St Mark's Bookshop is my favorite bookstore. They've been a gathering place for authors and readers on the cutting edge of literature, politics, art, and cultural theory for over 32 years now. And they're facing a daunting retail economy at the moment. I'm challenging my friends to SUPPORT ST MARK'S BOOKSHOP *TODAY* by buying a book (or 2, or 5) Today, if you are so moved.
Stop by the store on 3rd Avenue, call them up at 212-260-7853, or check out St Mark's Web site:
A FEW BOOK SUGGESTIONS:
JUST KIDS, by Patti Smith, a memoir about her young days with Robert Mapplethorpe, *SIGNED*, $27 (they're actually now out of signed copies...)
LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN, a novel of New York in the 1970s by Colum McCann, $15
"STORE FRONT: The Disappearing Face of New York" A beautiful and heartbreaking book of photography by James T. Murray, Karla L. Murray, $65
A new book of poetry, BORIS BY THE SEA, by Ugly Duckling Presse editor, Matvei Yankelevich, SIGNED, $14
THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE, a memoir of a journey from surviving a heartbreaking Jamaican childhood to discovering her voice, by Brooklyn performance artist and Def Jam poet, Staceyann Chin.
THIS IS BERLIN NOT NEW YORK, a DVD about 10 underground New York artists traveling to Berlin to make art and friends. $16
Thank you for that e-mail... of course, there are many fine independent book shops around...such as East Village books...
And Bluestockings on Allen Street...Here's a list of independent book sellers in NYC. And this is a favorite topic of Jeremiah's Vanishing New York. He has written extensively about the loss of stores, particularly in the West Village. Here's a post on the new location of Left Bank Books.