Sweet Briar Books - Davis Wiki

Location

654 G Street, in the G Street Shopping Center

Hours

Mon-Sat 10am-8pm

Sun noon-5pm

Phone

(530)750-2665 (750-BOOK)

Sweetbriar is a small, independent bookseller offering used books, along with some new inventory. Staff are friendly, helpful, and browsing through this store is always a pleasant experience.

Book Buying Hours

Monday - Saturday, store buying hours vary, please call ahead. You can sell your books for store credit only, not for cash. Books taken in are dependent on the inventory at hand and on the book's condition.

Comments:

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2005-10-13 17:29:01 This is a great place. Many books are absurdly cheap. Worth a stroll if you've eaten at Osaka or just shopped at the Co-Op —MisterProfessor

2005-10-13 19:12:34 Personally, I think the used books in this store are overpriced. $7 for a beat up paperback is ridiculous. —AnnaJones

—In their defense, the beat-up paperback is probably out of print. The UCD library doesn't even have Rick De Marinis' The Burning Women of Far Cry, but for a time you could get it here for 6 or 7 dollars in, admittedly, a beat-up paperback. That seems good to me.

2005-10-13 19:32:38 I think that Sweet Briar's prices are much better than other used bookstores in town. —JackHaskel

2006-06-18 13:01:06 Sweetbriar has a lot of remaindered books too - those are brand new. If you hate to pay full price for a bestseller, try Sweetbriar. Quite a few music CDs too, and children's books. —ValerieVann

2006-10-15 10:56:42 Very good art books at excellent prices. Well worth visiting. The owner is great. —PatKahn

2007-01-12 14:38:10 I used to shop here a lot, but haven't gone in a while. I went in today and they were selling stripped books! While I, like many in davis have been known to get books out of the border dumpsters, selling them is a little much? —KevinMurakoshi

2007-02-06 13:15:00 I think this is one of the best sources of cheap used books in Davis. I always check here first if I'm looking for a novel and their cookbook selection is wonderful. I've purchased way too many beautiful cookbooks here that were too cheap to pass up. —NaomiVoosen

2007-03-06 00:51:09 I always enjoy browsing and buying books at Sweet Briar. It has a small play area where my son always enjoy playing with blocks, puzzles, and dinosaurs. The prices are very reasonable; there is a wide range of books, including children's books. The owner is very nice, accomodating, and knowledgeable. The quality of the books is great. —KarlaMahoney

2007-11-25 18:36:51 Helpful employees. Friendly. Always a curious and wonderfully eclectic selection of books both used and new. Just bought a storybook illustrated by Gorey as a birthday present for a friend. —EliseKane

2007-12-14 22:37:36 I agree with Naomi: one of the best cookbook selections around. Always some interesting finds among the art books and the humor section as well. Comfortable layout, interesting inventory, and nice folks. —DonShor

2008-03-27 21:57:25 I love this store...great knitting books at fantastic prices. You'll have money left over for yarn. The best kept secret though is the ballroom dance music. Best prices on C-D's and since I teach both subjects...this is the place I send all my students. —LizetteHopkins

2008-04-05 18:11:22 So what are their "book buying" rules? Is it a case-by-case basis or are there certain qualifications of what is acceptable? —SunjeetBaadkar

Edit: I ended up just calling them and asking. Its case-by-case, but they are currently going to not be buying back books for a while as the person that does that is going to be out of town.

2008-05-08 16:40:37 I called a nice lady who looked for a few books for me, but, although they were popular titles, they didn't have them in stock. I was disappointed, but nice service —AnnaF

If you are looking for a specific used book you will do better with Advanced Book Exchange. I don't usually expect to find a particular book at a used bookstore, especially not one without a computer inventory. —NickSchmalenberger

Of course, thats the downside of used bookstores. When something is popular, it is something in demand, and therefore no one sells them back. If more people would sell back popular things instead of things they (and no one else) wants, then it'd be a better system for all. —SunjeetBaadkar

Why not try donating/selling back the more popular books you own, especially if you can go and find them at a library as needed? I try not to buy books unless I really want to give the author a little tangible appreciation for their work. —ZacD

2008-06-18 18:59:53 I love this bookstore! Given, some sections are lacking, but if you like fiction, it is cheap and abundant. The way any bookstore should be. Also, if you like cheap cookbooks, this is the place. —HillaryThomas

2008-08-16 13:16:23 As of August 16th, 2008, still not taking any additional books. Anyone know of a place that does in town? —IDoNotExist

Currently, no. There is none in this town. We also have a lack of places that sell old school, non-children's board games. That is something I hope to rectify though. —SunjeetBaadkar
Beers Books in Sacramento buys used books. It's a wonderful bookstore with a very large inventory. (12/26/08) — robinlaughlin

2008-08-16 18:58:37 This bookstore's toy area distracts my small children while I shop for books. The owner is helpful when I'm trying to find something, but never pushy. If I didn't already have a suprfluity of books at home and the office, I would shop here every week. It's a good place to find third prizes. —DrandyJones

2008-11-29 12:44:29 I would not recommend this store, the books are overpriced and the owner is always rude every time I enter the store and browse. She is also not welcoming to children either. This family will not be shopping at Sweet Briar in the future, I am tired of the unfriendly environment and high prices. Anyone else opening up a used book store in Davis??? it is definitely needed. —heidimermis

That has not been my experience of this store. The people have always been friendly and helpful, usually not pushy, and welcoming. Price is price. Market conditions drive what they ask and what they will take for books. If one wants cheaper used books, one may have to open a used bookstore themselves. —Rocksanddirt (1-12-09)

2008-12-11 10:23:47 Contrary to heidimermis, I have always found the owner (or the woman I believe to be the owner) to be very friendly and helpful. Sweet Briar has a great selection of used books at fair prices and is a comfortable place to browse. And I'm glad Davis still has a used bookstore. —britti

2009-01-11 21:33:40 I went for the first time last week to buy a few books for a Jane Austen book club. I was impressed by the quality of the books, and that I purchased 4 books that were new (only one used, and ironically the most expensive - but half price the normal selling price anyway) for only $26. Win! I will definitely come here first for any book needs. —ChristyMarsden

2009-04-21 22:46:24 I love this store! Their books are generally in quite good shape and they have a vast and varied selection. The clerks have always been very polite as well. —CParker

2009-04-21 23:16:36 some decades back, after being confronted at ARC by the evangelical soviets, i cast my net for the like i felt. b_o_r_d_e_r_s and b_a_r_n_e_s&n_o_b_l_e have one trash novell about the importance of chaos in a liber education or some such nonsense, to make a long story short , i found the ample trade of books(A.Crowley) insteadof money(credit cards) on the lower shelves near the left rear.

—BlueDot

I'm afraid I don't understand what you're trying to say. —JoePomidor
A poetaster, perhaps? :) —ZN

2009-04-23 00:17:07 No. —BlueDot