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. A bit worn, a bit artsy, 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 modern voices discussing the current social issues of the day.
Read more266 W 39th Street, New York, NY
As one may have guessed from the name of the bookshop, this one focuses on all things dramatic, from plays and scripts to books examining the world of film, television, theater, acting, directing, writing music and writing for the stage, and much more. Not only is this the perfect bookshop to accompany NYC’s nearby theater district, but it’s the perfect place to hang out on a rainy afternoon, which is how I discovered the shop.
Read more1313 Madison Ave., New York, NY
This shop has been on my list for a long time, and I saved it for a special occasion. You see, I frequently travel to the upper east side area of NYC from upstate NY for cancer tests and treatments at Sloan Kettering, and sometimes after I leave an MRI or CT/PET scan, I’m exhausted, shaken, and feeling really low. So after a particularly hard morning of scans, I decide it was time to treat myself. I wandered over toward the Carnegie Hill neighborhood as the aftereffects of my valium wore off, and I sat myself down inside this shop for a bit, taking in its simple beauty. It’s only one room, but with its excellent selection and a subtle classiness that matches the neighborhood, it’s the perfect shop to have “right around the corner.”
Read more1 Bleecker Street, NY
When I lived in New York City, one of my favorite neighborhoods for bar hopping and hanging out was the Bleecker Street/Bowery area, and during a recent pandemic-era visit (when I also discovered my favorite dive Bleecker Street Bar had closed, alas), I stumbled across this sliver of a bookshop. Though it might be small, it packs a punch and it’s worth checking out if you’re in the area.
Read more34 Carmine Street, New York, NY
Separated by more than 18 months and a worldwide pandemic, I finally returned to New York City this June to scour for more bookshops. It was both awkward and a relief, roaming the streets and subways packed with people after having to avoid them for so long, but to do so vaccinated allowed me to enjoy that golden hour magic in early evening Manhattan, the neon just beginning to glow, the sounds of music from boomboxes in small west village parks, the rose-gold hue of the sky as the sun sets into New Jersey horizons across the Hudson. And it allowed me to discover the eclectic and wallet-friendly Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Bookstore, a throwback to a more defiant artistic culture one doesn’t always find in a city full of shallow Instagrammers and fleece vest-wearing finance bros. In fact, finding this shop felt like a perfect return to the unique experience that is book browsing in one of the greatest literary cities in the world.
Read more18 West 18th Street, New York, NY
If you’re in New York City and you’re looking for a new or classic children’s book, or you’re simply looking to take a trip down Nostalgia Boulevard, you’d be hard pressed to find a better shop than Books of Wonder. I stopped by this branch on a rainy Wednesday afternoon after running around the city all day, and it offered a very enjoyable half hour of respite from the downpour.
Read more72 Avenue A, New York, NY
While browsing around online for bookshops on the lower east side of Manhattan, I saw this one pop up not far from Tompkins Square Park, where I figured I could take a break and read in the shade with an iced coffee. Not a bad one-two punch. So I cut my way over from the Union Square area where I’d been visiting two old favorites, Alabaster and Strand Books, and I eventually came upon this minimalist shop. It reminded me of a bookstore for an art gallery, one that straddles chic and experimental, and it used a lot of open/white space to offset its artistic and avant-garde collection.
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