This is one stop in Ojai that is a must with each visit. I can remember spending hours browsing the shelves for interesting books. The prices are awesome and the selection is amazing. There is something about old books that just draws me into this store and makes me never want to leave.

Bart's Books is a bookstore unlike any I've seen before. There's so much history within the thousands of used books they sell (some for 50 cents!), all tucked into the nooks and crannies of this open-air bookstore. The shelves are built around an old house which sits in the middle of the store. They've maintained some of the original architecture of the house, using the "study" to house textbooks and the "kitchen" to hold cookbooks. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and one could spend hours pouring over the numerous books here. My favorite part was the sign outside the store that asks that if you'd like to buy a book that resides on the outside of the bookstore after business hours, to please drop the proper coins into the mail slot before taking it. Any place that still believes in the honor system is truly a gem!

With so many independent book stores going out of business, Bart's Books should be considered a national treasure. Its open air layout, labrynths of shelves stacked with hard to find titles, and its cozy and comfortable sitting areas means you will likely spend several hours lost in this little gem. I wish there was something similar in LA. The only thing we have is Book Soup. Long live Bart's Books!!

The best thing about books is that they're sustainable. They're the printed word and, short of destroying them, they'll always be around?whether the internet crashes, we lose electricity, etc. Bart's Books in Ojai celebrates this concept. I visited over the weekend and had a great experience. The honor system tradition is awesome awesome awesome. Even though the store was open, my friends and I each grabbed a book off the exterior shelves. I don't even know anything about the hardcover that I selected, I just wanted a little bit of the store's charm to come home with me. If you love books and you're in the area, you absolutely must check out Bart's.

Of the handful of places to visit in Ojai California is Bart's Books. The perimeter of the outdoors bookshop is lined with bookcases stocked with paper backed books for fifty cents. The interior is loosly organized by genre and alphabet. There is an indoors section that holds some real literary gems. The determined book sluth can find first editions and other rare books. The casual observer can find some amazing deals. The pricing on most books (not the first editions) is half off the cover price. This means that the older books will obviously cost less. It's a beautiful shop that locals and tourists can loose themselves in for hours.