Bonnett’s Book Store

I revisited Bonnett’s books and I was seriously impressed. The owners have taken a certain amount of pride in this Dayton landmark. The location does not reek of mold like it did the last time I dropped in. The shopkeeper was friendly and very talkative, in an informative sense. He gave me a great amount of history about old man Bonnett, and I might say he must have been a fascinating man (aah the old pulp writers were the unheralded heroes of imagination and adventure, not to mention risqué!) but with that said, their selection of books is improving, not like it used to be, but still better. What I really appreciated was the fact that I asked for an obscure old mag and the shopkeeper looked diligently for me, and pulled-​out exactly what I was looking for!

Wow!!! A truly amazing experience! Stacks, and stacks, and STACKS of books, mags, DVDs and comics. I could spend way too much time and money in here. A wonderful, independent bookstore in the midst of an awesome few blocks of the Oregon District. I wish I didn’t have a flight to catch in a couple hours and could spend all day browsing!

This is the most unique, coolest bookstore I’ve been too! Highly recommend to check it out.

This used book store has a good selection, but the prices are ridiculous. When I visit a used book store, I expect the prices to be low — like they are at Half Priced Books. Some of these used books had prices higher than the cover price.
So much for patronizing a local business.

Back in the 70’s, my friends and I would make special trips to Dayton just to visit this place. It’s still much the same. I do miss seeing the older Bonnetts behind the counter.

Take a stroll down E 5^th Street in the Oregon District and you will come upon Bonnett’s Book Store. Open the door and look in. If you are claustrophobic, you won’t be able to go in. If you are OK with cramped places, take a deep breath and let your adventure begin.
There’s books, magazines, records, comics, toys, collectibles and a big friendly guy working there who knows where every little thing is in this store. It’s not a huge store but there’s enough stuff in there to stock 3 or 4 stores quite easily. I cannot even begin to describe how much is in in there, stacked up, shelved, hanging from the ceiling, stuff absolutely everywhere.
It’s so much fun to just look around and guess what you will see next. All I can say is, if you are in the area, go take a look around. You’ll be surprised at what you might find.
It’s a freckin’ cool indie bookstore and it’s worth checking out.

Talkin’ ’bout some book store flavor right here baby. It’s dusty and cramped and a little disorganized, there’s crazy cartoon and comic memorabilia everywhere. I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I walked in because there’s a huge pile of Disney stuff right inside the door. If you don’t like this place you probably don’t know what makes a book store cool. The proprietor was helpful and he seems to really love books. We spent a lot of time browsing. A must-​do in the Oregon District if you’re cool. Four stars.

I saw the words «book store», and I couldn’t resist checking it out. Shelves and shelves are stacked with musty looking books that have extremely fascinating titles. It’s like I stumbled into a lost trove of my great grandfather’s library. If you find the literary world exciting and restless, they carry literature such as Scottish short stories, Chinese travel memoirs, Italian dramas, and much, much more. I tend to like old and unique literature; if that’s your style too, you will find this place so amazing. Bonnett’s bookstore carries a variety of genres and diverse subjects; literature, art, cooking, comics, etc. I will definitely visit again!

Good lord this place is so messy! How could you possibly find anything here? And why would you ever consider buying any comic books here? They’re in terrible condition. If you want old crap… come here… but I’d rather go to Half Priced books or Amazon instead.

I opened the door and instantaneously contemplating having a panic attack over the sheer amount of clutter in the store. But I took a deep breath and went in. actually a very cool selection of old books. I looked at a few old Hardy Boys books and old cookbooks. The guys there know all the merchandise in that store. God bless ‘em.

‘Wwwwhhhhaaaatttt is this place?’ is a pretty exact recreation of my reaction upon entering the store. My friend and I after eating were wandering up and down the street window shopping when she insisted I check out Bonnett’s.
When I glanced to the ceiling my first though was how I could donate all my old Happy Meal toys to grace the walls of this establishment.
I would love to come here one Saturday afternoon and just get lost for a couple of hours. Pouring through piles and piles of old paperbacks, magazines, and random annuals, pulling out anything that tickles my fancy.
Then I could buy all these knowing I could one day come back and participate in the super cool exchange program they run.
This store is a true find and anyone visiting the Oregon district should take some time to check it out.

Entering into Bonnets book store in Daytons Oregon distric is like walking into a different world. I can imagin that «normal» people could turn and run as soon as they walk in the door but, if you venture no more then 3 feet inside, you will find a wonderland of antique and vintage toys hanging from the ceiling, shelfs, and anywhere else they can be shoved. but the toys are simply a collection of the family that has ran the store since the 30s. The real reason I was in there was for the books.
The store is deep and narrow and the shelfs are stacked to the celing with books of every kind, from nerdy science fiction-​up front, to a huge collection of cookbooks on the backwall. It can be hard to walk around though, as there are stacks of books even on the floor. The place smells amazing, if you like the smell of old book that is.
Being the nerd that I am, I went right for the Sci-​fi Novels and found a Star-​Wars novel (dont you judge me!) that I had been looking for in a few other used book stores. I also found an incredible selection of original Tolken books as well. The book was priced exstreamly fair at about 3 bucks for a paperback. The Owner was also very friendly, chatting about the toys and the history of the store. This is defiently a place to exsplore the next time you are in Dayton, and the oregon district is going on my list of great places for a day trip.

Bonnett’s…I love you. If you were a women you would be a butter face, no doubt, but I’d hit it hard and often and might even make you my boo because you have personality in spades! You’re a real brick house. When the Cramps wrote Bad Girl it was with you in mind. In fact you remind me of a naughty Velma after you’ve gotten her away from all her square douchebag detective buddies. Mmmm, yes. Let me explain. So, you want:
–Vintage plaboys? Check!
–Vintage any kind of pinup mag circa 1930’s from Cavalcades of Burlesque to weird French boobie mags from the same era? Check!
–Smutty BDSM novellas, True Crime novellas, Pulp horror, Conan, Vamperella, Asian Trash Cinema? CHECKKK!
–Mens mags from the early days with covers that have a guy getting attacked by killer minks? CCHHHHEEECCCKKKKK!!!
–Gonzo porn? CCHHEHEHCHCHKCHCKCHCKHCH!!!
–A cook book? Yeah… have them.
–Any book at all? Yup… I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.
They have everything. I’m not even 100% sure there are walls in the store because the place is literally lined with books, magazines, and action figures. They have more than just smut. I mean, that’s what I go there for. But if you love treassures, you love adventures, you need to find old things and take care of them, hell, if you just need to decorate your place with cool shit, BUY STUFF HERE! I have more then a few magazines framed on my walls.
A note:
In all seriousness this place has been open and in the same family since 1939. It’s a wonderful old shop with treassures in every nook and cranny. Everything is priced fairly and the owners are incredibly helpful when it comes to finding whatever it is you are looking for.
I would like this place to be open forever because every time I visit I have to stop in and buy something.

I love this place. I would never want to get stuck inside here at night due to all the creepy dolls and old toys hanging from the ceiling but daytime scavenging in Bonnet’s is fantastic. I don’t really get the store organization but the owner was really helpful and somehow could always point in the right direction. My boyfriend got a lot of awesome pulp fiction here. I was excited about their MASSIVE collection of vintage playboys. Almost every issue since the very beginnings (came out with some awesome loot including a Barbie Benton cover and an issue including Sophia Loren and Anita Ekberg). One of my favorite places on my Dayton visit.