NYC bookshops

I'm going to be spending a few days in New York in February - would love to hear from any New Yorkers here where your favourite bookshops are!

Alrighty.

Bookstores:

Idlewild - My personal favorite, nearish Chelsea and organized by country. Lots of great bars and restaurants in this neighborhood too.
Strand - Old standard, huge, by NYU.
Westsider - Another favorite on the Upper West Side, very small used book and record store. I want to live in here...just look at the pictures, it's so cute.
McNally Jackson - beautiful store, very well organized (food next to architecture...score!). In SoHo which is a great neighborhood to walk through anyway.
Book Culture - formerly Labyrinth, up by Columbia, have a great selection.
Housing Works - thrift store bookstore and cafe in SoHo, very cheap, proceeds benefiting AIDs research and assistance.

Bars w/ readings:

KGB Bar - small, upstairs in the East Village.
Half King - Chelsea, better in the summer as they have nice outdoor seating. Right in the middle of all the art gallery area.

Couple of the great presses have their own bookstore as well - Taschen and Phaidon spring to mind. They often have really excellent sales.

Stores I haven't been to but have heard great things:

Kitchen Arts and Letters - food related
Books of Wonder - children's books
St. Marks - generally well regarded
Shakespear & co. - drama
Midtown Comics - huge comic book store
Revolition Books - Marxist shop
Oscar Wilde Bookshop - LGBT shop famous for being one of the headquarters of the gay rights movement

Janepriceestrada has beaten me to it, but I can add one bookstore she didn't mention: Crawford-Doyle, on Madison Avenue between 81st & 82nd Streets. It is very small, but has a wonderful selection of current books, and a pretty good selection of older fiction; it also has incredibly helpful and knowledgeable staff. It isn't the place to browse for hours, but it is everything a small neighborhood bookstore should be. (I live across town on the west side, but am often on the east side and always stop in.) Many of my favorite finds have come from their new fiction table.

Of the stores Jane recommends, I heartily endorse BookCulture and the Strand, and I also like St. Marks, although it's a little off the beaten track for me. (I used to go to its former location all the time when I lived downtown 20+ years ago.) I was disappointed by Idlewild, but that shows that there are more than enough bookstores for everybody in New York!

Fabulous! Thanks very much, Jane and Rebecca - I think you've given me enough there to keep me busy for the whole of my trip. New York here I come, empty suitcase in tow...

Great thread! I don't think my family will agree though ("come on Mom, do we have to spend all day in here?")

One bookstore I wandered into when I was in NY in 2001 was Rizzoli on 57th. I don't remember what I bought, but the atmosphere was wonderful and they were playing great music--turned out to be a Latina pop star from Uruguay. I don't listen to much pop music in English, but when it has a South American beat, it can be sort of fun.

Partners and Crime on Greenwich Avenue is a favorite of mine - I just went there last weekend. It's also near some great restaurants (Tea and Sympathy!) and is not far from Strand.

Ha, just caught the date on the original post. Oh well, it's still good for future NYC visitors.

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