Kepler’s Books

I’m really glad Kepler’s continues on, with a very good selection of books, quick turnaround when ordering a book to being called to pick it up in the store when a staff member calls to say the book is in.
I do miss the larger selection of magazines they used to have, and a gargantuan children’s section that is now smaller. However, Kepler’s lives on, and has a lot going on with the author events they hold regularly. It is conveniently located, with easy parking down in the parking garage, and who couldn’t resist going next door to Borrone’s Café for a bite to eat.
I’m only giving four stars, because the selection is smaller than it used to be, but as far as independent bookstores go, it’s really good. I feel it offers so much more than a chain bookstore.

I have been going to this bookstore since I was 12 back in 1991. I’m almost 38 now, time flies!!! I still remember taking the sam trans bus in front of the shop on El camino real to go home to Belmont. Great, spacious store with a huge selection, and wonderful staff. I miss you keplers and san mateo county. I met the love of my life nearby at CHC children’s health council middle school. Ricardo I love and miss you, we will be together again. It’s me Samantha, I’m trying to find you. My mom said you came by her apt. in Belmont sep.5 2013. I’m in sacramento now, where are you!!! Oh yeah, and keplers rocks!!!

4 ½ Stars
Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park is a lovely, funky, upscale book emporium — very Silicon Valley-​ish.
I had the pleasure of spontaneously walking into Kepler’s today at 12 noon, two minutes before an Internet radio broadcast was about to begin. At first, I thought it was an author speaking about their newly published book. Instead, it was a rather famous radio show host, Angie Coiro, interviewing world famous photographer, David Burnett; part of a series called «In Deep with Angie Coiro.»
It was a very meaningful experience for me. I learned a lot, got some ideas for my novel writing, and was entertained. I felt as if I witnessed something special.
This gave me the feeling that this bookstore will have more events that I will like to go to.
I didn’t look around the whole store in depth, but I did find the «metaphysical» section and was not impressed. Not more than one row of shelves were stocked with this genre — disappointing, especially because that is what I write.
Still, I liked this bookstore, and since it is next to one of my favorite coffee shops, Café Borrone, I will definitely be back.
Not to mention, this business appears to be named after Johannes Kepler, one of the most famous mathematicians and astronomers in history. .. nice, cool, out of this world!
Review 0164
Feel.

I went to a wonderful event. I’m so thankful that Kepler’s brings great speakers in and book signings. We are all so lucky to have this fabulous bookstore.

Great bookstore. I went to an author talk there which was just outstanding. My only complaint is that there are no chairs where you can sit and look at the books

I always love this bookstore. Lots of good books!

I won’t be going to this bookstore anymore because it’s not kid-​friendly. There is a children’s corner but the staff and manager hover and complain when kids take a few books off the shelves. At least give me a chance to put them away before complaining. I’ve been a couple times but today will be the last time. We were there no more than 5 minutes and the manager rudely griped at my husband and me because our 3 and 4 year olds had several books around them while reading on the floor. We picked them up and immediately left. There are plenty of other kid-​friendly bookstores in the area where I would rather spend my time and money. If you don’t welcome kids, don’t have a kids section in your store.

I’ve shopped here a few times since I’ve lived in Menlo my entire life and it was my attempt to support a small business. Their options are pretty slim; however, my biggest complaint is their customer service. I was completely ignored by two employees the entire time I was being rung up. They weren’t young teenagers either (I say this because this is the kind of behavior you might expect from teenagers). Because of this experience and because I’ve never really had a good experience at all, I’m now a big customer of Barnes & Noble. Their associates are always friendly and helpful and even got me hooked on being a member!

This is one of the few remaining book stores around Menlo Park. I have wasted so many hours reading books here!

A Menlo Park Landmark!!! Great staff, cool events and of course, lots of good books! Met a couple of ladies that work there and gave me a tour of the place and it is wonderful. Hoping to do a book reading and signing soon!

Kepler’s Books is a genius destination in Menlo Park. It’s where the Grateful Dead started out. They have a wonderful selection of used books, along with selections of religion/​philosophy and fantasy/​science fiction. You’ll want to spend hours here even when your meter is running out. It’s that kind of place. While Powell’s City of Books is indeed a city, Kepler’s is a smart corner of Silicon Valley. A great place to browse and buy books. Great place to while away the time.

A few weeks ago I had the honor of meeting and hearing Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One and scriptwriter for Fanboys, talk about his life and his new book Armada. Since this isn’t a review of Ernest Cline himself, who I could rave about for hours, I’ll keep it focused on the experience.
Kepler’s did a really good job of keeping this event organized by having a sign up online in order to attend. My boyfriend and I… not so good at reading all the info on Facebook events. They sign up ran out of space, but when he called morning of the event, they assured him if we got there early enough there was always no shows and we’d be fine.
You have to buy the book there which is pretty standard. They don’t even mark up the price at all despite the pricelessness of the experience you’re getting.
BF queued up around 4:30 and about 30 minutes before the start they allowed us to start filing in and were strict about not leaving seats so as many people could fit as possible. We got to listen to the author speak for maybe an hour and then they opened the floor for questions. Two staff members went around giving the mike to people so there was never any dead time between questions waiting for the author to pick someone.
After that they had us get up row by row to get our books signed. Kepler’s was efficient and had us write who we wanted the signing addressed to on post-​it notes for Ernest and their staff members took pictures of us while Ernest was signing.
Wonderfully, positive experience!
Tip: These things can take a long time. I wish I had grabbed a slice of pizza or a sammich from the place next door to bring in since food is allowed,
Also, that area is pandemonium traffic wise around 5−6Pm when people get off work. So much honking! I passed it all and parked at the caltrain station which wasn’t far at all.

Super cute neighborhood bookstore! Tons of new books come in every week and they host authors to come talk about their books. Always supporting local shops

I’m biased! I love this store and spend a lot of time here. If you are looking for a deep selection of books on just about any topic there is no other place like it in Silicon Valley. The staff know their books and I get great recommendations on what’s worth picking up.
And, the author events!!! It is the busiest calendar of any bookstore I’ve ever met. Its a must to be on Kepler’s email newsletter. So very cool to meet Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, retired senator and LGBT rights advocate Barney Frank, actor James Franco (now that was a trip!), and tons of beautiful, lovely people with a much greater mastery of words than I have here.

The most perfect independent bookstore in all the land. Customer service puts Ritz-​Carlton to shame.

Kepler’s Books rocks! Not only was there a parking garage with an ample amount of available spaces, but the sales associate was extremely friendly and helpful, and the shop had a great selection. She took the time to search for a specific and unique book I wanted and gave excellent instructions on where to locate the book. I was so glad to learn that Kepler’s had the book in stock. I don’t write many reviews, but I thought this experience was so customer friendly, it was worth writing a great review.

Kepler’s is the epitome of independent bookstores. I have to been to multiple events this store hosts and every one has been excellent. The staff is always friendly and courteous — not too mention knowledgeable about everything books (which is sometimes hard to find, even in a book store)
The space is quite big giving you plenty of room for browsing. And the set up of the store feels so welcoming. Even though I live in Capitola, I have no problem driving all the way out there for events and just a chance to talk with some of my favorite booksellers!

I love all bookstores, and I especially love how this one was small, cute, and had such sweet workers. They were over the top in helping me hunt down books after the Garth Nix and Michael Grant book signing.
I found this store in Menlo Park because I’m a huge fan of Garth Nix and I was so excited to hear that he was visiting the Silicon Valley to do a book signing. His new book, Clairel, finally came out after years of the other books in the series. I was so excited and when I came in, the employees of Kepler’s books were just so sweet in seating my friend and I. After the talk and during the signing, they were running around giving us the best hospital help that they could. They also had the books that I’ve been looking for in bigger bookstores, which I appreciate. I would definitely come back here if I’m around the area.

What a gem!
The air inside the store resonates with love for the written word. From the moment I set foot inside, I could tell that I was in the presence of many, many, many book lovers. From the extensive selection of (excellent) staff recommendations to the countless little staff-​penned descriptions and notes posted about the shelves, I knew I was in good company.
That, to me, is the best thing about visiting a family-​run bookstore. It has character. It has heart, and depth, and opinions. You can get into an honest conversation about literature with one of the employees (curators?) or one of your fellow patrons. Everybody I interacted with at Kepler’s was friendly, knowledgeable to the point of sagacity, and exceedingly helpful.
I’m thrilled to have found Kepler’s, and I’m certain I will be spending more than a few rainy afternoons there. Assuming we ever have rain again…

Wow, what a wide range of reviews :-)Some reviewers seem to be pretty cranky…
I was really impressed with wide selection of meditation, coffee table and cookbooks. Basically I Went to Santa Cruz Bookshop and Logos in search of a book and Keplers had all 3 treasures I was seeking. Good job book buyer and staff, I’m glad you’re still in Menlo Park.

I used to be pretty loyal to Books, Inc. in Palo Alto, but after discovering Kepler’s, I feel my allegiance shifting. It’s the kind of bookstore that just has that special pixie dust in the air and you just know you could easily spend half a day there rifling through the collection. They have tons of interesting and useful categories, in addition to copious staff recommendations scattered throughout the store. My absolute favorite thing about physical bookstores is their sense of delight and discovery; Kepler’s has that in spades and makes it easy for readers to find books that would have never otherwise crossed their minds.
While I haven’t yet been to an event at Kepler’s, I really appreciate that they seem to have a wide variety and deeply care about developing their community.
I can’t wait to go back once I dig myself out from under my ever-​increasing stack of to-​be-​read books.

This is a great little local bookstore conveniently located next to the delicious Café Borrone. The staff writes handwritten notes on the books they recommend explaining what they like about them, which is cute. Every time I go in there everyone is very friendly. They have a really great selection but the store is small enough to be easy to navigate and not overwhelming and I like just browsing around. In particular, they have a really fantastic travel section — I could spend days looking at just that section. Unfortunately, it is a lot more expensive than buying online from the big retailers — and not just a dollar or so per book, some books are 30−40% more expensive.

I’ve been coming to Kepler’s since I was a kid. I used to spend hours picking out books with my mom and dad and making final decisions over which ones to buy with my sister.
It is a great bookstore with a good selection. It has changed quite a bit over the years to keep it running. Yes it is a bit more expensive than buying online, but it feels good to support community. I love coming in to look (and buy) cookbooks. I collect them and am always looking for new ones to add to the collection.
Parking can be bad at times because of other places in the complex like Café Borrone, but it is pretty easy most of the time.
Kepler’s hosts cool events and I need to get better about checking their schedule.

Wonderful bookstore. It’s one of those bookstores that you can just get lost in looking for your next good read. Great selection of books! They even have children’s books and magazines. The store is very well organized and the staff is very nice and helpful. Prices are reasonable and the place is well-​kept and clean.
Free parking at the garage underneath.