Unfortunately, there aren’t many, or any. The LA Times likes to boast that we are the biggest book market, but it’s not necessarily the case for everyone.
There’s a thrift store called Hope Chest, over on Peck near Lambert, that’s got some books. I thought it was an okay selection, a bit tilted toward religion.
Savers up in Arcadia has a lot of books.
The El Monte library has a pretty big shelf of books for sale, and I thought the selection was pretty decent. I bought a couple things, but wanted to buy around 10 things.
The South El Monte library also has books for sale. Again, quite good. Both will sell during the regular hours. It’s not like some of the fancier libraries where the book sales are run by the Friends of the Library, and hardly ever open up.
If you are looking for an indie store that will have the latest trendy books, you will not find those in El Monte. You might find some “mall bookshop” in a mall, like the Montebello one, or up in Arcadia.