Travel Log - 10/10/2011 - The Second Mission Mission, Mission District, San Francisco, CA
From charlesreid1
On my second mission in the Mission, I revisited some of the spots from the first Mission mission, plus some new spots. First was Rodger's Coffee, and Turkish coffee. Then over to Dog-Eared Books, where, on the recommendation of a store clerk, I bought a New York Review of Books (NYRB) book by John Williams. These books are interesting, since they are essentially books or works of literature that have been saved from being discarded in the dust heap of history, and are each special in their own way.
Next was Borderlands, where I bought a science fiction book that continues my quest to find new and interesting science fiction authors. (I know now that Robert Morgan was a poor choice.)
After Borderlands was lunch at a taqueria called Toro, and then over to Adobe Books. This place was crammed with interesting books, a true gem of a bookstore. A wide selection of history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, nature writing, mysteries, science fiction, history, botany, languages, etc etc. I ended up buying an excellent anthology of nonfiction.
Last but not least was Forest Books. This place definitely gets my vote for best selection. While small, the bookstore stocks an excellent selection of political nonfiction, literature, eastern philosophy, and journalists' books, and I didn't even survey the entire store. The people running the store were really friendly, too.
In summary, the Mission district has a fantastic selection of bookstores within a very short radius, allowing a tour of all of these bookstores to fit nicely into a day or a half-day.
Dog Eared Books:
- Stone by John Williams
Borderlands:
- Market Forces by Robert Morgan
Adobe Books:
- Representing Reality: Readings in Literary Nonfiction ed. by John Warnock
Forest Books:
- Lectures on Russian literature by Vladimir Nabokov
- The Way of Chinese Paintings by ?
- Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann