debsbooks

New York Bookstores Part III

Yesterday I went to Coliseum Books, which had a very nice selection of fiction and literature and a very crappy history and social sciences selection. Nevertheless, I was able to pick out some good stuff.

• The Emperor, by Ryszard Kapuściński. You may remember that I recommended his book Shah of Shahs, about the Iranian Revolution. This one is about the Ethiopian dictator Haile Selassie and his overthrow in 1974.
• Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi. This is a memoir written in comic-book form (think Maus) by a woman who grew up in Iran and escaped during the revolution. Persepolis 2: The Story of A Return, is supposed to be out now too, so I will order it.
• The Emergence of Modern Turkey, by Bernard Lewis. I am going to Turkey soon and also have been reading a bunch about the Balkans so it’s about time I learn more. I’m not sure Bernard Lewis is the right person for my first in-depth history of Turkey, since some have accused him of an “Orientalist” bias, so I will keep looking around and read this with an open mind. (I personally loved his book, Semites and Anti-Semites, however.) And of course the DK Eyewitness guides are my favorite travel books so I will get the one on Turkey as well.
• The Aleph and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges. I have read a couple of these before, but have never read “The Aleph” itself. Will probably finish this on the plane before I post.
• Women Who Dared: A Book of Postcards. Have to keep up my feminist street cred, nothing more inspiring than looking at Susan B. Anthony et al’s stunning visages. :)
• Augustus: A Novel by John Williams. Yes, I’m not generally a fan of historical fiction but this has been compared to I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves, which are two books that I forgot to put on my Best Fiction of All Time list. So I am taking a chance.
• The Mrs. Dalloway Reader, Virginia Woolf. I am obsessed with this book so it’s great to have an edition that has additional literary criticism.

New York Bookstores Part II

Yesterday I went to this huge Borders in Columbus Circle. I usually like Borders but this one was way too spread out and the sections were really disorganized. I did find one book though:

• No Star Too Beautiful: A Treasury of Yiddish Stories, edited by Joachim Neugroschel. Nice paperback edition (I hate hardcovers).

New York Bookstores: Part I

I'm in New York right now and am trying to hit a couple of bookstores that I haven't been to before. Today I went to Argosy Books, which specializes in old and rare books but also has a pretty decent used selection for history, philosophy, and fiction. The atmosphere also was really great, very British, green lampshades and old maps. I got the following books ($3 each!) there:

• The Pyramid, by Ismail Kadare. I had never heard of this author before, he is Albanian, writes in French, and treats issues of despotism/totalitarianism. It is a Vintage International book, an imprint I love, and lately I have been reading a lot about Eastern Europe as part of a class I'm taking. Next quarter will be Modern Russian History, and I've already started my reading list for that.
• Tolstoy, a biography by George Rapall Noyes. I haven't read a biography of Tolstoy, and I've been meaning to. It was originally published in 1918, so I am going to have to search out some modern stuff as well.
• Masters of World Literature: Tennyson, by Christopher Ricks. I love literary criticism and Christopher Ricks (his latest collection of essays, Reviewery, is very good), and even though Tennyson is not my favorite, this looked interesting.

Where I get my books

Not only do I like to collect books, I like to collect bookstores as well. Amazon is of course my favorite online bookstore ever. I started using it when it first launched and I've bought over 2,000 books there. It is not only a great bookstore, but a great piece of software. Every time I think about a feature I'd like to have, it pops up on the site a day later. Also, I love the UK version of Amazon; remember, people actually read over there so the selection is quite different!Although I buy lots of books online when I know what I want, I still love physical bookstores of all kinds. Here are some of my favorites:

• Every week or so my father would take me to Johnson's Bookstore, in Springfield, MA. It had both new and used books, and I always used to get something from the used section or from the 50 cent titles that they stored outside the shop. Johnson's opened in 1897 and closed in 1997.
• University bookstores in general are interesting, because I like to browse the textbooks and see what's new for each of the classes. I used to work at the Boston University Bookstore in Boston, MA, and used up all my savings buying books with my discount. It's a Barnes and Noble now, but I can still find great stuff there. And I really like the University Bookstore in Seattle, WA as well. And of course the Harvard Bookstore is good.
• Some non-chain bookstores that are wonderful: Bailey/Coy Books in Seattle, WA is very hip, good political stuff and interesting fiction. Twice Sold Tales, also in Seattle is a good used bookstore--lots of classics and other good stuff cheap. And Elliott Bay Book Company has a great selection of History, Biography, and Fiction.
• London is the best book city ever. I highly recommend the book Book Lover's London, because although there are many famous bookstores in London that are fabulous, like Foyle's, there are little-known bookstores that are great as well. For example, I love museum bookstores in general, and the bookstores of both the British Museum and British Library are fantastic. And although people usually go to Harrod's for other types of shopping, including the food halls, its bookstore is quite excellent. And of course if you are already in London and are really into books, you should take a trip to Hay-on-Wye in Wales, otherwise known as the "town of books." They have more bookstores per square foot than anywhere in the world.
• New York is a city I have yet to explore fully in terms of bookstores. I am going there in a few weeks and will give the report at a later date. I have been to the Strand, however, which was slightly disappointing. This is NYC's most famous bookstore but it was not very user-friendly. Really hard to get around and get at the books. I heard they are redoing it though so we will see when that is done.
• And of course, Powells, the "city block of books" in Portland, Oregon. Great selection, great layout, great customer experience. This is one of my favorite bookstores to browse in.
• Lastly, many people pooh-pooh chain bookstores, but I'm a big fan of both Barnes and Noble and Borders. Their fiction sections are consistently excellent. If you want history or other more obscure subjects, look somewhere else.

I'll talk about Greatest Books of All Time and book magazines and journals in my next few posts.