Book stores in NYC?

So, turns out I'll be going to New York for a couple of days. Gonna be fun. Of course, one thing I'll try to check out is book stores - ones that don't just carry the NYT top 10; I'm sure there must be a ton of interesting shops. So, anyone got any favourites they want to recommend?

I was there over Easter but never got further than Borders and Barnes & Noble...

I must admit I wasn't that desperate to visit bookshops there anyway, as I don't really like US paperbacks. The one good thing about them is their floppyness and use of thin paper, which makes the spines almost impossible to break. (I'm talking about literary fiction, rather than mass market paperbacks, which are printed on toilet paper and cheaply bound.) What I don't like is their size - slightly larger than UK paperbacks so they disrupt the anal retentive's (ie my) shelves. And the cover designs, for the most part, are just awful and light years behind UK designs in style and elegance.

I did still manage to buy twelve books in six days. But boy did I have to grit my teeth to do it.

Beer Good,
Just a quick answer without time to fill in the details right now. There's:
Coliseum Books on 42nd street across from the Library, very large.
The Strand Bookstore, way down town on about 10th and Broadway, huge collection of used, all sorts, jammed in everywhere. Possibly analogous to Powell's.
The Gotham Book Mart on about 47th off Fifth Av. is a rare kind of smaller store that deserves a look-in (and homage). Not many like it left, fighting off the dominance of B&N in B&N's home town.. The kind of specialized treasure that you find (only?) in NYC. At least read about it on the Web.
I should also mention the Argosy, 'way over on the East Side, but I haven't been there in a long time
And down around the Strand you might still find all sorts of very small dusty book shops you might stick your head into if you are venturesome and want to explore or see what one looks like.
The main Barnes and Noble on about 17th Street and Fifth avenue, is the original flagship store that started it all and has a huge selection, including an overwhelming number of text books. Every college student knows of it and goes through there at some time or other. It is worth a look. The B&N not too far away, perhaps on 8th avenue, is a modern store and not very small either, possibly with a more general selection than the main store. CD's galore.
BTW the Four Continents Book Store devoted to Russian is not so far away, I believe that, in the day, it was the only authorized outlet for Soviet literature/propaganda into the US. [!}
You should be able to find Web pages for all of those mentioned.
If you happen to get up around Columbia University, (116th and Broadway) then there (probably still) is Salter's, another venerable landmark from my early days, and I'm pretty sure the University Bookstore across Broadway is available to the general public as well, with a varied selection, as well as texts for all courses.
When are you leaving? In case I can scare up more detailed information.
Any specialized interests? There are probably individual bookshops for them also. New Yorkers say "New York has it all," with pardonable pride. and really pretty fair accuracy.
Any questions I can answer?
I'll be out the rest of the day but back this evening.
Enjoy the browsing,
Peder

PS Shakespeare's, by name but with general selection, may still exist, but may well have succumbed to B&N I seem to remember hearing. Scribner's on Fifth in the Fifties is probably long since gone, having succumbed to a large new B&N across from it I also seem to remember hearing.
P.

quick afterthoughts

Beer Good,
In case you get to either of these landmarks:

On the east edge of Times Square, 7th Av at approx 45th plus or minus a couple, there is the Virgin Bookstore with books and CDs to suit the tastes of all us varied kinds of New Yorkers. One floor on ground level, several underground to fit into crammed midtown. Worth a look for its unusual layout anyway.

In Grand Central Terminal, a book store is crammed in there also, Posners I think, on the Main Concourse level, at the western end.

Peder

Thanks a lot for all those suggestions, Peder - I'll be sure to check some of those out. The Strand and Gotham Book Mart sound particularly inviting. I'm leaving in just over a week. What I'm looking for is... well... if I could sum up what I read in a few words, I would. But basically some of it would be "smart" fiction à la Auster, DeLillo etc; some more niched stuff - especially horror, since it's kind of hard to come by over here; and also books on music and movies - biographies etc. But of course, half the pleasure of browsing a good bookstore is finding books you didn't know you were looking for, so...

beer good You are going to have the best time peering about in those loverly book stores! Here is the website for Gotham's....
http://www.finneganswake.org/GothamBookMart.htm

Gosh! It sounds like a great place to get lost in for a couple of days! Have Fun!

Peder All of those places sound great!
Just as though one could visit NYC and simply spend the whole time going to book stores!
I don't know of anything like it in New Orleans, especially now. But even in the past, the only ones besides the chain types were the small semi antique stores down on Magazine Street in the downtown section. Some in the French Quarter, but not like the ones you mentioned!! Wow!

I highly recommend The Strand, on the corner of Broadway and 12th Street, and Shakespeare and Co., at 716 Broadway at Washington Place...both of these are in the NYU neighborhood, which is where I went to undergrad, so I know from personal experience that they are good spots. Good luck and have fun!

Donna

Be forewarned, The Strand itself may set you back a whole day!
But good, but good!
Peder

Here's a general list. Read and drool, everyone!

Book Stores in NYC

Tons more by googling,
Peder

OK, next time I go to New York, I'm not even going to get a hotel room. I'm simply going to rent a shelf at Strand where I can sleep, and then spend the rest of the time walking up and down the aisles there. MAN.

beer good said:

OK, next time I go to New York, I'm not even going to get a hotel room. I'm simply going to rent a shelf at Strand where I can sleep, and then spend the rest of the time walking up and down the aisles there. MAN.

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I'm not even sure they have an empty shelf! But maybe they'll let you sleep on top of the books on the top shelf, if it isn't already crowded with people up there. It is an unbelievable place!
It sounds like you have just got back from your trip?

Peder said:

It sounds like you have just got back from your trip?

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Yeah, like 5 hours ago - got right off the red-eye flight and went to the office. I was just in NY for four days. Damn this 6-hour time difference, I'm not even going to be fit to unpack when I get home this afternoon... Slumberland, here I come.