6. Bluestockings (Allen Street and Stanton Street)

Bluestockings is fully stocked with activist literature and books that address such issues as gender roles, democracy, capitalism, and racism

Appropriately situated in the Lower East Side, Bluestockings is a bookstore dedicated to activism of all sorts. Walk into this store, and most days, you’ll see thoughtful New Yorkers thumbing through feminist texts or hanging out and discussing the inequalities of the current capitalist system while they wait for their organic, free trade, or vegan coffee from the cafe. At night, though, the place is a hub for all kinds of literary events–film screenings, talks, readings, open mics, knitting circles, book clubs–you name it, and Bluestockings probably has it. According to their website, Bluestockings has at their core the desire “to create a space that welcomes and empowers all people.” Makes perfect sense to us, and we love to hang out in this haven of intellectual discussion and universal acceptance.