Our bookroom, Ourshelves: a lending library in Viracoche is stoking a reading boom

GUARDIAN PHOTO BY CAITLIN DONOHUE

Ourshelves, Located inside Viracocha, 998 Valencia, SF. (415) 705-9950, Facebook: Ourshelves

OTHER NEW BOOK HAVENS

2 SISTERS BAR AND BOOKS

A wholesome menu of harvest pie, savory bread pudding, and local brews draws happy hour diners, and during the day this skinny restaurant's the perfect spot for a coffee and a tome snatched from one of the shelves that line its walls. Two actual sisters dreamed up the spot as a cross between Parisian bars, Brooklyn DIY restaurants, Viennese coffeehouses, and something totally different. A "books and booze club" meets monthly to tipsily discuss treatises like Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld (November's selection).

579 Hayes, SF. (415) 863-3655, www.2sistersbarandbooks.com

ALLEYCAT BOOKS

Outdoor fixin's are wondrously un-cute — lime green paintjob over the old Wizard Smoke Shop signage — but inside the newest member of Kate Rosenberger's bookstore family (which includes Dog Eared Books) is more than cozy. Vintage pulp novels lounge by the counter, new and used titles are arranged fetchingly throughout, and the back area's construction zone (at the time of the Guardian's visit) promises to be converted shortly into an area for gallery showings, readings — maybe even ping-pong between pages?

3036 24th St., SF. www.dogearedbooks.com

OWL CAVE BOOKS

Dates for this traveling pop-up shop's next incarnation aren't set, but we do know it will take place at Mission Street nonprofit SF Camerawork, will feature film screenings, and if its last turn at the 667 Shotwell gallery is any indication, a lot of contemporary art books from around the world.

owlcave.blogspot.com