The 17 Best Bookstores in New York City

Big box stores are not famous for being visually appealing, but on a gorgeous sunny day, with the bustling Union Square Greenmarket in the foreground, the big and beautiful brick B&N on 17th Street can make any book lover go weak in the knees. If it looks like something out of the 19th century, that’s because it is! Built in 1881, this city landmark is a time capsule filled to the brim with books, of course, but also Paper Source goodies, vinyl records, a rare-in-NYC free-to-use bathroom, and of course, a busy café serving Starbucks favorites.

Niche bookstores might have trouble staying afloat elsewhere, but thanks to the sheer volume of people in this city, what would be a small minority almost anywhere else is a viable market in Manhattan. Mast Books is an East Village bookstore dedicated to art, photography, and design. The titles in the tastefully minimalist space on Avenue A in Alphabet City are mostly resting flat on light wood tables, leaving the stark white walls not for stacks per se but for framed art and books displayed as art, faced out on thin shelves. The result is a gallery-like space with clean lines that cater to a specific audience who will find an immaculately curated selection of rare and out-of-print titles alongside an array of contemporary art books from small presses.

Another niche shop, but this one probably would have legs most anywhere in the country since the true crime genre is having quite the elongated moment in America. The Mysterious Book Shop is not a fly-by-night operation that has opened to scoop up dollars thanks to an infatuation with serial killers, Sherlock Holmes, paranormal activity, and crimes of all kinds. No, the oldest specialist mystery book store in America, which is now located on Warren Street in Tribeca, first opened its doors in midtown Manhattan in 1979, on Friday the 13th…naturally.

Cast your preconceived notions of thrift stores aside because this charitable bookstore is not only a tourist destination but also a beauty, complete with a spiral staircase, dark wood features, gorgeous green light fixtures, and thousands of secondhand books. It’s no wonder many New Yorkers choose to rent Housing Works for their weddings—a stunning space filled with donated books and wholly staffed by volunteers. If you like a side order of altruism with your books, buy a tote bag knowing that 100% of the proceeds go to charity. Housing Works is part of the largest community-based AIDS-service organization in the country and is dedicated to eradicating AIDS and homelessness.

Long before middle America knew anything about being “In the Heights,” Janifer P. Wilson opened a bookstore and, later, a cultural center in the Washington Heights neighborhood. Today, Sister’s Uptown is far more than just a place to peruse and purchase literature. With books from the African Diaspora, including Revolutionary Mothering by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Tarana Burke’s Unbound, and Blackout, a poetry book by renowned and local independent poets, this shop is also a meeting place to gain knowledge, meet authors, and actively participate in the growth of this vibrant community.

The flagship outpost of Kinokuniya Bookstores of America sits directly across from another NYC book institution, the famed Main Branch or the New York Public Library, just behind Bryant Park. Kinokuniya has called the Avenue of the Americas home since 2007, but the bookstore has been a staple of the Asian-American community in NYC since opening at Rockefeller Center back in 1981. With a huge selection of books in English, anime, graphic novels, textbooks, manga (in both English and the original Japanese), toys, stationery, gifts, and the new BANDAI hobby fair, as well as authentic Japanese products, this is a thriving hub for all to experience Japanese culture in the city through literature and media.

This beloved independent book retailer made it through the pandemic and has returned in earnest to have a bevy of live-and-in-person book launches, author signings, and lively literary discussions. If you’re visiting NYC, bookmarking the McNally Jackson events page and refreshing it often will undoubtedly yield the opportunity to partake in a fun, free events and get a signed book from an author you love.

The sign above the entrance to Cafe con Libros reads, “Black, Feminist & Bookish,” but as big and bold as that is, it still doesn’t do justice to this gem of a Brooklyn community asset. This intersectional feminist community bookstore and coffee shop is committed to creating a safe, inclusive space where every single reader, book lover, and latte devotee is welcome. Much like the neighborhood that Cafe con Libros is an integral part of, this impressive bookstore is on a mission to promote the human rights of womxn and girls.

Sure, you’ll find the newest Mo Willems and Rick Riodan titles here, but what’s also waiting for you and your kids is nothing short of a wonder. Inside this beloved store is a diverse selection of children’s books—from hardback picture books to middle-grade readers, graphic novels, and classic tomes. There are also rare, out-of-print, first edition, vintage lithographs, and other gems from the storied world of kid-lit. Even better is the vast array of signed books on the shelves and available at no additional cost by authors like John Green, Raina Telgemeier, R.J. Palacio, Roshani Chokshi, and more.

Sure, you’ll find the newest Mo Willems and Rick Riodan titles here, but what’s also waiting for you and your kids is nothing short of a wonder. Inside this beloved store is a diverse selection of children’s books—from hardback picture books to middle-grade readers, graphic novels, and classic tomes. There are also rare, out-of-print, first edition, vintage lithographs, and other gems from the storied world of kid-lit. Even better is the vast array of signed books on the shelves and available at no additional cost by authors like John Green, Raina Telgemeier, R.J. Palacio, Roshani Chokshi, and more.

You will find secondhand books at Bauman’s, but you won’t find any for $2. This Manhattan purveyor of rare books deals in the ultra-rare first editions of inscribed and hand-signed books and manuscripts. If you have deep pockets and the hankering for, say, the first edition of Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland, the original His Dark Materials trilogy hand-signed by Philip Pullman, or a 1996 first edition of Fight Club—Bauman Rare Books and Gallery is where you’ll find them. Whether you fancy collecting hand-signed volumes by Alexis de Tocqueville for $62,000 or a Dr. Seuss for $4,000, a copy of War and Peace beautifully bound and in Russian for $48,500, or an inscribed Langston Hughes book of poetry for $2,800—any book lover will be in awe inside this most stately of city bookstores.

Many of NYC’s best bookstores are charming spaces in stunning pre-war buildings, but only one is located inside an actual Embassy. Albertine Books is smack dab in the middle of and is actually a project of the French Embassy on 5th Ave. They offer up a vast array of books in French and English to residents of the Upper East Side and beyond. There are book club meetings and live author events, a fabulous children’s section, and one drop-dead gorgeous, hand-painted starry night sky on the 2nd-floor ceiling that Van Gogh himself would appreciate.