#7 & 8: Unoppressive, Non-Imperialist Bargain Books/ Carmine Street Comics

Two stores, one shop, an overwhelming amount of books

The Shop: Unoppressive, Non-Imperialist Bargain Books/ Carmine Street Comics

West Village: 34 Carmine Street

If you’re like me, “musty,” “slightly cluttered,” and “a place where you could take your lefty uncle who’s still mad about NAFTA” are not turn offs but rather the highest of endorsements. UNBB/CSC is maybe the only bookshop in the city to feature an entire Aldous Huxley display, Jane Jacobs shelf, and a lifesize cardboard cutout of Bob Dylan with a taped sign boasting over 35 titles in stock penned by the tambourine man. Despite some obstacles to the shelves, the comics section had my mouth watering over vintage R. Crumb originals the price of which I was afraid to ask. I’m really dang excited for post pandemic life so I can return to this spot before excursions to movies at the nearby IFC Center and Mamoun’s.

What I Got:

Where the Jews Aren’t

Did you know the USSR sent all their Jews to live in a “Jewish Autonomous Region” called Birobidzhan? I had no idea about this until pretty recently. What a thrilling coincidence to spot a book about it from Masha Gessen, a Russian American Jew who is sure to have some fascinating insight on this subject. While my family Jewish ties to Russia are a few generations more faded than Gessen’s, I’m excited to read this both as a vaguely-Russian descended Jew and a fan of Gessen’s journalism.