218 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn NY
I’ve heard folks simply refer to this one as Spoonbill Bookshop, but either way this cozy L-shaped literary emporium is chock full of new and used books, and is finely curated to give the shop a distinctly Brooklyn feel. I stopped by on a Wednesday afternoon in early autumn and the shop felt a bit worn and rugged, a bit artsy and edgy, a bit eclectic and on the forward edge of creativity. While you can certainly find bestselling fiction, memoirs, and the usual universal fare of a busy modern bookshop, the store feels highly attuned to the interests of the neighborhood, with lots of books on art, design, architecture, poetry, and underground voices discussing the current pop-culture and social issues of the day.
With its chipped paint cement floor, its track lighting and chandelier, and the piles of boxes of extra stock beneath the shelves and display tables, the store feels uniquely Brooklyn, a DIY-environ where art and the artist is forefront and pristine, consistent aesthetics are less a concern. That’s not to say the shop is disorderly, but there’s a kaleidoscopic feel to the browsing experience. The displays full of books, zines, anthologies, mags, and brawny tomes of art all seem to be working from the outer fringes of modern culture and working their way inward, bringing voices and ideas you may not find in more traditional bookshops in smaller cities and towns.
But for every DIY poetry collection and ten-pound volume on black and white photography, there’s a novel by Sally Rooney or memoir by Zadie Smith. The bookshop spans the distance between the two worlds of traditional publishing and the art-house scene. There’s also a wide selection of sketch pads and notebooks, a children’s corner, books on the occult and tarot, essays and classic lit, and much more stacked onto shelves, tables, cardboard boxes, or neatly lining the floor. Each corner and nook has something to say, something to reveal. It was a fun shop to explore and I highly recommend it if you’re passing through Brooklyn.
Atmosphere — A very Brooklyn indie bookshop, with as much focus on art and design as literature and bestsellers. Books are stacked on tables, on boxes, piled into shelves and displays, but it never feels messy, only overflowing with discoveries.
Quality — Old and new, everything was in nice shape and worthy of display.
Quantity — They have a load of books packed into this one L-shaped room. It feels like a trove but they do a good job of giving browsers space.
Diversity — This shop hits a lot of categories, with plenty of art, design, fiction, poetry, film, music, and other art-focused offerings.
Affordability — The books were all very fairly priced, nothing shocking and some good deals mixed in.
Amenities — There are some stools and gifts for sale. Otherwise, you’re there to browse.
Location — A couple blocks from the Bedford L stop, and 8 or so blocks southwest of McCarren Park.
Overall — A cleverly curated indie bookshop that feels both casual and on the cutting edge of literary offerings, creative explorations, and social evolutions, with books, magazines, guides, texts, histories, and pamphlets on all manner of art, design, music, film, and literary topics. A fun shop to explore!
