Strand Kiosks

Reminiscent of the green wooden bouquinist stands that line the Left Bank in Paris, the Strand Kiosks at Central Park offer a nice selection of used & reduced-price new books to take strolling down the leafy colonnade of Poet's Lane, or on your rowboat in The Lake. The kiosks are open May through October, weather permitting. Plus: They even take credit cards, thanks to hand held machines also reminiscent of Paris restaurants.

Mid-Manhattan Library Book Sale

If you show up to the Mid-Manhattan branch of the NYPL about ten minutes to 11 on a weekday, you'll notice a long line of people waiting to get into the Book Sale section of the library. If you come back the next day at the same time, you'll see the same people. In a word: dealers. And why not? Hardcovers are $2.00, paperbacks 75 cents and the selection is pretty quality. These aren't ex-library books either (for the most part), they are almost entirely donated. This was found there recently for $4, to give you an idea. There, the cat's out of the bag. Let's just hope the dealers aren't too angry now. Plus: The volunteer staff are always a treat!



*another one bites the dust...

Skyline Books

While their massive neighbor has shuttered its windows, Skyline continues toward the 20 year mark, "offering the book-buying public everything from inexpensive, second-hand reading copies of their favorite classics to high-end, rare, signed, and out-of-print titles."
If you're looking an atmosphere and inventory strong on Beat lit., this is your place.
Plus: Looking for some hard-to-find jazz vinyl to go with your Kerouac first edition? Academy Records & CDs is across the street, where you can chat with grade A music nerds about the strengths and weaknesses of various 50's sound engineers.

Street Vendors- 72nd St.

The section of Broadway between 72nd and 73rd Streets is one long stretch of street book vendors. The abolishment of categories at vendor tables always makes for some interesting juxtapositions of books, like a library set to "Shuffle". Plus: Who knows? you might even find a Barbra Streisand record. What could feel more New York than that?

Alabaster Bookshop

Once upon a time, the East Village section of 4th Avenue was New York's Book Row, a street nearly entirely given over to second hand books. The only shop keeping the 4th Ave. tradition alive is Alabaster Bookshop. It's everything you'd want a small used book store to be: cozy, overflowing with books, and home to a temperamental bookstore cat, Houle.

Housing Works Used Book Cafe

It isn't enough for Housing Works to have fantastic thrift stores, or even a vast and welcoming used book store. No, they also have to have a heart of gold, giving their profits to house homeless people with HIV. The mostly volunteer staff do a great job managing an unwieldy and consistently high quality inventory, the dollar racks (and 50 cent racks!) are many and always worth pursuing, and the atmosphere is woody and cozy. A cafe and plenty of chairs and tables invite you hang about, imagining you are in your own personal dream study. Plus: The location hosts in-house musical events (Beth Orton & the like have played there) as well as a yearly, block-closing outdoor book fair.

Mercer Street Books

Mercer Street Books is a classic New York used bookstore. A beautiful disaster of piles and piles of used, rare, and review books crowd nearly every bit of space in this nearly 30 year old shop, and yet those who work there seem to have a very good grasp on the inventory. Just don't hold it against them that a scene from the Drew Barrymore/Hugh Grant fiasco "Music and Lyrics" was filmed there. Plus: LP's!

Street Vendors

There are street book vendors all over the city, each with a slightly different specialty. This stand is on 6th Ave. between 7th & 8th Streets and primarily carries a lot of paperback classic literature, bestsellers, and, er, adult fare. Plus: if they don't have what you want, there's a Barnes & Noble right behind them and a library a half block away. Spent all your money on books? it's also a few steps from Grey's Papaya.

Argosy

Argosy Book Store in Midtown has 6 levels of used and rare books and prints, as well as a great bargain table right in front of the shop. Strong on Americana, modern first editions, autographs, art, antique maps & prints, and the history of science & medicine. Plus: a fantastic wall of Selected Reading right as you walk in; a great place to find what you didn't know you were looking for.