Books, Inc. dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned and rebuilt, finally becoming Books, Inc. in 1948. A nice little family store, Books, Inc. is the San Francisco version of a "big chain store" – it boasts seven stores in the Bay Area alone. Nonetheless, Books, Inc., remains an independent bookstore in the sense that it carries a diverse, quirky selection of books and helps create a literary community within the Bay Area.