#19: Terrace Books

Community Bookstore's charming little sister

The Shop: Terrace Books

Windsor Terrace, BK: 242 Prospect Park West

The sister store to the Community Bookstore in Park Slope, Terrace Books is an intimate shop specializing in used books. Terrace Books serves up books in a narrow yet action packed storefront as charming as every other dang business in the area, with a selection that ranges from classics to hip newcomers. I was greeted and guided through the store by a tiny (not the famous “Tiny” of Community Bookstore fame) and very friendly black cat who pulled my attention to a shelf of used graphic novels that were beautiful but far too big for my shelves at home-- deepest apologies to Emil Ferris and Simon Hanselmann! This cat figured me out and guided me to my other selections below…

What I Got

Trust Exercise

I first encountered Susan Choi reading her short story “Flashlight” in the New Yorker. As an educator, I know how rare it is for adult authors to accurately capture the internal world of children-- “Flashlight” really did. I’m excited to see her take on slightly older yet still youthful characters, namely the high school drama club. My inner theater kid is buzzing to read this.

Paris Review Back Issue (Summer 2018)

I’m not cultured enough to read the Paris Review regularly, or even semi-regularly, but this used issue drew me in with two enticing promises-- a short story from grandmother of all nerds Ursula K. Leguin, and an interview with Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai. I read Krasnzahorkai’s novellas The Last Wolf and Herman a few years ago and they really stuck with me. I’m curious to find out if the dude is as bleak and bizarre as his writing.