#14: Human Relations

... or are we dancer?

The Shop: Human Relations

Bushwick, Brooklyn: 1067 Flushing Ave

Yeah, yeah, a funky used bookstore in a hip Brooklyn neighborhood with an eclectic yet endearing selection of offbeat finds-- we’ve heard it all before right? WRONG. There’s a reason Human Relations has won a place in the hearts of NYC’s literature lovers, and that reason is everything at this bookstore is cool as all hell. Towering walls of pre-loved volumes cover everything from folk art to fanzines, from poetry to porn. I dare you to spend five minutes in this store without finding something you want to dig your teeth into. Especially cool about Human Relations is its foreign language offerings, which make me wish I wasn’t completely awful at learning foreign languages. Polyglots, get over here! A word of warning-- while the selection is huge, the storefront is not so much. It only takes about three customers (each of whom white hipsters who could have easily passed for my clones) for this store to feel crowded.

What I got:

I Don’t Know What an Oboe Can Do

I’m moving apartments this month and am I completely regretting filling my life with heavy, space taking books as part of some ill advised “bookstore quest” to “support local businesses” and “have a blog??” I am, but I ain’t no quitter! I was relieved to find this sweet and petite chapbook from local poet Eric Tyler Benick. Who doesn’t love pocket sized poetry? Unfortunately, I’ve already misplaced this book in my attempt to pack. See you on the other side (of Crown Heights, I’m not moving far.)