Bookstores of NYC: A Survey of Brooklyn Bookstores
The first week of March, I took a whirlwind trip with my grandmother to New York City. We both were visiting Brooklyn for the first time, specifically to see A Streetcar Named Desire at BAM. But, for the two and a half days we were in the city, I wanted to see as many of the amazing bookstores I've seen on Instagram as possible. This, of course, shattered my book buying ban, but for a good cause. I visited stores across three different Brooklyn bookstores and bought a new book at nearly every store. So here's my diary of a bookstore trip.
Fort Greene(ish)
The Center For Fiction
The Center For Fiction looks as impressive in real life as it does on Instagram with the towering book cases that rise to their extremely high ceilings. It's a sight to behold for any fiction lover. More accessibly, they have a column of staff picks and tables for new fiction (divided by paperback and hardcover) as well as nonfiction. They also, strangely, in my view, have a table of UK editions at the front of the store for books like Long Island and a handful of other titles. I found this to be a bit confusing as we don't get UK titles in the US because rights are often picked up by other publishers for North America or a separate edition is created. It makes me wonder how this particular set-up works, but if you're after a certain UK cover in the US and happen to live in NYC, this could be a good spot to check. All this is to the right of the store as you walk in. To the left there's more nonfiction, cookbooks, the café area (which looks like a dreamy place to write), and the famous machine that spits out a short story on demand. These stories are a lot longer than I expected, and it will give you quite the long scroll of a receipt. The vibe of this space definitely felt a little more aesthetic driven than homey and inviting. But the selection was great with a good mix of bountiful new release tables and a well appointed more backlist fiction section. I'm glad I stopped in, and I could see myself appreciating it more if I'd been able to bring my laptop and stop for a coffee.
Greenlight Books
This one's going on the list of favorite bookshops. Greenlight has more of that warm, inviting feel that I look for in a bookstore with the booksellers accessible and friendly and the store feeling open to inviting you on new literary adventures. Its set-up is much more conventional with fiction bending through the front with a few special tables bleeding into nonfiction and specialized sections like literary criticism and kids books tucked in the back corner. While their backlist collection seemed maybe a bit spottier, the shop was well stocked, and I really liked their specialty tables that were very thoughtfully curated like a large local author's spread and, my personal favorite, the Paul Mescal themed mini table with a photo of Paul in his famous GAA shorts and the title "Anatomy of a Paul." What made this display work is that whoever curated it is clearly both a fan and deeply online as the selection included books that inspired past projects (All of Us Strangers, The Lost Daughter (I'm going to guess they just sold out of Normal People since it wasn't to be found in the Rooney section either)), books adapted in his current projects (Hamnet, The History of Sound), Empire of Rome to represent Gladiator, A Streetcar Named Desire in honor of the play that brought him to Brooklyn, a random book on Ireland, and then the chronically online bit—an Adidas pocket guide and Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. While one might assume he's just another Murakami fan like one Mr. Harry Styles, that hasn't been publicly stated to my knowledge, so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this is an allusion to Paul Mescal's very own urban legend. With the theater where Paul is performing Streetcar just down the road (and Greenlight in charge of running that merch stand), I'd say someone has some top-notch marketing instincts at the store. Also, as far as decoration, I loved the giant blown up book covers that sat on top of the shelves highlighting various authors including Zadie Smith and Brandon Taylor. The entire store radiated with the feeling of, "Wow, someone puts a lot of care into this place."
Cobble Hill
Books Are Magic
Books really are magic. If you're on Bookstagram, you're bound to have seen this mural in shots taken before author events before. I can see why this is a popular bookstore for events and in general. The vibe felt very akin to Skylight Books in LA with a light, airy feeling that struck a balance between the more homey feeling stores and the aesthetically driven ones. There were plenty of curated displays scattered throughout the store featuring staff picks, New York books, a special curated display for Women's Month, and two tables of new and noteworthy fiction and nonfiction. The decent sized poetry collection as well as specific niche sections of nonfiction particularly caught my eye, and I noticed that this store has quite a few classics on the shelves, mixed together with general fiction. The booksellers were super friendly and completed the last checkbox of a really sound indie bookstore. (On a similar note, they have large shelf talkers that give ample room to give thoughtful book recommendations). I also really loved the area surrounding it and could see having a great day choosing a book and then strolling on to a bakery, coffee shop, or bagel shop nearby to enjoy it.
Williamsburg
McNally Jackson
This was the only of the McNally Jackson chain I stopped into and didn't end up spending much time in. It felt a bit more corporate than the other's in design and layout, but there was a giant stationary section as well as a really interesting world literature collection with shelves labeling English and Irish literature, French, German, and so on through a number of different countries and regions. This would be a great bookshop to stop into if you're looking to go on a read around the world journey because it can be hard to pick out where books are set just combing through summaries. I noticed plenty of books that were easily recognizable from the new and noteworthy shelves that I didn't realize were set in other parts of the world, so that was an interesting learning moment simply through the layout of the store. The organization all felt very specific.
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