good morning, friends!
today i am off to new york city for 48 hours. in addition to seeing a dear friend and getting lots of work done, i have one priority: a few hours at the strand bookstore.
in case you've never been, strand books is a huge store filled with overstock, used, rare, and out-of-print books... in other words, heaven on earth.
when i was in college and living in downtown manhattan, i used to roam around the store for hours: smelling the old books, flipping through literary anthologies and looking for hidden gems.
i haven't been back in ten years, (let's ignore how old that makes me...) and i can't wait! now, if only i had an adorable little book nook like the one above to enjoy my books when i come home...
now tell me, do you have a favorite book store? if so, where is it and what do you love about it? i'd love to hear.
(photo credit: the selby, via sfgirlbybay)
today i am off to new york city for 48 hours. in addition to seeing a dear friend and getting lots of work done, i have one priority: a few hours at the strand bookstore.
in case you've never been, strand books is a huge store filled with overstock, used, rare, and out-of-print books... in other words, heaven on earth.
when i was in college and living in downtown manhattan, i used to roam around the store for hours: smelling the old books, flipping through literary anthologies and looking for hidden gems.
i haven't been back in ten years, (let's ignore how old that makes me...) and i can't wait! now, if only i had an adorable little book nook like the one above to enjoy my books when i come home...
now tell me, do you have a favorite book store? if so, where is it and what do you love about it? i'd love to hear.
(photo credit: the selby, via sfgirlbybay)
my favorite bookstore is blackwells in oxford, uk. it's so cozy and warm. i could sit in there for hours upon hours.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I wish I did. Dallas doesn't have anything cute like that. I have actually fallen in love with my local library :)
ReplyDeletePowells! Portland Oregon. TONS of used and new books in an old building downtown. I could spend all day there :)
ReplyDeleteI love all the used bookstores in Brattleboro, Vermont. There's not much better than cozying up and getting lost in a book store!
ReplyDeleteHave fun in NYC xx
My favorite book place is in Harrisburg, Pa. It is a newly renovated movie theater that now houses the Midtown Scholar Bookstore. They did such a lovely job fixing a dilapidated building and it holds lovely books. And they even have folk music concerts. I could not be more pleased.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of your next 48 hours - it sounds fantastic! I've never been to (or heard of) The Strand when I've gone to NYC, I'll have to check it out next time. My favorite bookstore is pretty generic, Barnes & Noble. But I love browsing used bookstores when I come across them. On my most recent trip to San Francisco my bf and I went to City Lights bookstore which was very fun. Highly recommend. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteone of my favorites is Politics and Prose in DC. have a great trip!
ReplyDeletei love half price books--cheap cheap cheap...and it smells all musty and of old books. :) love that smell. we've been to city lights, too...which was a lovely stop along our San Fran way.
ReplyDeletethat is a lovely book nook and the strand sounds dreamy...my favorite bookstore here is paperbacks plus; it's a little place with old wooden floors and books and records out the wazoo. my favorite thing about it is the plethora of old records; the way they smell and how i can sit there for hours looking through them :)
ReplyDeletehave fun in new york!!
My favorite bookstore is the Brookline Booksmith in MA. Downstairs is full of gently-loved used books and upstairs has everything else, usually on sale. Plus there's coffee and an old theatre next door. You can't go wrong spending a day in Coolidge Corner :)
ReplyDeleteIf you love Strands you will LOVE Powell's Books in Portland, OR! You could spend allll day in there. They have every book imagineable, new, used, collectibles... So awesome! I live across the street from it! Such a great neighbor haha
ReplyDeleteMy favorite bookstore is Bookpeople in Austin, TX. I used to live in Austin, and some days I would just go there to have a cup of tea and flip through books or magazines. They have a huge selection!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, I wanted to open up a used book store that had a cafe....someone else got to that concept before me. I adore any bookstore - but prefer the tiny, cozy independent bookstores...Have fun, that is true bliss being in a bookstore for hours! :)
ReplyDeleteOhhh I'm so jealous! I could spend hours in a bookstore and I've never been to the strand!
ReplyDeleteyes! it's called blue bicycle books and its amazing! actually very similar to this one- it has used, rare, and local books. and it's so charming! have fun in ny!
ReplyDeleteMaple Street Bookstore in uptown New Orleans! It's in this cute little creole cottage and has been open since the 1960s.
ReplyDeletemy favorite bookstore is my husband's massive collection of books. he's an english masters student, and we have the same taste in books so usually when he's done a really good one i'll snatch it up! and my book nook is a really old ikea arm chair which i put outside on my balcony, with pillows and a fleece blanket. when it rains, i love to sit out there for hours and read. ahhh :)
ReplyDeleteBy far my fav is The Coop in Harvard Square. I can (and have) spent hours there. I love the way the books are grouped on tables here and there...it makes it easy to find the "just right" book and I have discovered many of my favorite reads here. No trip to Boston is complete without a visit.
ReplyDeleteO I love books, reading, looking, idea gathering...
ReplyDeleteHave fun in NYC! My fave book shop is Pulp Fiction, here in Vancouver. All kinds of new and vintage books. I love the smell of these types of book shops!
ReplyDeleteyep, Powell's here in Portland. I *think* i remember hearing it's the largest bookstore in the US? We're talking humoungous! Tho, Strand is pretty fantastic too!
ReplyDeleteI have two: Powell’s in Portland. It’s ginormous! And Shakespeare & Co. in Paris. Floor to ceiling books and the store itself is steeped in history — so cool.
ReplyDeleteI love strolling through old book stores...there is a very cute one in New Hope, PA!
ReplyDeleteClearly no where near Powell's ...... but if you are ever stranded in Salt Lake City Sam Weller's is the place to go!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderfulblog on a book lover's paradise. I was 16 years old and walked into a J.L.Hudson store into their (at the time, VERY large) book department, and didn't come out for 6 hours. I was happy, exhausted, energized, inspired and couldn't wait to return again.
ReplyDeleteI love the Strand! Hope you have a wonderful weekend in NYC!! I just got myself Stumblings on Happiness after your recommendation! I can't wait to start reading it! :)
ReplyDeleteDoesn't that nook just look so cozy and comfortable?! We have an awesome book store in Columbus, OH that is a giant 3 floored maze of 32 rooms (the book loft), all filled to the brim with discounted books. There are so many little nooks and crannies...and every visit is always an adventure!
ReplyDeletei could sit in there for hours upon hours.
ReplyDeleteWork from home India
oh wow... i miss Strand Books so much... i went there when i visited New York a couple of years ago - I bought heaps of books .... but to be able to go there every day ... i would so love that... it makes me miss New York even more....
ReplyDeletesmell a book for me please?
I agree with what everyone else is saying Powell's in Portland, Oregon is AMAZING!!! I spent an entire day there when i was on vacation last summer and didn't even begin to get through all the books i wanted to see. Sadly, i live in Indiana so i have to get my fix of Powell's when i visit my roommate from college.
ReplyDeleteI love books and I love to read. That book nook looks so comfy! :)
ReplyDeleteI just came across your blog in the last two days and haven't read anything but! I love your blog! Anyway, one of my favourite bookstores is Books & Company in Picton, Ontario, Canada and of course, Indigo too! But I'm a huge sucker for used bookstores, and the smell of library books makes me happy *sigh*.
ReplyDelete:) Karyn