#68: Housing Works Bookstore

Great books, great cause

The Shop: Housing Works Bookstore

Soho, Manhattan: 126 Crosby Street

Housing Works has been in the news a ton recently: earlier this year they opened NYC’s first ever fully legal, fully licensed weed dispensary. Housing Works is so much more than a weed store, which is just one initiative of the NYC-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the crises of homelessness and AIDS. Since 1994, Housing Works has operated the Housing Works Bookstore in Soho. The bookstore runs on an extremely non-profit basis, with volunteer staff, donated books on the shelves, and proceeds going to Housing Works’ advocacy and service work. The store is also a community space, operating a cafe in the day and an event venue at night, hosting events such as the Moth’s Story Slam. The stock here is more like a Goodwill vibe than the highly curated used selection of a shop like Codex. This means you never know what you’re going to find here! The prices range a lot– you can find some steals, but the staff is sharp enough to appropriately price the gems. The shop also accepts donations in store. Drop off a stack or two to help support this invaluable organization.

What I got:

American Splendor: Another Dollar

I always go for the comics when I visit Housing Works Bookstore or its sister chain of thrift stores. I do this because I usually find some really good stuff for cheap, and also because I was bad at sports in childhood. I was psyched to find Another Dollar, a compilation of American Splendor comics from 2006 and the first published by DC’s Vertigo imprint. For those who don’t know, American Splendor is the autobiographical comic of perpetual curmudgeon and Cleveland resident Harvey Pekar. Pekar’s grumpily told slices of life are illustrated by a revolving door of illustrators, typically a stop for indie artists with ascending careers. This compilation includes two of my current faves who were not big enough at the time to get their names on the cover: Sean Murphy, who would go onto dazzle DC fans with the elegant Batman: White Knight series and spin offs, and Ed Piskor, creator of Red Room, Hip Hop Family Tree, and the Cartoonist Kayfabe youtube channel.