Even though I live so closely to Barnes & Noble, and it was my bookstore of choice in Jersey, I can’t bring myself to buy anything there these days…I’m too devoted to The Strand and the Housing Works Used Books Cafe. Not only are the books cheaper, but the stores also have originality. Take the Strand, which features the top 80 favorite books as voted by customers at the front of the store (see the Strand 80 here). But my favorite is the Housing Works Used Books Cafe, which I stumbled upon a couple years ago in SoHo.
I love the bookstore’s spiral staircase to a second level, the cafe where you can read with a coffee and muffin in the back corner…it’s straight out of a movie. And wouldn’t you know, mega movie stars like Gwyneth Paltrow frequent the place and donate their books. (All books are donated and 100% of the proceeds go to Housing Works, the non-profit that provides support and advocacy for New Yorkers living with AIDS and HIV. The staff is unpaid.) Check out Time Out New York’s article on the bookstore’s little-known celeb secret.
Tags: books
July 15, 2008 at 5:07 am
I used to love this place when I was living in New York. In addition to being a great place to find books, it’s a wonderful place to write!