Bookstore Tour, Part II

I reluctantly opted to skip the half-marathon I was supposed to run on Saturday due to a sore foot. There was a silver lining, however; the next three bookstores on my agenda were very close together and wouldn't require too much walking, so I headed down to Soho for the second part of my odyssey.

Soho is a funny neighborhood. The major streets are known for their shopping options, some upscale like Dean and Delucca but mostly featuring middle-of-the-road shops like Aeropostale and Uniqlo. The stores I planned to visit were all down side streets, however, some cobbled, which can get a little more....diverse. On one sidewalk, for example, I nearly ran into two elderly gentlemen who were beside themselves with surprise and joy at having unexpectedly run into each other. A few minutes later I passed a droopy eyed, swaying man flanked by two EMS workers and a few curious onlookers. "Do you take methadone, sir?" one of the workers was asking. New York is indeed a rich tapestry. Or something.

Mercer Street Books (206 Mercer St.)
Purchased: The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker, Tinkers* by Paul Harding, The Book of Salt by Monique Truong, Vera [Mrs. Vladmir Nabakov] by Stacy Schiff, If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi, and Open City by Teju Cole

The first stop on my agenda was the wonderfully cluttered Mercer Street Books. The blog on which I'd first read about this place said that it always played fantastic music and that the shopkeepers didn't care if you sat and read in here for hours. I found the first of those claims to be totally true and the second to be partly true. The soundtrack to the place was a great mix of jazz, upbeat enough to be enervating but soothing enough to make me want to hang out in there forever. The shopkeeper turned out to be a lovely, friendly man, and he told me cheerfully that they closed at midnight, inviting me to stay until then. The store lacked seating, though, so if I'd wanted to stay I'd have had to plop onto the dingy floor. I don't think the owner would have minded, though.

Mercer Street Books is a used book store with a hugely varied collection. The owner told me that people often bring in their books to sell to him, but they get 50% more for their books if they opt to receive store credit instead of cash. Most of the volumes were in great shape and were reasonably priced. Hidden in among the regular books were signed copies, which cost more, but in general the prices were extremely reasonable, especially for older books. A few others wandered the aisles, but the sense of solace, that is uncommon in New York, was pleasant and calming.

The collection is fairly well organized with some pitfalls. It has the typical sections (poetry, literacy criticism, fiction, etc.), though whoever shelves the books isn't always too careful; I found a copy of My Name is Asher Lev in the Autobiography section, for example. (I do not blame the owner for this. When he asked me where I found the biography of Vera Nabokov and I pointed at a cart labeled "Fiction," he tsked at its misplacement.) I found it more fun to forgo the shelves, though, and spent most of my time mining through a dizzying amalgam of books piled on several tables near the front of the store. Five Children and It, a vegetarian cookbook, a periodical collection of short writings from some institution upstate, a volume called Does Jesus Really Love Me?, The Taming of the Shrew, and an Orhan Pamuk novel rubbed spines in happy profusion, and it took a lot of digging to find the real treasures. I wondered whether this was the repository for books that had yet to be sorted.

In addition to its many books, Mercer Street sells records, as well.

For the bargain-hunting browser, I highly recommend Mercer Street. The books I purchased ranged in price from $4 to $8, and even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, you're guaranteed to enjoy the search anyway and probably end up with something you didn't know you needed. (Or six somethings.)

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (126 Crosby)
Purchased: The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (a pen name for Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke) Just Kids by Patti Smith, and In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Stop #2, just a few blocks away, was a shop owned by the Housing Works network of thrift shops. They're all fundraising locations for the organization, whose mission is to assist New York City residents living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS. There are several thrift stores around the city, but as far as I know this is the only bookstore. A generous part of its space is dedicated to tables for patrons of its in-house cafe. I didn't sample any of its fare, but it certainly smelled good. The store itself is welcoming, pleasant, and spacious enough to accommodate the bustling crowd of shoppers. The books are well organized and I found that it was quite fun to browse.  A second story encircles most of the store, forming a horseshoe. Plenty of chairs on this level invite people to sit, read, and watch book-buyers below. All of the bannisters and shelving are made of beautiful, polished wood, which made the whole place inviting.

I'd read that the prices were extremely low, but I didn't find this to be true. Perhaps I was spoiled because I'd started at Mercer Street, but I found the average price of a novel, $7 - $12, to be slightly high for a used book. Then again, I guess one can't make much money or maintain such a pleasant space without charging a bit more. There were plenty of cheaper options - the 50-cent and $1 carts in the center of the floor were packed - but I didn't find too many tempting options there. The staff were friendly and chatted freely with regulars, though they were a bit less talkative to me than the owner of Mercer Street had been. I liked the way people camped out at the cafe tables reading, writing, and chatting over coffee. I also approved of the books on the Staff Picks table, which represented a variety of genres and were written up, by hand, in simply worded, enthusiastic reviews. Overall, it's a cozy, welcoming space with a good selection that I'd be happy to hang out in for hours.

McNally Jackson (52 Prince St.)
Purchased: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi

McNally Jackson is the only standard retail bookstore I visited, evidenced by the paltry number of books I purchased there. (I was going to get only one, but then I found two that were 20% off and viewed it as a divine sign that I didn't have to choose between them after all. It's easy to find divine signs when you want to see them.) After the previous two stops, McNally Jackson felt very polished. It's well decorated with soothing blues and greens and cool glass sculptures. The staff was hip and friendly enough, but they lacked the warmth I found at Mercer Street and Housing Works. Like Housing Works, McNally Jackson also had a pleasant-looking cafe with packed tables; I liked the book sculptures hovering over the heads of those seated there, and the floor-to-ceiling art installation of book pages affixed to the walls was really cool. I found the organization of the store to be intriguing, though I wonder whether it is helpful to shoppers. Adult fiction is divided according to the nationality of the author, so there is a section for American authors, African authors, Latin American authors, etc. Interesting, though I'm sure the staff has to field a lot of questions from customers who aren't sure why they can't find the title they're looking for. The Staff Picks section was a disappointment, largely because it was dominated by recommendations from a pretentious employee named Matthew who was overly wordy and seemed very pleased with himself.

McNally Jackson resides on two floors. The children's section had dedicated shelving for middle grade readers - always a smart move - and a playhouse in its center. I peeked between some shelves to spy a large, boardroom-style table with a group of people in animated discussion, books splayed open in front of them. I don't know what kind of group it was, but I though it was pretty cool that McNally Jackson has a space for meetings of readers and writers. All in all, it's a very pleasant, well-stocked store that is almost certain to have, or to be able to acquire, whatever book one wants. During a time when many independent bookstores are closing their doors, McNally Jackson is doing so well that I read in a recent newspaper article that the owners are opening a new location in Brooklyn soon. It certainly seems to deserve its success.

There are two more stops on my agenda, but I decided to save them for another day. It was raining, my bag was heavy enough, and I had things to do at home. Shopping at independent bookstores is problematic for me because it's easy to excuse myself for buying a lot of things. Every dollar I spend is supporting local merchants, after all, and the struggling publishing houses, too, if I buy new. Staggering out with an armload of books, I tell myself, is the socially responsible thing to do. It's especially easy to lose what little self control I have in used book stores where prices are lower. This tendency likely spells trouble, since my final two stops are both used bookstores. Looks like yet another shelf reorganization to create more space is in my future.

My loot. Bonus: Look carefully at this photo to find a hidden surprise!

*Alas, turns out I already had a copy of this one. Hope I can trade it away on my favorite online used book swap site, Paperback Swap. Or I can sell it back to Mercer Street, though I know that if I go in to drop off one book I'll walk out with three to take its place.