A Peek into my Brooklyn Book Crawl
Happy almost-Independent Bookstore Day!
One of my favorite things about living in Brooklyn is the annual week-long Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl, where you can earn a 25% off coupon after visiting five or more of the 26 participating independent bookstores across Brooklyn. So this past weekend, on a gloriously sunny Sunday, a friend and I set out on our own book crawl armed with sturdy tote bags, comfortable shoes, and a very loose shopping list.
We started at Terrace Books, a charming bookstore on the edge of Prospect Park that has a small but well curated selection and all sorts of cute touches. I’d recommend pairing a trip here with a trip to Ladybird Bakery, maker of possibly the best Brooklyn Blackout cake in the city. Terrace has a real neighborhood bookstore feel and some of my favorite bookmarks from a New York City bookstore: well designed and with a satisfying heft to them. On this trip, I picked up Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory, a sapphic romance set in Napa Valley that’s on my summer TBR.
From there, we went on to the Cobble Hill location of Books Are Magic, the Emma Straub-owned bookstore that has a stellar events lineup, the best merch, and a plethora of signed books. (Every author who comes to New York seems to stop by Books are Magic and rightly so.) Books Are Magic also has an excellent kids’ section, including a whole section’s worth of NYC-themed books. I am dying to gift the Broadway leading lady-themed ABCs to someone I know with a child. I bought The Californians by Brian Castleberry, a novel spanning a hundred years and three generations of ambition and art, and Fifteen Wild Decembers by Karen Powell, a novel about Emily Bronte that promises some stunning descriptions of the Yorkshire moors. We’d just been to Liz’s Book Bar on Smith, a new bookstore and wine bar, so we skipped it on this book crawl but it could be an excellent addition if you’re doing a Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens-focused afternoon.
Our next stop was the Downtown Brooklyn location of McNally Jackson, the NYC mini-chain that has a bit of everything but especially shines when it comes to international fiction. I always find something at a McNally Jackson that I’ve never heard of, whether that’s a title in translation, something from a small press, or a forgotten modern classic. My favorite location is the Seaport but the Downtown Brooklyn location pulls off the impressive feat of rising above its mall-ish location to be a sprawling yet cozy warren of books. One of my favorite features is the maps they have of each level. Here I got Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, after really enjoying Wild Dark Shore; Don’t Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo, a follow-up to my beloved The Chosen and the Beautiful; and A Big Storm Knocked It Over by Laurie Colwin, to continue my Colwin journey.
Next was the Center for Fiction, with their impressively photogenic bookshelves stretching up towards the ceiling. Here I’m obliged to note that as much as I admire their shelves, I do find it slightly difficult to reach anything at the top of the shelves. But it’s a particularly nice destination for literary fiction, with an accompanying cafe, and I was delighted to spot a display of British imports on this visit. I bought a lovely edition of Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym, whose works I’ve been steadily making my way through. (I would highly recommend getting the British editions of anything by Barbara Pym, since they tend to be much nicer than the US ones. Virago Modern Classics makes wonderful ones.) Greenlight Bookstore is just a five-minute walk away from the Center of Fiction, so that was our obvious next stop. It’s a particularly nice bookstore for browsing, with a spotlight on independent presses, a pleasingly windy layout, and (at last!) a full romance section. Obviously I had to buy a romance here and I picked up When I Think of You by Myah Ariel, because I can’t resist a Hollywood-set romance. I also bought Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin and The Colony by Annika Norlin, which first came on my radar from Michelle at Literary Leanings. Their sister stationery store Yours Truly is right next door and is a pure joy to browse.
Our final two stops were in Greenpoint: Word Bookstore and Archestratus Books + Foods, which specializes in vintage and new cookbooks. I’m especially fond of Word, a small, sunny bookstore where we met a very good dog and I got Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie, a romance about a woman on a literary bus tour across the UK. Word also was the undisputed champion of the Brooklyn Book Crawl passport, with multiple doodle options available for their square. Besides cookbooks, Archestratus offers spices, many a food-themed gift, and an in-store cafe. I, eternally susceptible to the lure of a cookbook, bought a new baking book. (Signed by the author!) I returned home with a 25% off coupon, a tote bag overflowing with books, and the satisfaction of a day well spent.
Let me know what bookstores you’re planning to visit on Independent Bookstore Day in the comments!
Currently reading: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins, as I continue my mission to read more romance classics.
Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:
Two excellent stops from the book crawl
Bien Cuit in Cobble Hill, home of perfectly flaky French pastries.
Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop, for classic, deeply satisfying pizza.
I dabble very carefully in Black Mirror but did really enjoy both “USS Callister” and “USS Callister: Into Infinity”, especially because of the wildly talented Cristin Milioti. If you haven’t seen Palm Springs, the time-loop romantic comedy she made with Andy Samberg, I would highly recommend.
So fun, Natalie! It looks, and sounds, like the perfect bookstore crawl day. Lovely!
This was so fun, thanks for taking us along! I love seeing bookstores and what people shop for. I loved Books Are Magic when we were down in the city a few years ago.