order from the evil empire but there is something wonderfully spirited and moral about patronizing an indy bookstore. Hemingway would be proud.
Hurray for stores that sell used books! I love buying second-hand books - it's earth-friendly and pocket-book friendly! Sadly, there seem to be more new books than used ones on the shelves (at least that was the case in the sections I perused during a half-hour visit), which means the store isn't truly as green as one would hope for in a 2nd-hand bookstore.
Still, this is a darling little shop. It has wooden floors, lots of lighting, and a very friendly overall feel to it. I enjoyed skimming through many of the sections to see what kind of variety there was and see if anything caught my eye (I ended up buying one book - a used one - but wasn't able to find several of the books on my "to read" list). Despite my inability to find the books I specifically wanted, there definitely isn't any padding the shelves with 10+ copies of the same book like in some stores - here the variety of authors (and books by any one author) was good in every section.
The staff were friendly and helpful, the used books were in good condition, the books/shelves are not dusty or musty. Definitely an "upscale used bookstore" - which makes sense considering the location!
I probably won't be making this a destination bookstore, but I will stop in when I'm in the area - coz, hello! Bookstore! ;)
Cute used book store in downtown Sunnyvale. I bought a bunch of used books that looked brand new! The staff was great and they had an excellent selection!
This is one of the cleanest and best organized used book stores I've been to. The people were friendly, and the book selection was good sized. I'll visit this one again.
Park in the shopping center lot and walk down the short street to the bookstore.
The best thing about downtown Sunnyvale. Great selection of new and used books. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. And dog friendly. You can't beat it.
I really like this place. Its real homey and not as annoying as Barnes & Noble or Borders. I've bought only 4 books here and I've traded in a few. Minus one star because they totally rip you when you trade in books. I traded in like 10 and they gave me $6 some of those books were brand spanking new. Oh well, still a nice place.
8.20.07 update-
Was contacted via email about this review from Leigh's books and they apologized for the trade in and said that it won't happen again and are sending me a $10 gift certificate in the mail!! Whooopee!
Plus one star for having some excellent customer service! Just when I thought it was dead...
Update---
Went back in to use my gift certificate :) and was looking for a certain book but my mind blanked on the title and all I knew was that it was a best seller and I kind of knew what the cover looked like. Well I told the lady at the front and within minutes she found the book I was looking for they didn't have it in stock but said they could order it. I passed and ended up getting two other books. They were very helpful and SO nice.
Cute bookstore! Dog friendly! Small but charming. The guy at the cashier is dark and handsome,,,,,cute! They give good prices if you want to sell your books
Leigh's is one of the few indie bookstores left with charm. Yes, its small. But it has the creaky wood floors and the aging plies of books that are required for small indie bookstores, at least in my book (pun intended). The staff are all really friendly and open to suggestions, and let's face it, its really the only place to browse in downtown Sunnyvale.
I did subtract one star because when you buy used, I'd like a slightly better deal than I get at Leigh's, but I know how hard it is for bookstores to stay afloat nowadays. What will we do if we can only get used online? How will we happen across a real treasure if we only browse via mouse? These are the questions that flit through my mind as a walk down Murphy street hugging my latest treasure from Leigh's, hoping for a little while longer to be able to shop for books with the wood groaning under my feet and the door squeaking shut behind me.
I haven't shopped in used bookstores since my university days back in Toronto in the late 80's when, as a starving English major, I HAD to shop in used bookstores. I used to find my required reading novels and plays in crappy, smelly, moldy little used bookstores on Queen St., where I looked for covers that had their corners snipped with pinking shears because those were the .25 books. The biggest problem with my budget shopping came during class when we had to refer to a page - my page number never matched up. I was the poor student flipping pages, madly looking for the passage.
That was a long time ago and Leigh's is a long way off from those crappy little used bookstores. The shop is bright and clean and welcoming. It's serious, but fun and friendly. I loved the selection of fiction and can't wait to get back in there to do some shopping. Leigh's has turned me back into a used bookstore fan. Oh - and they do carry some new books too.
Fun place to look thru all the shelves and piles of books. The staff is nice, and will suggest books for you. They have new books at reduced rates on the front tables, and both new and used books in the stacks. They are also pet-friendly, although I've only seen dogs there, no cats... The owner's dog will suggest books for you, too, but they're usually not very good. I think she's just pretending to know how to read, since her human owns a bookstore, and it would be embarrassing to admit that she only "reads" (i.e. looks at pictures of) the Archie comic book series. She just can't figure out which one Archie should date: Betty or Veronica....
Update: the owner's dog PMed me (she has a Yelp account!), and informed me she not only knows how to read, but she belongs to a book club. Nice try, Fido! It was so obvious she was dictating her message to a personal assistant (a poodle who CAN read - and make delicious croque-monsieur, from what I've heard - as long as you don't mind a little fur and doggie-slobber on your sandwich).
Also, I wanted to note the great book-exchange service they have.
I feel bad for places like this, because it's hard for them to differentiate and get me to buy from them vs http://half.com or alibris or whatever your online used book stores are these days. They get run out of town due to rising leases and towards higher volume or higher service businesses.
that being said... it was clean, well lit, not cluttered. the prices weren't bad at all... I almost did buy something until I remembered that I have a queue 6 deep at home that needs to be addressed first. But, if you need a quick fix, this place isn't so bad... please, stop by here instead of your local B&N or borders...places like this are a dying breed
Leigh's is a welcome addition to downtown Sunnyvale and the city in general. I'm a little biased, being an ex-English Lit Major and past employee at a very-cool, now-defunct indie bookstore. But this store's a gem: well-organized, with an emphasis on high-quality trade fiction.
They thoroughly passed my measuring stick: the quality of the Bukowski selection. Leigh's Buk inventory is awesome, with at least 7 titles (you'd be lucky to find 2 or 3 at Borders). All the books seemed to be carefully selected for condition and general quality (not an easy thing to do). The prices are very fair and represent the popularity of given titles. The atmosphere is not as library-like as Buyer's in Mountain View, yet homey enough to put any "Big-Box" bookseller to shame.
Cheers, "Leigh's Favorite Books", well-done.
What a wonderful feeling I get when I enter this shop. It's like that dream I've always had, that one day I'd have a home with bookshelves lining every wall like wallpaper, and a separate library just for reading and smartening (is that a word, all you bibliophiles?).
This bookshop has some pretty eclectic books, but also definitely the more mainstream stuff. Still, I can barely believe I used the word mainstream in a review about Leigh's, because it's nothing of the sort.
Big high five for the cookbook collection. I've bought quite a few here. Display tables are also always interesting and fun. It's a long, narrow shop, but not so narrow that you can't stop in the aisle and browse the first page and a half to decide if you want to buy and read the whole thing.
I got Shopgirl here used, but it looked perfect to me, and so I saved myself some bucks. I also bought The Devil Wears Prada here, again, looking like it had never been read, but was marked down cuz Leigh's is honest and admits the book is used.
Most importantly, please do say hi to Leigh and the others who work there because they truly love books. I think they sweat booklove, exude super-intellect and I feel smarter as soon as I leave the store.
Leigh's also has a book club, and if you're open to being intellectual, or if you already are, then it might be right for you. It's right for my mother. She partakes. :)
But my recommendation: Buy a book and then walk over to The Palace Cafe for a latte, a mini crinkle cookie, and to dive right into page 1.
We met Leigh when she was just opening and our office was down the street. It is a very clean and nice store, with a great selection.
Lots to do in downtown Sunnyvale when you're there, too! Definitely worth a look for book lovers like me!!
This is the best bookstore outside of NYC that I have been in. I love browsing here and always find a book that I start reading as soon as I get home. Dog friendly and near a great walkable area on Murphy Street. They have an amazing selection of new and used books. I have also exchanged books from my own library here for credit towards new ones.
After the Bean Scene we took a walk down Murphy and found this awesome book store! My daughter spied some children's books in the window and had to go in! This is a comfortable store and the young woman behing the counter was incredibly sweet and nice to my daughter. She showed us the children's section and we looked at all the books and read some. I felt at home here among the books. You can tell the owner truely loves books. They have a very nice selection and real plants among the books! I will be going back here for sure!!!
Went into Leigh's Favorite Books just to see what they have. I wanted to buy Omnivore's Dilemma but the only copy I saw was a new copy, it was slightly less than printed price ($11 if I remember correctly)..I should have bought it but didn't.
Travel section was just ok, I wanted a Boston Eyewitness Travel book but didn't find it.
Just ok to me.
Leigh's is where I traded in the lousy books recommended to me by Amazon for a couple staff-recommended reads that I ended up loving. Humans 1, machine 0.
Leigh's has a great atmosphere, and is very clean. The staff is friendly and helpful. The selection isn't great, but the store is dog friendly, which I LOVE. I enjoy stopping by while walking my dog. The staff welcomes him and I am able to browse with my dog by my side. Yay :)
Stopped in to peruse after a very filling dinner at Tumeric. They have a good selection of both new and used books.
I'm just an overall supporter of local book stores.. so having said that, i've only been there twice and i have to confess, i actually didn't buy anything either time.. but i did read some paragraphs from a book that i ended borrowing from a friend...
I always make a stop here whenever I am in the area. They have a great selection of used books and are always willing to special order books. The staff is very friendly-everything you would expect out of an independently owned bookshop.
A well-designed, well-organized store. This is not the type of used bookstore that's all bleak and moldy smelling. They carry a mixture of new and used books and the used books seem to be in pretty good condition. I purchased one book that was "used" but was probably never read by the previous owner. I love their online inventory search. Every independent bookstore should do that. There's not much parking on the street, but a nice-sized lot behind the stores across the street.
super nice people work at this store!
loved the vibe.
grabbed a book off the super deal rack on the sidewalk.
this might be the reason i head back to murphy street.
Just look at the store window and you feel like you're back in your dream of encountering the ideal bookstore. Inside, nothing is overwhelming, but at the same time there's a sense that whatever you were looking for will be there. I was particularly impressed with the Poetry and the Fiction sections, as well as the tempting displays near the entrance.
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