Outside Three Lives, in the Village

Photo by myself at West 10th Street and Waverly Place, in the Village.

Three Lives & Company is an independent bookstore in the Village. Its wooden display cases and bright red door make this a distinctive storefront.

Don't get me wrong - every neighborhood has at least one Barnes and Noble Bookstore. However there are still some independent booksellers left.

Many specialize, in order to stand out. Kitchen Arts and Letters on the Upper East Side and Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the Village sell current and out of print cookbooks, for instance.

Archivia Books on the Upper East Side and Urban Center Books cater to architects, decorators and architecture lovers. The latter was located in what used to be the Helmsley Palace on Madison Avenue for 30 years, and only recently closed. It will re-open this Fall in another location.

Visit Partners & Crime for mystery books, East West Living for books on Asian culture and holistic life. If the theatre is more your cup of tea, visit The Drama Bookshop in the Theatre District.

I wish the list were endless. I remember when the Shakespeare and Co. store on the Upper West Side closed several years ago, New Yorkers feared they would lose all the small bookstores. Many New Yorkers boycott the larger chains on principle. (There are a few Shakespeare and Co. locations left).

For a nifty list in the Times about specialty bookstores, click here.
For lists of small bookstores according to general area, click here.

Related posts: Outside Biography Books, Bleeker Street, Searching for a Bargain, at the Strand and Browsing Around, in the Village.