What are your favorite bookstores?

General
#21

In NYC, Bluestockings is pretty hard to beat (+1 to @warshawshaw’s mention of it above!) Smaller selection, but major “quality not quantity” situation. It’s probably my favorite bookstore. I also think that staff picks at McNally Jackson are really on point; I’ve found a ton of great reads that way (I assume most people already know about that one, though).

In Boston, Harvard Bookstore (no official affiliation with the school, as far as I know) is really good. Lol, in linking to it I noticed they have “Harvard.com” – nice. Porter Square Books is also pretty solid, and has a sweet little cafe. And The Trident, which is a decent bookstore and cozy bar/cafe – have spent many hours drinking a coffee or glass of wine and reading at the bar there.

In Montreal, Drawn and Quarterly is a ton of fun to wander around.

And if anyone ever finds themselves in Boulder, CO (my hometown!), Boulder Bookstore is well-worth a visit. Nothing earth-shattering, but a bunch of cozy nooks to read, friendly and knowledgable staff, and a decent selection of new and used books (they put them together on the shelves, as opposed to a separate “used” section, which I think is pretty nice).

1 Like
#22

+1 to Molasses for sure. They always have a strange selection, and often house strange real characters that seem pulled from the books they are reading.

Also kind of in the neighborhood is nice bookstore called Human Relations. Their description describes it best: “WE ARE BRINGING YOU THE BEST QUALITY USED FICTION, PHILOSOPHY, FILM, FOREIGN LANGUAGE, PULPY NOIR, HISTORY, ART, SCIENCE, FOOD, DRAMA, AND PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ELSE”. I walk by it regularly and they often have weird Jodorosky books, foreign graphic novels, and anarchic propoganda. It’s fantastic.

Also surprised it took until @emilycarlin but McNally Jackson was on of my first New York loves and I still love it so much. As said, their staff picks are impeccable, and lead me to John Williams’ Stoner and Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai.

1 Like
#23

Hey all just quick FYI, tomorrow is indie bookstore day!

Looks like this has been a thing for a few years now, taking place on the last Saturday in April. Of course any day is a good day to visit your local bookstore, but certain stores have special events tomorrow; see the map on the site for ones participating :slight_smile:

http://www.indiebookstoreday.com/