Eastwind Books of Berkeley

A small, indie bookstore that specializes in literature focusing on Asian culture. Here, you’ll find books ranging from cookbooks, picture books, novels, graphic novels, and non-​fiction. The cookbooks have a wide variety of Asian cuisines, such as Taiwanese (yes! Taiwanese! Do you know how hard it is to find Taiwanese recipes that isn’t lumped with the rest of China?), Thai, Japanese, Korean, and of course, several different types of Chinese food. There’s a section dedicate to Asian-​American writers, along with books that are also by Asian-​Asian authors.
The people who run this place seem to be older, Asian folks, and I saw them acting very kindly to an old Asian lady in a wheelchair, so I got the sense that this place is probably family-​run or at least have some sort of close-​knit community. Book lovers, definitely check out this place!

Was forced to buy books here for my Asian American studies classes. My professor partially owns the store… so that’s why.
Good selection of Asian books, but overpriced and no cash returns.
If you’re a college student in need of books, just buy online.
But if you’re here for the selection and don’t mind spending a good amount of $, this place is one of a kind.

Nice to have a bookstore emphasizing on Asian culture. It’s a bit small and sort of funny some dusts would fall off some of their older collections. I spent half my time at the Sale section because I’m a bargain hunter.
I’m an immigrant although I spent 95% of my life here in the States. I’m in this middle ground strongly contrasted by the Chinese culture and the American culture. This bookstore offers many authors who was in the same situation, just different time periods. It’s nice to be able to read about others that share similar challenges.
The service was excellent too.

To say that I’m a fan of Avatar the Last Airbender would be an understatement. Having the opportunity to meet the man who wrote the scripts for the graphic novels was one I couldn’t miss.
THANK YOU Eastwind Books of Berkeley for making this possible last Saturday. It was wonderful to learn that the writer was a Cal alum (GOBEARS!) I wish I knew about this place when I was still at the University. It seems that they host events like this often. Creating opportunities for students to connect with the authors of the books they are reading. AMAZING!
Can’t wait to see who else they have coming through.

Didn’t know what I expected when I walked in to their quaint little store, I was worried it would be those weird Asian bookstores with cookbooks on to make your own remedies. But was pleasantly surprised. They have lots of books on Asian culture, history, and philosophy. I was pleased to find some cool books like the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. Stop in and browse, there is definitely will be something that will catch your eye.

Shelves of literature not only in relation to the popular topics of China and Japan (the continent of Asia is faaaar more than that, of course). You can find Pinoy, Arab, Indian, Thai, Korean, among others, cultures and communities represented here. Even Chicano and Dominicano, in honor of the Bays ethnic history, diversity and interests. And of course, many aspects of the ‘immigrant experience’ are universally shared.
Topics encountered: martial arts, language learning, acupuncture, Shengxiáo, using natural remedies for endometriosis, cookbooks, sexuality, government, law, art, womanhood, religion, zazen, activism in San Francisco from the 1960 onward, local history, Chinatown stories, the internment, calligraphy (with ink and necessary artistic accoutrements), plus films, university textbooks and other reading materials for enrolled courses.
The calligraphy greeting cards (.92¢) are another highlight. Don’t pass the sales cart in the back!
Staff is so sweet and friendly, and despite the small space, everything is organized and easy to locate.
Pro-​tips and random bits:
*You can place special orders, if they are missing a certain book or other item.
*They seem to attract locals with their Chinese dailies (.50¢).
*Parking is street and metered. Sundays are free in Berkeley.

Eastwind Books of Berkeley is a really cute specialty book store! They have a really great selection of hard to find books and magazines all having something in common — Asian American culture.
You can also find course books for Asian American studies classes, as well as various Asian language learning tools.

really cool selection of books. it is a small store, there are no seats, but that’s okay. awesome books that are hard to find in the public libraries or major bookstores.
they do have some more popular mainstream books like asian bestsellers and stuff. i found a bunch of cool books with great photos so i spent like two hours in that store just browsing.

Smaller independent bookstores are gems. This little bookstore cramps anything from asian studies to traditional chinese medicine books to martial arts to biographies, and cook books! Sandwiched between ramen and pizza stores. 1 minute from BART, what is there not to like?

Sigh.
I was forced to buy my books from this small bookstore on University Ave for my Asian American Studies class (ASAMST 20A). The books, unfortunately, added up to around $ 90. Afterwards, I found out that some of my friends actually owned the books, but unfortunately, this bookstore does not allow cash returns, only exchanges or credit.
Again, sigh.

A lot crammed into a small space. On top of that, they try to add ambiance with photos of Asian acrobats, calligraphy scrolls, etc. Staff’s demeanor matches the care put into the storefront! Everyone is friendly and helpful. The selection is small, and specialized, but these are the kinds of bookstores we will miss once the e-​books, one-​day-​shipping-​for-​all-​through-​Amazon revolution takes hold.
Come here so our kids will be able to.

Eastwind is a GREAT place to get your books for your classes. For every Asian American studies class I take, they always sell them through Eastwind rather than the overpriced and cruddy UC bookstore.
I love the attentive customer service I get. Everyone is so friendly that I can’t help but to reminisce on all the good experience I’ve had in this store. Also, they have employees of all ages, religion, and ethnicities. A super plus in my book!

I have been a patron of Eastwind books since 96′. I love the East, so the store carries all sorts of subjects related to Asia. My libri are composed of books I have purchased here. If you are an academic doing research on Asia, you will be happy to see a large collection of prints that will be very useful to your research. In addition, the prices are manageable.

As you can guess by the name, this little bookstore specializes in Asian/​Asian-​American literature in all genres: academic, non-​fiction, fiction, contemporary, historical, biographical, geographical.
They carry a lot of Chinese/​Japanese works, and all the highly-​rated ethnic novels (The God of Small Things, Obasan, Hunger, Falling Leaves, Comfort Woman, etc).
Chances are, if you have/​are taking Asian American Studies 101, you’ll find a huge chunk of your reading list here.

East wind books has been around quite a while. stumbled into this new location by coincidence (parked almost in front)
their speciality: asian american literature, asian studies, ethnic studies, used books, language learning, cooking, martial arts, children books, etc.
sampling: «eighth promise», william poy lee (10)
–autobiography of lee and his mom’s transcripted recordings. interesting stories of old china.
booknotes:
–very helpful cashier.
–parking at meters
–easy to find topics in sections

Go in. Don’t be afraid. They have a great selection of books about Asia in English. There are also lot’s of books in Asian languages. They have:
*current titles
*used books
*mysteries
*language learning texts and workbooks, CD’s
*children’s books
*gifts
The staff is super helpful. If they don’t have it, they will get it for you.

Fantastic bookstore! As the name implies, it has an Asian emphasis which was exactly what I was looking for, namely Korean language learning books. I called ahead of time and the girl on the phone was super nice – she even looked through all the Korean books and described them as I was looking for something in particular. She even offered to order a book for me if they didn’t have it.
I ended up visiting and ended up chatting for quite awhile with the girl (Maya, here’s a shout out to you ‘cuz you’re awesome!). She was very helpful and didn’t just tell me to buy the most expensive one, but rather the book that was the best value which was a nice break in our money-​oriented society. So in the end, I got the book she recommended which has turned out to be awesome and easy to read/​use.
Turns out that although their Korean section is much larger than what is offered at the average bookstore, *cough* Barnes and Nobles *cough*, their Chinese section is much much more extensive. I will definitely be coming back here as I will be taking a Chinese course this summer.

This little bookstore has been open since 1982 and I just learned about it! A neighbor lent me a book, «Only a Girl», set in the Netherlands Indies just prior to WWII and the Indonesian revolution. The author, the book’s protagonists and our neighbors are all Dutch speaking Indonesian born ethnic Chinese. The occasion for yesterday’s visit to Eastwind was a reading by the author, Lian Gouw. Our neighbors invited us to the reading.
The store is a small storefront on University Avenue in the block between Milvia and Shattuck. It’s hard to know what the layout is normally because room had been made for about two dozen folding chairs. It’s well stocked w/​books on Asian themes, many by Asian American authors who live locally. There are cookbooks and artistic note cards. The bookstore owner was welcoming, the reading was interesting and the audience was very engaged during the question and answer period. It’s always a pleasure to discover new independent bookstores and Eastwind is no exception.

Summary based on several visits:
–Great selection given the size of the shop
–Reasonable prices and comparable to online with, of course, must better convenience
–Helpful staff
–Parking can be challenging, but generally available
Extra star since it’s a rare resource, even in Berk.

I’m glad I just saw Solomon’s review of Eastwind …
how could I have have forgotten to write a review?
It’s small but has a wonderful selection of books for and about Asians and Asian-​Americans. Wonderful language learning materials, great kids’ section, plenty of appealing cookbooks on sushi, dim sum, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and other Asian cuisines.
Asian and Asian-​American art and history, biographies and lots of other books that will call out to you.
Non-​book items include those cool «Got Rice» «Shitake Happens» tee shirts for adults and kids, whimsical Chinese horoscope mini– animal statues, a small selection of CD’s.
They have great sales from time to time.
Friendly and helpful staff.
Another indy bookstore to love and support!