The 10 best independent bookstores in NYC

A real community outpost hidden in the urban jungle of NYC is the entirely non-profit Housing Works Bookstore Cafe & Bar. Everything in the store is donated, from books to movies and music, with a dedicated staff of volunteers who see that 100% of the store’s profits go towards fighting the HIV/AIDS crisis as well as the city’s homelessness epidemic through advocacy and funding lifesaving services. With its mahogany bookshelves, curving staircases and on-site café, Housing Works is the perfect place to while away an afternoon in good company, before taking advantage of their fully licensed bar come sundown, when various social events transform the space.

Address: 126 Crosby Street, Nolita, New York.

One of the most treasured and long-standing bookstores in Manhattan is the Strand Book Store, lasting through the Depression Era to become the only surviving store on Fourth Avenue’s original ‘Book Row’. Named after the London street frequented by Dickens, Mill and other avant-garde writers, the Strand Book Store has since become a famed haunt in its own right, now home to over 2.5 million used, new and rare books. Flick through the pages of the Strand’s volumes and you might even come across a love letter handwritten by one of the store’s former patrons.

Address: 828 Broadway, East Village, Manhattan, New York.

For avid readers who find themselves downtown in the Village, an alternative bookstore Manhattan has in hiding is the McNally Jackson Independent Booksellers and Café. Heralding a new wave of social-media-savvy bookshops, McNally Jackson Booksellers is out to save the bookstore scene in the city with its supportive atmosphere and chill café area. Routinely packed with creative customers who embrace the lack of WiFi, McNally is a store for all ages and tribes offering fiction organized by country and a dedicated travel writing section, in addition to its main range of contemporary fiction, nonfiction, art books and independent magazines from around the world. The store also runs a self-publishing desk, allowing budding writers to print their works on demand.

Address: 52 Prince Street, Soho, Manhattan, New York.

Sitting majestically in Queens is The Astoria Bookshop, one of just a few remaining indie bookstores NYC still nurtures, revitalizing the neighbourhood with great literature since 2013. With a solid range of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, The Astoria Bookshop has something for everyone, with friendly staff on hand to help your search. Come for one of their book club or signing events to be wowed by local storytelling talent, proving that creativity in Queens is very much alive and kicking.

Address: 31-29, 31^st Street, Queens, New York.

Whether you’re a budding gourmand or an amateur baker, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the East Village can be your sanctuary, home to the widest and best range of cookbooks in NYC, including out-of-print relics that serve to immortalize important New York food history. Get lucky on arrival and you may even experience one of the store’s fabulous tasting sessions, arranged by Bonnie Slotnick herself with the kind of warm-hearted living room hospitality, not even your mom can muster. With cookbooks, magazines and antique volumes dating as far back as the 18^th century, visitors to Bonnie Slotnick’s place could easily lose an hour or two before taking her recommendations and a map of the neighbourhood for the road.

Address: 28 East Second Street, Ney York.

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