Best Of: Brooklyn Bookstores

Before the dawn of the Internet and with it, the ushering in of an era of eBooks, Nooks, and Kindles, the only way to buy a new book was to make a trip to a bookstore. While some may argue that the era of tangible paperbacks is fast coming to a close, independent bookstores are far from losing their appeal—literary culture cannot be felt on Amazon.com. The “customers who viewed this item also bought” section is unlikely to be as precise as the smiling bookstore employee who engages you with an interactive discussion. In an attempt to bring back that tradition, A&E examines Brooklyn’s independent bookstores with their refreshingly colorful shelves of volumes you can actually feel.

Greenlight Bookstore
Located in Fort Greene, Greenlight (686 Fulton St.) has been reviving literary culture in the neighborhood since October 2009. Greenlight keeps its environment simple, housing most books on the traditional wooden shelves that line the walls and stacking some on the more modern white shelves that have become the centerpiece of the store. Greenlight’s staff keeps itself busy with regular poetry readings featuring acclaimed local and national poets as part of the Greenlight Poetry Salon, as well as with discussions with authors and publishers. The bookstore preserves appreciation of the written word and supplements it by making the workings of the publishing industry more approachable to the public.

WORD
The independent bookstore WORD (126 Franklin St.) is dedicated to satiating the community’s literary appetite. This bookstore boasts a large collection of paperbacks and hardcover books that would please both lovers of classics and gourmet food, along with a collection of cute cards for the more aesthetically inclined. WORD also hosts a wide variety of literary events, ranging from intellectual conversations with writers Christopher Bram and Jay Asher, to the more lighthearted “Dirty Words in the Dictionary with Jesse Sheidlower.”

Spoonbill & Sugartown
The owners and staff of Spoonbill & Sugartown (218 Bedford Ave.) pride themselves on the meaningful connections they have built with their customers over the years. A wonderful place for literature majors and history buffs alike, this bookstore has hosted discussions with Damion Searls, translator of “The Journal of Henry David Thoreau,” and McKenzie Wark, who has written on the Situationist International. Their website invites readers to “come for the books and stay for the synth musik,” reminding this writer that bookstores are more than just a place to purchase books. With its soothing environment, Spoonbill & Sugartown can be a welcome escape from the stress of the fast-paced city.

The Community Bookstore
The Community Bookstore (212 Court St., at Warren St.) in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn has a personality that is entirely its own. The bookstore’s interior is reminiscent of the personal library of a very busy, avid reader—the shelves are overflowing with volumes, old and new, and the floors are crowded with boxes of paperbacks with crisp pages and dog-eared covers. The Community Bookstore also features a $1 bin full of great gems and a Mystery Book Swap. Truly dedicated to the community, the bookstore works with the Buy in Brooklyn campaign to support the local economy. Despite being overwhelming at times, this old and new bookstore is the perfect place to go on a “scavenger hunt” for rare finds.