What’s exciting about book hunting in a city like New York is that specialized bookstores are still thriving, even though the heyday of Book Row on 4th Avenue may be long gone.
The following list of independent shops sell every genre from romantasy novels to chilling horror tales, cookbooks, mysteries, LGBTQ+ stories and more. Each one of them is deeply immersed in its community, changing trends, and continuing the city’s long tradition of literacy and learning.
Brooklyn Bookstores
Greenlight Bookstore
📍686 Fulton Street, Fort Greene
Greenlight Bookstore has a delightful story, beginning as a presentation, and ultimate winner of a Brooklyn Business Library Competition in 2007. Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo opened the doors to Greenlight Bookstore at 686 Fulton Street in Fort Greene in October 2009, with overwhelming support from the community. The shop has also partnered with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with kiosks in the lobby of the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House and BAM Harvey Theater, offering books and BAM related merchandise.
Molasses Books
📍770 Hart St, Bushwick
Molasses Books opened in Bushwick in 2012 and has truly become a local hub. The shop was founded by Matt Winn as a place to find used, affordable books – and when you’re done, you can trade your books for coffee. It’s a place to linger, read and chat with your neighbors. The shop offers space for local meetings, holds readings and has a great Happy Hour.
With the new bar helping to pay the bills, Winn, who has a background in literacy from the New School, was able to fulfill a life-long dream of opening his own press.
WORD
📍126 Franklin Street, Greenpoint + 29 McWilliams Pl. Jersey City, NJ
The 1,000 square foot Greenpoint independent community bookstore, WORD opened in 2007. Its goal is to carry the kinds of books its neighbors are looking for, from the classics to cookbooks. In addition, they have a variety of cute cards and stationery.
Books Are Magic
📍 225 Smith Street and 122 Montague Street
Author Emma Straub and her husband, Michael Fusco, filled a bookshop void with the first location of Books Are Magic in Carroll Gardens. Straub, who admittedly spent lots of time at Book Court (which closed in 2016), was also a former employee of the shop. So it is quite fitting that her shop was just a few blocks away, incorporating many of the old wooden shelves from Book Courts interior. Books Are Magic is family friendly, and has a second location in Brooklyn Heights.
Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers
📍218 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg
Located at 218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers opened their doors in 1999 with a wide selection of contemporary art and architecture books and – a little bit of everything else including their cat, curled up in various places throughout the shop. So much a part of Williamsburg, the shop was featured in the HBO’s second season premiere of Girls. They continue an emphasis on imported and hard-to-find books, with a cool corner of vintage educational materials.
Freebird Books
📍123 Columbia Street, Red Hook
Located along the Brooklyn waterfront, Freebird Books first opened its doors in 2004, specializing in New York history and culture. The shop was sold to Peter Miller, a local resident, in 2007, and is known for being the only bookshop running a post-apocalyptic themed book club, complete with a post-apocalyptic costume contest and other related events.
The shop is only open on weekends, but is an active part of the community, sponsoring events, readings, workshops and “Books Through Bars,” a non-profit which helps prisoners nationwide get access to the printed word.
Here’s a Bookstore
📍 1964 Coney Island Ave, Sheepshead Bay
Yes, the name of this shop really is “Here’s A Book Store.” We mentioned to a friend that we were having trouble finding books by a certain author. He suggested “Here’s A Book Store,” who happened to have six used books by that author. So we are adding them to our list.
Founded in 1975 by Sylvia Levy, and now run along with her son, Doron, this Coney Island shop consists of about 80% used books. No toys. No note cards or tote bags. Just books. They were named The Best Independent Bookstore in New York City by the Sunday Daily News.
Manhattan Bookstores
Book Culture
📍 536 West 112th St + 2915 Broadway + 26-09 Jackson Ave (Long Island City) + 28 South Main St (Pittsford, NY)
Book Culture has been owned and operated by Chris Doeblin since 2007, in a Columbia University-owned space on 112th Street, after a previous life as Labyrinth Books which he co-owned since 1997. In 2009, Book Culture opened a second sop on Broadway at 114th Street, a site where there has been a bookstore for more than fifty years. Two more locations outside of New York City opened in 2017 and 2021.
Books Kinokuniya
📍1073 Avenue of the Americas
Kinokuniya opened its doors in Tokyo in 1927, and has since grown to be the largest chain bookstore in Japan. The shop first opened in New York in 1981 in Rockefeller Center, serving the local Japanese community. They made the move to Avenue of the Americas, and a larger space, in 2007, expanding to three floors. Books Kinokuniya is located in ten cities across the United States.
The basement is geared toward Japanese speakers, with books, magazines, DVDs and stationery from Japan;, a second floor with manga titles in English and Japanese, comic books, t-shirts, collectible figures and Cafe Zaiya, selling bento boxes and Japanese pastries; and a first floor filled with books for English speakers that includes an extensive selection of graphic novels, art and design books, cookbooks, travel books, and children’s books. Enjoy Jazz music throughout.
Westsider Rare and Used Books
📍2246 Broadway
Dorian Thornley and Bryan Gonzalez bought the bookshop known as Gryphon Books in 2002, and renamed it Westsider Rare and Used Books to reflect their patrons and interests. The shop is filled with books on every topic, including performing arts books and scores, as well as books on historic New York City. A few years ago, we purchased a pristine copy of Stephen Birmingham’s Life at the Dakota. In addition to the book shop, Thornley and Gonzalez own Westside Records, just a few blocks south of West 72nd Street.
Strand Books
📍828 Broadway + 450 Columbus Ave + 2020 Broadway +
One of New York City’s most famous bookshops, the Strand Bookstore is home to 18 miles of books on multiple levels and even outdoors. The Strand was originally opened by Ben Bass in 1927 on Fourth Avenue’s “Book Row,” which covered six city blocks, and was the home to forty-eight bookstores at one time.
Ben’s son, Fred, moved the store to its current location on Broadway and 12th Street in 1957. Today, Fred's daughter Nancy runs the store, and carry more than 2.5 million new, used and rare books in addition to a variety of literary gifts. The shop also has a rich events calendar.
Alabaster Bookshop
📍122 4th Avenue
Steve Crowley opened the Alabaster Book Shop in 1996, on what was historically known as the 4th Avenue Book Row. Located just around the corner from The Strand, this secondhand bookstore is filled with affordable books, from first edition paperbacks to rare photography books, with plenty of rolling carts filled with two-dollar hardcover books.
The Corner Bookstore
📍1313 Madison Avenue
The owners of The Corner Bookstore purchased the 1890s brownstone as a “handyman special” and opened their doors in 1978. They have thrived in the historic Carnegie Hill neighborhood ever since, with a wide selection of adult and children’s books, a wide ranging calendar of events with scheduled author readings and signings.
Argosy Bookstore
📍116 East 59th Street
Argosy Bookstore holds the title of oldest bookstore in New York City. Founded in 1925 by Louis Cohen, it is today a third generation family-owned shop, specializing in antique maps and prints of the city,as well as many out-of-print and rare books. However you can still find the $1 table outside the shop, and many other reasonably priced books inside.
Printed Matter
📍231 11th Ave
On October 15, Printed Matter, opened its doors to its new location on 231 Eleventh Avenue at 26th Street. Founded in 1976, Printed Matter is a non-profit known for its open submission process which allows artists and indie publishers to submit books for sale in the shop. The bookstore circulates over 32,000 publications annually on behalf of artists and small presses, and in addition, offers support services and activities including art installations, talks, book launches and performances.
MAST Books
📍66 Avenue A
Opened in 2010, MAST Books occupies a small, but well-organized, space in the East Village. The owners’ love of the arts has led them to specialize in used and rare 20th and 21st century books related to art, photography, design, fashion, cinema and even poetry. Despite the constant stream of customers, the books are neatly displayed and all in very good, if not excellent, condition.
The Mysterious Bookshop
📍 58 Warren Street
If you’re interested in crime and suspense, you’ll be in good hands at The Mysterious Bookshop. The shop opened in 1973, specializing in signed first editions, limited editions and rare crime novels. Otto Penzler, the owner, is an editor of mystery fiction in his own right, having won two Edgar Awards, the Ellery Queen Award, and The Raven, which is the highest non-writing award from The Mystery Writers of America. They offer lots of events, including bookclubs.
The Drama Book Shop
📍266 West 39th Street
Founded in 1917 by the Drama League, the Drama Book Shop became an independent store in 1923. Although forced to relocate a number of times, the bookstore was located in a former fabric shop on West 40th Street with a black box theater in the basement for nearly 20 years. Owned by the same family since 1958, the Drama Book Shop was purchased by Lin Manuel Miranda in 2019 along with Hamilton director Thomas Kail and producer Jeffrey Seller, and James L. Nederlander, the president of the Nederlander Organization, and moved to its current location. The shop has long been known as the primary resource for those in the theatre. It carries a huge selection of plays, scripts and other theatrical works.
Revolution Books
📍437 Lenox Avenue
Revolution Books left Chelsea and for Harlem after an Indiegogo Campaign to save the business. With a philosophy based in a new synthesis of communism, they continue to create a place where controversial ideas on science, culture and political morality are not only on their bookshelves, but also in discussions, readings, forums and screenings.
Kitchen Arts & Letters
📍 1435 Lexington Ave
Specializing in wine and culinary themes, Kitchen Arts & Letters first opened in 1983 with customers like Julia Child and James Beard. This is a shop for people who are serious about food and drink. Today, Michelin three-star chefs from around the world frequent the shop in addition to those who just love to cook. They carry a wide range of food history and technical manuals in addition to a plethora of cookbooks. Can’t find a rare or out-of-print book? They will make every effort to track it down for their customers.
Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks
📍28 East 2nd Street
Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks is chock-filled with rare cookbooks, magazines and antique volumes dating back to the 18th century. Even antique vintage kitchen ware is on display. Remember Sardi’s and Patricia Murphy? You’ll also find a collection of volumes about the old and much-loved Manhattan restaurants. There is even a small garden in the back.
Forbidden Planet
📍832 Broadway
Forbidden Planet, named after the Sci-Fi classic of the same name, has been a mainstay in the comic book culture of New York City. The store arrived in New York from Scotland by way of England, changing locations several times within the Union Square area. Forbidden Planet has been on Broadway near 13th Street since 2012 selling books, comics, collectibles, poster and action figures.
Idlewild Bookstore
📍617 Hudson Street + 249 Warren Street (Brooklyn)
Before JFK Airport got its name, the airport was named Idlewild. And so this indie bookshop, that specializes in travel books and language classes, settled upon a name that brought many travelers to our city. Idlewild Books opened its doors in 2008, with the Brooklyn store following in 2012. In 2016, the Manhattan store moved to a new location at Seventh Avenue South and Perry Street. The new street level location has an inviting all-glass entrance into a large front room. In addition, there are two rooms, each with long tables, which will be used for workshops.
Here you will find the latest guidebooks, maps, world literature and intriguing books written in the settings of various countries. The bookcases are all organized by country, and include a wide selection of children’s books in French and Spanish. Language classes are taught at both locations.
Albertine French Bookstore
📍972 Fifth Avenue
Albertine, a French Bookstore and reading room tucked away inside the Cultural Services of the French Embassy on Fifth Avenue and 79th Street. It's one of our favorite hidden bookstores. Inside you'll find more than 14,000 contemporary and classic titles from 30 French-speaking countries. In addition to the reading material, Albertine hosts debates and discussions, conferences, workshops and a bookclub.
It is worth noting that the French books at Albertine comply with French law that states book prices cannot be reduced more than five-percent in an effort to protect French publishers and booksellers.
This Stanford White Italian Renaissance mansion, built between 1902 – 1906, has been the home of the Cultural Services of the French embassy since 1952. See it on our Fifth Ave Gilded Age Mansions tour!
Fifth Ave Gilded Age Mansions Tour
Every Wednesday - Sunday: Admire the extant facades of Millionaire's Row and hear about the scandalous goings-on inside!
Mercer Street Books & Records
📍 206 Mercer St
Mercer Street Books and Records has been at the same location for more than twenty-five years. It is a treasure-trove of out-of-print books, and records, with an occasional new books sprinkled in. We might also mention that in 2011, Mercer Street Books acquired the personal library of the social realist painter and satirist, Jack Levine, who lived not far from the shop on Morton Street.
Books of Wonder
📍 42 West 17th Street
Coming from humble beginnings in a West Village space of about 200 square feet in 1980, Books of Wonder now occupies a huge space with an ever bigger reputation. Books of Wonder is the place to go for children’s books, carrying everything from rare and collectible children’s books to the newest titles. The shop hosts story times, bookclubs, birthday parties and author events. It even has an art gallery where you will find vintage and collectible prints and posters.
Rizzoli Bookstore
📍1133 Broadway
Rizzoli’s is located inside a 5,000 square foot space on the ground floor of the historic St. James building. Specializing in fashion, interior design, architecture and the arts, the shop has been around since 1964 (at different locations). When you go, be sure to take notice of their Fornasetti designed murals.
Dashwood Books
📍33 Bond Street
Dashwood Books is the only independent bookstore devoted entirely to photography, particularly after the Leica Gallery closed. Dashwood Books was founded in 2005 by David Strettell, formerly the Cultural Director of Magnum Photos. The shop specializes in contemporary photography from the 1960s to present and in rare and other out-of-print books.
