No elevator, no coffee shop, no Top-40 CDs and no children's playground: Skylight is a bookshop from the days before corporate takeovers.

A San Francisco bookstore in LA? If it weren't for all the film-related titles and the books on tape, it would certainly feel like North Beach. Skylight is a breath of fresh neighborhood air in the corporate-dominated bookstore landscape. The store has a distinctly Eastside feel, with a wide variety of titles on progressive politics and pop culture. Weekly readings and a great selection of 'zines give it community cred, and a wide selection of LA history books attracts SoCal newcomers eager to know more about their new city.