Lianne K.
Yelp
Billing themselves as "Southern California's Oldest and Largest Independent Bookstore", Vroman's in Pasadena is definitely worth a visit when in the area. When we recently were nearby for the Chalk Festival, we recommended Vroman's to our daughter and son-in-law. I recalled it being close to the Convention Center, but as we walked, and walked, it turned out not to be so close after all! Still, we made the trek, with Sweet Granddaughter riding in her stroller. Ah, the life!
Once we arrived, I suspect my face was red from the walk, and the warm afternoon temperatures. Before entering the store, I hid out at Tepito's coffee bar next door for a cold drink and got ready to explore the bookstore.
Since I wanted to catch up with the family, I headed upstairs to the kids' section, which I'd not visited before. It's really extensive, and holds not only lots of books, but also toys, games, and packaged gifts, like play kitchens (!) and other build-it-at-home items. Of course, SG wanted to take home almost everything she saw. Her mom did well to narrow it down to a small set of Berenstain Bears books! SG was holding up pretty well at being behaved with all that temptation around her, so they went to pay before she lost it.
As such, I didn't really get a chance to explore on my own. I remember from a previous visit that they had a lot of gift items for adults, in addition to books. Some other time I'll have to shop when there is more leisure time to explore. This time around, I had more of a sense of comparison to Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, a famous indy bookstore. Vroman's is quite extensive and there's a lot to see! It sems to be clean, well-stocked, and ready to help you spend your money.