The Advocate

Is Heaven a Used Bookstore?

Spencer Sunshine

Like many graduate students, I spend a lot of time in used bookstores. New bookstores hold little appeal, since you can buy anything online. But I have a hard time walking by a used one without going in, and an even harder time walking out without buying something (which more often than not sits unread on my sprawling bookshelf, unless I skip my class reading for the week and delve into my new purchase immediately). New York City may be poor in good cafes where one can sit all day and read, but it is rich in used bookstores. Here’s my quick & dirty tour of those on my radar – not to be mistaken for an exhaustive guide!

Manhattan:

1. The Strand. The most famous used bookstore in New York happens to also be the worst. Good luck trying to find anything, and it’s always a pain to check your bag while dodging the hordes. They do have good prices on remaindered reference books, and their fiction section is doable, otherwise strictly for the unserious browser. (828 Broadway at 12th St.; 212-473-1452)

2. Alabaster Bookshop. The mirror image of the Strand – small, tidy, and on the other side of the block. A small but well-chosen selection, moderate prices. (122 4th Ave between 12th and 13th; 212-982-3550)

3. East Village Books. They recently relocated down the street from their old space. The new store is beautiful, but the prices are the highest in the city; they regularly charge 75% of the new cover price, and often for damaged books. But a good source for out-of-print Leftist titles. For the high-income bracket. (99 St Marks Place, between 1st and Ave A; 212-477-8647)

4. 12th Street Books. I only discovered this store this year, but it immediately became my favorite. Huge collection of scholarly works, good selection in all areas, and very cheap prices. Don’t know how they do it. And there’s a cheap Mexican place across the street to grab a bite while you peruse your new purchase. (11 E 12th St. b/t 5th Ave and University; 212-645-4340)

5. Street Vendors Across from NYU’s Bobst Library.
In NYC you can sell books and periodicals on the sidewalk without a special vendors license, and quite a few booksellers take advantage of this by setting up tables at various places across the city. The best, however, is in front of the NYU library, on the block southeast of Washington Square Park. Good selection, decent prices and haggling oportunities await you.

Brooklyn:

6. Seventh Avenue Books. Practically across the street from a Barnes & Noble, this bookstore has a decent selection and very cheap prices with high turnover. A good place to pick up a cheap novel and see if there’s a tasty bite sitting around elsewhere for you. I always find something worthwhile here. (Park Slope, Brooklyn; 300 7th Ave; b/t 7th and 8th; 718-840-0188)

7. Park Slope Books. A much more scholarly collection than Seventh Avenue Books, but much higher prices. One of the only used bookstores I’ve been in that regularly gets anarchist titles in. But high prices and low quality-control: the binding of more than one book I’ve bought here has split. (Park Slope, Brooklyn: 200 7th Ave. b/t 2nd and 3rd; 718-499-3064)

8. Clovis Press Books. Bookstores often come with familiars – in this case, the store is named after the owner’s (sadly, recently deceased) dog. Good selection and high turnover, but also high prices. But they also carry new books, small-press radical texts, magazines, and tasteful trinkets such as fair-trade coffee. Much nicer since they redesigned the interior of the store. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn: 229 Bedford Ave.; 718-302-3751)

9. Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers. Across the street from Clovis, S&S is much larger. Interesting
collection of philosophy texts, art and architecture books and remainders. For some reason I have found a lot of Situationist books in here. For hip architects and
designers. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn: 218 Bedford Ave;
718-387-7322)