Moe's Books

A Snow

year ago

Great children’s books selection. We were able to snag 3 children’s books to add to our baby’s library. Our adult kids found some great books as well. 4 stories of BOOKS 📚 …

Arun Chandrashekharapuram

month ago

Superb collection of books. Very good quality of books, mostly like new or very good. Huge collection. Very reasonable prices. Must visit for book lovers

Xiaole Ni

11 months ago

One of our favorites. Tons of great books, especially the used books. One can easily spend a whole day browsing and reading. Very friendly staff / book lovers.

Barry Hashimoto

year ago

Moe’s Books on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley is one of the most comprehensive independent bookstores in the United States. It occupies seven full floors, including a basement, and carries an unusually wide selection of academic and general-interest titles across disciplines. Its strengths lie in its depth, organization, and pricing. The store has entire sections dedicated to medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment Europe; U.S. and Latin American history; Chinese and Japanese history and art; architecture; dance; art; philosophy; sociology; economics; political science; and, of course, literature, especially American and British. That really just scratches the surface. Each section is large enough to support serious research browsing. Books are shelved clearly and logically. Titles often include multiple editions—older university press printings, out-of-print translations, and newer reissues. This makes Moe’s particularly valuable for students, scholars, and anyone working across editions. Moe’s buyers are skilled, selective, and unusually dedicated to buying only the best. All books are individually priced in pencil inside the front cover. The prices are typically well below market value, even for rare or high-quality academic titles. There is also a dedicated rare books floor with first editions and collectible volumes, accessible without special appointment. The basement includes art books, postcards, and a small selection of games and miscellaneous media. Staff members are knowledgeable, efficient, and unobtrusive. The store buys and trades books regularly and does so with integrity: good books are valued appropriately, and trade credit is fair. What makes Moe’s unusual is its location. It is not tucked away or operating on low overhead—it sits in the center of Berkeley, just steps from the university. Its scale and inventory would suggest a more marginal site. Instead, it persists at the heart of a dense intellectual community. That fact alone makes it notew

Francisco Ramírez

year ago

Moe's is an amazing enormous book shop, not cramped. ALL types of books, for all ages, genre, creativity levels, etc! From children, politics, academics to fiction, non fiction, rare books... you name it!! It's a 4 story building... you can imagine the amount of books you can find in here. Their staff are friendly and approachable. They have MANY books on sale on every floor. They even have a section of MAPS!! The maid got me!!

Rafael Oliveira

year ago

For book lovers, this is one of the most amazing places you could visit in the Bay Area! Four whole floors dedicated to books of the most varied kind, from European and Latin American history to fiction and rare books 😻 A huge amount of well-kept used books, those that you feel the story just by their art and appearance

ayitskaty

6 months ago

one of the coolest bookstores I've ever visited, every floor feels perfectly archived and you can find some really great stuff

Fry

month ago

One of the best bookstores... I think ever? A veritable institution, if you will. Selection is broad, and if they don't have what you're looking for they usually have the next best thing. While their used prices certainly aren't the cheapest, it's a lot cheaper than buying new. The antique book section is a delight, the fiction and genre fiction sections are always well stocked, and they even have a selection of new books alongside the used. While they will take trade-ins and donations and will occasionally buy used books outright, don't expect them to take a majority of what you bring them. They're very selective.

Alex Azevedo

3 weeks ago

Moe’s Books isn’t just a bookstore; it’s a Berkeley institution that lives up to every bit of its historic reputation. Walking in, you're immediately struck by the sheer scale of the inventory across its four distinctive levels. The main floors (one and two) feature an incredibly vast selection of fiction, blending standard paperbacks with hidden gems. As you climb higher, the depth of their specialized sections becomes staggering. The third floor is a dream for anyone interested in eastern or western thought—the philosophy section spans massive wall-to-wall shelving, and the Buddhism section alone commands four full bookshelves without bleeding into other spiritual topics. If you look closely, you'll also discover an incredible selection of rare, out-of-print occult texts, offering some real hidden treasures for collectors and curious minds alike. Finally, the fourth floor opens up into a sprawling history department that feels more like a university library than a retail shop. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, the pricing on used items is fair, and the atmosphere feels like a timeless pocket of the East Bay. Truly the best bookstore experience I've ever had.

Akshat

6 months ago

Absolutely loved my visit to Moe’s! This place is a true book lover’s paradise with stacked shelves on multiple floors and an eclectic mix of new, used, and rare titles that kept me browsing for well over an hour. It feels like a treasure hunt — every corner has something unexpected, from academic texts to quirky fiction and vintage finds. The staff are super friendly and knowledgeable, greeting you when you walk in and happy to help with recommendations or locate hard-to-find titles. Prices felt fair, and the store has a cozy, lived-in vibe that big chain bookstores just don’t have anymore. If you’re in Berkeley and love books, don’t miss this legendary spot right on Telegraph Ave.