New York City, The Strand

It is definitely my favourite bookstore.
It boasts "eight miles of books", wich I believe it has, and it caters to all interests, from cooking, to military history, to art, to music.
It also has a section dedicated to antique, collectible books, which are obviously more expensive, but just walking around the main store, browsing and inhaling that particularly wonderful 'musty' smell only used bookstores have is, to me, a treat.
One of the great things about the Strand is that you never know what you will find....

I had forgotten to post the address. Here it is.

The Strand Book Store
828 Broadway
New York City 10003
212/473-1452

www.Strandbooks.com

Hey, it sound glorious! I'll have to check it out sometime... I love the "musty" book smell too. I think of it as the scent of books dreaming until the next time they are picked up and read again...

I confess lately I've been going to Borders a lot----> wait, don't turn your nose up at me! I know it can't compare in anyway to "The Strand" as discribed above, but there's a Borders next to my office, so its just ideal to duck in at lunch time and browse the shelves!

Sugeidy

Suge, I go to Borders myself!
It is just that the Strand is in a category all by itself, unlike any other store.
A LibraryThinger friend was here on business about a month ago, and I took her to the Strand. She loved it and went back again by herself before going back home.
There is also another awesome used bookstore in Hastings-on-Hudson, reachable by train, MetroNorth. It is called "Riverrun" and, in my opinion, is well worth the ride from Grand Central. Let me know if you are interested, and I will tell you more about it.

Paola :-))

That sounds great, I'm inspired! I think I'll make a new hobby of visiting all those quaint little books stores around town. There's a bunch in the Village. But definitely, I'll visit Strand and tell you all about it. Thanks!
:D

Sugeidy

This is great to find - I will be in New York City next week on a short trip. Will be staying at the Marriott Marquis across from where Good Morning America is broadcast. Any book stores near there? I will be with a group traveling on a tour bus, but will have a little spare time & would love to check out some bookstrores there.

bookbeat, there are bookstore everywhere in NY (as you can imagine), so you definitely cannot go wrong!
:-))

Oh my!

Anne Fadiman writes about Riverrun Bookshop in Ex Libris!! It's the last essay, titled Secondhand Prose. She claims it had over 300,000 books in it.

Reading her stuff is like getting a letter from an old friend.

Anybody care to do a write-up of Riverrun Books?

By the way, the originator of a message can re-edit a message s/he created -- even the subject line. I mention this because I can sort the messages by the subject line (I'm told), and if done properly, the bookstores would be soretd by geographic region (exactly what bookbeat is looking for now.

Thanks!

What would you like to know about Riverrun?

Oh gee, let's see...
Address, phone number (if you happen to know them). Maybe a landmark in the general vicinity for those who are unfamiliar with the area. Apparently, it's not too terribly far from the railroad station, but I, being unfamiliar with the area, have no idea which direction I would go if I were to arrive by train.

Then maybe a general description of the place, and what makes it special to you (or what you think might make it special for someone else).

For example: If you're REALLY into Art Deco Twinkie Decorating, well, ~this~ place has 4 full shelves dedicated to the subject!!! And they've got a coffee bar that can't be beat!

Maybe the staff is extraordinarily knowledgeable. That would be good to know.

There's a bookstore in Austin, Tx called Book People. I don't know what you might like to know about it, but when I add it in to this site, my guess is that if you're in the area, you'll probably interested in spending a lot of time there.

~That's~ what I'd like to know about Riverrun. Why would I want to go there?

Thanks for asking.

Hi, WHLibrary.

I've only been to Riverrun once - and don't have their info handy - but I can confirm that IS certainly worth a visit. (The owner died last summer - is the store continuing?) In any event, Riverrun probably deserves its own thread here.

But getting back to the Strand (and I'm slapping my forehead for not posting it first - it's probably my favorite 'destination' bookstore on the planet (after Hay-on-Wye, of course...) -

The Strand has a branch downtown, too:

95 Fulton Street (3 blocks east of Broadway)
New York, NY 10038-2803.

And (in nice weather, at least) they have a kiosk on Central Park, at 5th Avenue and 60th Street.

And bookbeat (#6) - Midtown Manhattan is too pricey a neighborhood for the 'destination' bookstores.

There are small storefronts of the 'big box' retailers such as Barnes and Noble, but you can find those at home just as easily.

Hey, AsYouKnow_Bob, you cannot always be first, can you? ;-))

WholeHouseLibrary, since you asked me, I just posted a new topic called "Hastings on Hudson, New York: Riverrun Books".
I hope I was exhaustive enough.
:-))

aluvalibri,
A bookstore that's opepen 24 hours a day! I ~swoon~!!!
Thanks so much!

WHL

No, I guess I was not clear enough. I meant to say that do not even close on important holidays such as Thanksgiving, which, considering it is a small independently owned bookstore, is quite a lot!
Sorry for the misunderstanding and your disappointment...:-(((

The Downtown annex of Strand is only a few blocks from my office, so I occasionally stop in on my lunch break. If you go, definitely check the Fiction Clearance, which are the shelves lining the steps at the entrance, I picked up a couple of trade paperbacks for $1.95 each. There's also a few tables of $1.00 books outside and more in the back of the store near the Fiction section.

This place is huge, with as many books, I bet, as the Borders only a few blocks away.

From what I've observed, pricing on paperbacks tends to be about 50% off for older copies and used copies. New paperbacks seem to be discounted 25% (I was tempted to pick up all of the Murakami titles I don't have at that price). Then you have the clearance specials.

I could easily spend a day here. There's even a cafe next door, Seaport Cafe, though you do have to go outside to get to it.

TheTwoDs, the downtown annex of the Strand also has the advantage of not being as crowded as the main store. I have not been there in a long time (my office is uptown), but I will soon!

Indeed, a terrific bookstore, not quite in Powell's Books class but darned close. I had a fabulous time browsing The Strand, and I found some gems.

Glad to hear that, ostrom!
:-))

P.S. Hopefully, I will be able to visit Powell's in July.