#5: Unnameable Books

A bookstore so fantastic it transcends names

The Shop: Unnameable Books

Prospect Heights, BK: 600 Vanderbilt Avenue

Unnameable is without a doubt the quintessential Brooklyn indie bookstore. Back in my babysitting days, I’d try to get to Prospect Heights at least half an hour early to browse the discount price shelves on the sidewalk—still thinking of that Eric Bogosian play collection I found there many years ago! While pristine, tourist friendly likes of McNally and Powerhouse are all well and good, I’d rather chill here in the musty, old school, floor to ceiling shelves any day. No idea how this place keeps surviving Prospect Height’s astronomic rent increases, but I’m hoping it’s dedicated customers like us! Alongside neighbors like the Olde Bagel Shoppe, Branded Saloon, and Little Cupcake, (RIP Daily Pie though), this business keeps Vanderbilt one of the tastiest slices of Brooklyn.

What I Got:

Having recently honored Audre Lorde week at Hunter College (Lorde’s alma mater where I am currently pursuing a masters), I was psyched to find this volume of her poetry among Unnameable’s action-packed shelves. Coal was Lorde’s first poetry collection to be released by a major publisher back in 1976, making this a pivotal milestone in her career.