#76: Quest Bookshop

Reads to enrich the spirit

The Shop: Quest Bookshop

Midtown East, Manhattan: 240 E 53rd Street

My bookshop quest has finally led me to Quest Bookshop. This spiritual themed shop sits on a surprisingly eclectic block of Midtown East, next to the building of the NY Theosophical Society, who own and operate the store. Quest has all the stuff you would expect in a shop like this: incense, sage, statues, meditation pillows, and books! Being a highly secular type, I am perhaps not qualified to judge the selection here— topics include Hinduism & Buddhism, Christianity, and a whole shelf on Aleister Crowley. There’s a surprising lack of Jewey stuff for NYC, unless you count the Kabbalah books (it’s borderline!) The books range from old to new, major publishers to seemingly made in some guy’s basement, there’s also a discount shelf with all kinds of out there stuff!

What I Got:

The Ramayana 

One of the seminal texts of Hinduism, the Ramayana is a centuries old Sanskrit epic which tells the tale of  Rama, everyone’s favorite reincarnation of the god Vishnu (unless you’re a Krishna guy). I’ve wanted to read this tale ever since I studied abroad in India like 10 years ago, especially because it features Hanuman, the monkey god of bravery who I've always had a fondness for. The Hanuman temple in Hampi is one of the most striking, magical places I’ve been in my life. See below a pic of me there in 2013 about to get the worst feet sunburn of my life:

Spearmint & Lime Heart Chakra Candle

My heart chakra’s doing okay, but when’s the last time you saw spearmint and lime in the same candle??

I Ching coin

Impulse buy at the counter— only 75 cents! … I don’t know what to do with this.

Secrets of your birth date card

I’m not giving away all my bday secrets but let’s just say someone born on the 13th who writes a bookstore substack is a “well rounded achiever” with “incredible mental clarity.” Accurate?? Lord, I hope so.