#56: Westsider Rare & Used Books

That which is stumbled upon...

The Shop: Westsider Rare & Used Books

Upper West Side, Manhattan: 2246 Broadway

Westsider books is like if you took Brooklyn’s Unnameable Books, multiplied it by three, and stacked them on top of eachother. There are so many dang books in this store stacked on shelves two floors high. Cracked spines and various degrees of pre love abound, interspersed with eclectic kitschy decor including a poster for Eraserhead and a still of George Takei in 60s Star Trek splendor. Head upstairs for some vintage pulpy paperbacks and a lounging bookstore cat. Bonus points: around the corner from Zabars.

What I Got:

Pigs In Heaven

Barbara Kingsolver’s debut novel Bean Trees is My Favorite Book of All Time. I read it a few years ago and wept on an airplane when I finished it. Pigs in Heaven is Kingsolver’s sequel to that fantastic book, written five years later, further exploring the relationship between Taylor and her adopted daughter Turtle, and this unconventional pair’s relationship with the rest of the world. I’ll admit I’ve been avoiding this sequel because the ending of the book (like all other Kingsolver endings) is just too perfect to be messed with. Plus I love these characters and don’t want any more bad things to happen to them! Seeing this book in Westsider with that lovely first edish cover blew my sequel anxiety away.

Quite Early One Morning

This lovingly used book of Dylan Thomas' writing looks like it was used as a coffee coaster quite early on several mornings before making its way to Westsider! I first thought this book was a poetry book, but I was disappointed/relieved to find this is in fact a compilation of the author’s short stories and essays. I’m excited to dive in to this book and get to know this legendary author outside of the three poems we all got assigned to read in high school.