The Book Collector

Sacramento, United States

4.5

20 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 916-442-9295
Address:
1008 24th St, Sacramento, CA, 95816
Midtown
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miSacRT 34
0.6 mi23rd Street
0.7 mi15th St & K St (SB)
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Bussiness info

Bike Parking
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Sacramento) 21:05 Monday, 2 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We are a general used bookstore with great sections in literature, poetry, mysteries, science fiction, children’s books, and all sorts of non-​fiction. We also specialize in local and small press poetry, with a complete selection of new books from Rattlesnake Press as well as books from other small presses and local poets on consignment.

History

Established in 1995.

We opened in 1995 in the space formerly occupied by Midtown Books Annex. In the beginning, we rented out sections for other booksellers to sell their own books. In 1996, 13 booksellers were tenants of The Book Collector, with Rachel Hansen as owner/​manager. As the other dealers moved on, Richard and Rachel gradually took over the whole shop and since around 2000 The Book Collector has been a general used bookstore. In 2001, Richard began publishing a series of free miniature poem booklets called Poems-​for-​all. The series has since grown to over 900 titles.

Meet the Business Owner

Richard and Rachel H.

Business Owner

Rachel opened The Book Collector in February of 1995 and married Richard (a book addict, of course) in April. Richard soon started learning the book business and worked in the store when he wasn’t busy with his job as a graphic designer. In 1998, Ruhiyyih («Ru») was born and started coming to the store with Rachel when she was four weeks old. She still helps out in the store when she’s not at school. Rachel began working as a doula in 2001, helping women during labor, birth, and breastfeeding. In 2006, Richard left his other job and came to work full-​time at The Book Collector so that Rachel could take on more doula clients. Rachel started a homebirth apprenticeship in 2007 and enrolled in a three-​year academic midwifery program in 2008. She has attended over 200 births and hopes to become a Licensed Midwife around 2011. For now, she still spends a few hours a week at the store between attending births, seeing clients, and studying.

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«A great selection of new and used books at excellent prices!»

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«The best selection of used, out-​of-​print, and rare art books in Sacramento.»

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«A great selection of new and used books in a beautiful, well-​organized space.»

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Richard and Rachel H. says,

«Sacramento’s last new independent bookstore!»

Newsbeat — CLOSED

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Print Media & Publications

Richard and Rachel H. says,

«The best selection of periodicals in Sacramento.»

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20 reviews of The Book Collector

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Stockton, CA
I am a photographer, during one of my sessions in Midtown we had stumbled upon this store and it was just so perfect I couldn’t help but ask if I could take some photos for my client that day. The woman working the front desk was so kind and allowed me to. While taking the photos my client and I had found some really nice books and I am actually hoping to go back and to actually purchase some books. I added some photos of the session. Thank you so much!
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
I have been coming to this book store for ages, it’s conveniently located right down the street from one of my favorite antique stores so I always pop in.
It may be small, but it’s perfect. I’ve never had a bad experience with the lovely people who man the front desk-​and I couldn’t ask for a more cozy place to browse through books.
I much prefer this shop to any other book stores in the area.
Place rating: 4
Sacramento, CA
This was a cute little bookshop we found while exploring midtown. I particularly enjoyed the vintage ads for sale ($ 8 each).
I found a couple books, but you need to really search. It’s lightly organized — like books with like, but within the sections the books are shelved haphazardly. I think it adds to the charm. It’s all used books, so it’s of course hit and miss as to what you’ll find. Most books are priced around $ 5-​$ 8. My two were $ 7 each. Nice place to spend an hour.
Place rating: 4
Sacramento, CA
This is a great bookstore to browse at your leisure. Not a great place to look for something specific. Lots of fiction and a sprinkling of almost anything else. A little dirty and worn but that is part of the charm. They take credit cards which is nice, but I find the prices a tiny bit on the high side for some used books with binding glue that is cracking or paperbacks with twisted covers etc. Fiction books seemed to be priced between 3 and 8 dollars.
I was actually going to attempt to haggle over a bent Edith Wharton but the day I was there it was 40 percent off everything so, woohoo! If you are looking for a more tidy bookstore try time tested books but this place has great charm and a nice female employee who had made muffins for the store one Saturday. That stuff is priceless.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
This is a great place to find used poetry. And they have a mind-​boggling display of various bookmarks — some going back over 30 years — that they’ve collected and put on a door near the front entrance. The staff is very helpful and friendly, but the only reason I wouldn’t give them five stars is because the way the store is organized can sometimes be a bit counter-​intuitive. I found true crime next to the vampire section. Hmm.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
YES. This is what I’m talking about. Great service and the selection is impressive. The owner Richard is a warm, friendly soul with a love of books and poetry. He’s the guy behind Poems-​for-​All, the free itty-​bitty cards with a poem or quote inside. Such a great idea.
Excellent selection of local poets here. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, ask Richard and he will track down a resource for you. He’s very knowledgeable about what’s happening in the poetry community — there are lots of signs at the front about readings and whatnot — so if you’re looking for something in particular he can help.
I will definitely be back here.
Place rating: 5
Roseville, CA
The Book Collector is my dream book store. As tiny as it is in here, they have the best collection of books, ranging from modern autobiographies of celebrities now and celebrities from a million years ago. However, my favorite is the collection of classic books. I purchased a very good copy of Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein and Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s, Crime and Punishment for amazingly fabulous prices. This is THE place for me.
The owner of the store is wonderful — very helpful, knowledgeable, and just an overall great man. He helped me search for the books I was interested in, conversed with me, and gave me his two cents on certain books (I liked that). His employees are just as wonderful and helpful — they have been trained well — they greet every single person that walks into the store with a very sincere smile. Besides their books, their customer service helps them keep and make new customers. Every time I go there, I see a variety of customers browsing around and leaving the store very satisfied.
Personally, what really attracts me to this store is that I really feel like I am at a bookstore from the olden days. I love feeling like I am living in the olden days, where everything was simple and people weren’t as corrupted. The smell inside the store contains that old, musky, dusty odor that I like. I also love used books — there’s so much history behind it.
I will never tire of this store and I will always keep coming for more.
Place rating: 3
Sacramento, CA
I liked the book store but I thought they could do better with the credit. I brought in 7 books and gave them to her for credit. I picked 2 books off their shelf. She gave me 1 book free for the 7 I gave them, then charged me $ 5.00 for the second book. All the books were paperbacks. It just seemed a little steep to me. There are several other used books stores I’d like to try to see if their credit deal is any better.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
The Book Collector is exactly what a used bookstore should be. Lots of shelves close-​crammed with classics, surprises, and some nifty oddities.
When you really DESIRE something fresh to read but the exact title is elusive, you can get knowledgeable, enthusiastic help from the true-​blue book-​lovers behind the counter. Today I NEEDED a nice juicy pageturner– but with some literary heft to it. While browsing the shelves, I had a lively bookish conversation with bookseller Kevin. He expressed concern that I should read Wilkie Collins’ novels in the most enjoyable order. He described at least three books that didn’t happen to be on their shelves today– and wrote down all the titles for me for future use. We soon encountered a promising novel that was available, and Kevin promised that if I didn’t like it, he’d exchange it or refund the purchase price.
Not to worry. Two pages into the book– I’m loving it. Exactly what I wanted.(and NEEDED.)
While I was paying for the book, another client departed, grinning broadly because he’d snagged a bargain copy of Suzanne Somers’ bio. Which just goes to show that The Book Collector has something for everyone– and they can even lead you straight to it.
Place rating: 5
Elk Grove, CA
I love this bookstore– they are one of the only places I buy books anymore. My first experience in the store was about 3 – 4 years ago, and simply delightful.
It was a cold and rainy Saturday, and I was off to meet a friend at Temple Coffee. I wandered in for a quick second in hopes of having a «serendipity» moment, and having a book float off the shelf to meet me. My friend and I had decided that we were hopeless ignorant young adults, and needed to become enlightened quickly. This somehow involved us drinking copious amounts of coffee and reading books we normally wouldn’t touch, in addition to attending poetry readings around town.
Being short on time, I explained my predicament to the clerk. He didn’t bat an eye at my starry eyed 19 year old request, and immediately pointed me to the poetry section. This lead to 20 minutes of pure bliss seated on the floor like a child, pouring over the works of Whitman, Frost, Poe, Hughes, and others. The most treasured books were older, clothbound darlings that could only be provided by a used bookstore.
The bookstore itself is old enough to be quirky and homey– not rundown. Inside, it smells always of books– that sweet, slightly dusty smell that will always make books better than the finest e-​reader. It’s packed enough to feel like a treasure hunt, but not enough to feel as though you will die of an avalanche if something fell.
They have a wonderful selection of poetry and local authors, which I absolutely love. Every time I go in there I find at least 10 books, all ancient and clothbound, just worn enough to be treasures instead of junk. Since that first encounter, each clerk has been just as friendly and helpful as the last, and everything is reasonably priced. There’s nothing that’s not too love!
Place rating: 4
Carmichael, CA
A book store just like we like it, stuffed and a little messy. Very friendly man behind the counter, saw flyers for poetry events, and a cute children’s section tucked away in the corner. Prices are reasonable, will go back for sure!
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
very friendly staff. smart. the owners are good citizens. they have an eclectic selection. the best store for poetry in the area. the staff hosts poetry events. owners do tons of volunteer work for literary groups around sac. shop here.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
What is not to love about this store? There are hidden treasures in every nook and cranny of this tiny space, located in the heart of Midtown. The owner, his wife and young daughter can be found there most days, and it’s next to impossible to leave without buying something. In addition to used treasures, there is a great variety of poetry from local poets, and the best gift of all? The little «poems for all» that are freely handed out. It’s the best!
Place rating: 4
Sacramento, CA
I love popping in every once in awhile with the boy to grab him a book. Just this last week we snagged a thick ‘How To Draw Animé’ book for eight dollars, out the door. Before that, a book on how to create various Native American tools, instruments, and pottery… six bucks.
I find myself wandering over to the philosophy section, frequently dumbfounded and not knowing where to begin. Thankfully the man behind the counter (presumably the owner) isn’t a jerk, and was happy to at least point me in the right direction. He’s also very polite to my son and deals with him directly which is very cool. I remember being younger and shop owners taking money from me for transactions, counting back the change, and the like. Those memories stand out to this day and I’m sure these small things are helping to create positive memories for him as well.
I like this place a lot. The kid likes this place a lot. We’ll be back.
Place rating: 3
Washington, DC
This store is smaller than the other downtown used book stores, and the selection is correspondingly smaller too. However, there’s a good poetry section that must be a special interest of the owner’s. It’s not as well lit nor are the shelves as wide as other local stores’, so you do more rummaging and less browsing.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
Let me start off by saying I Love The Hansens. Richard and Rachel are 2 of my favorite people in Sacramento. i have been going in their store literally since they opened. They are friendly helpful and very knowledgeable, not to mention the support they give to local artists writers and poets. I used to have a bookshop in Sacramento years ago and I still shopped ay their store. I moved away from Sacramento a few years ago, but whenever I’m in town I always stop by. Good selection great prices and 2 of the nicest people in the business. Check them out you won’t be sorry.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
4.5, really. Incredibly friendly and helpful staff. Good selection (but not amazing), generally, though lacking in cookbooks. Decent prices, with some fantastic deals.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
There’s definitely a lot of variety in this store. I went in to look at the cookbooks and couldn’t decided what to get. I found «The Pasta Bible» without a price on it so I went to ask the lady and she said it would be $ 12.50, which is cheap since normal retail price is $ 30. I went back to look at some more books but settled on the book. She ended up giving it to me for $ 10! What a steal. Friendly people in here!
Place rating: 5
Montague, MA
I just got back from a poetry reading here, and realized that I have never Unilocaled it!
The Book Collector is very good at supporting local poets, and often hosts readings in the evenings. They also have a large selection of books and chapbooks by local poets.
The shop is small but holds a lot of books. They have a large and varied selection. I love checking out their new books shelf. The woman who runs the store is very nice, and I love when she has her baby in the store. Incidentally, I think she is a doula (or a midwife?) in addition to being a bookstore owner.
It’s a great store and definitely worth a stop.
Place rating: 4
Sacramento, CA
A COOL LITTLE INDIE BOOKSTORE. The outside is a bit deceptive. It’s not as big as I thought. But that’s OK. In fact, it’s perfect. Tons of books. Out-​of-​print, hard-​to-​find, and first editions. I need to go in and browse the place. The last, and only, time I was there, was about six-​months ago and the book I was looking for wasn’t there. I think she offered to take my name and try to find me a copy. Or maybe she didn’t and I made that part up. I forget. I guess the one I was looking for was too-​hard-​to-​find. So, my need to have things ASAP, took me to Border’s in Natomas, where I found a new copy. Ack! Is that bad? It is, I know. I like to support the little guys too. I TRIED to buy a used copy, but I needed that book damn it! That book, by the way, sits on my bookshelf, unread.
Anyway, it’s a wonderful little bookstore. If I weren’t such a lazy bookreader, I’d be there all the time.