FAVORITE BOOKSHOPS

Curations

May 9

Curations

FAVORITE BOOKSHOPS

Vintage and independent bookshops perform the important task of maintaining the integrity of reading communities by amplifying marginalized and new voices in literature, diversifying our shelves and engaging in the supporting interesting cultural niches. Their physical impact on the communities within which they reside is also noteworthy – fostering the exchange of ideas and a communal investment in the very act of reading and writing. The bookstores featured continue to carry out the cultural and intellectual work of independent and vintage bookstores, in surprisingly unique ways.

Des Pair Books, Echo Park

The brain child of Gagosian alum Addison Richley and a friend, Des Pair boasts the status of niche indie hothouse for both out of the box literature and art. A recent reading featuring the likes of Aiden Arata and Giulia Bencivenga and features in Vanity Fair and the Los Angeles Times solidifies Des Pair as a new address for good brain food. So does their stunning Instagram feed – featuring good reads such as Die Not hat ein Ende: The Swiss Art of Rock and Mark Leckey’s ‘Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore’ by Mitch Speed. The indie makes its personality known through its curation of reads that engage critically with the art they admire.

Mast Books, East Village

With its stylish, Hopper-esque storefront and thoughtful curation of art books, Mast Books is a dream for art and literature lovers. Featuring titles such as Raymond Pettibon’s Virgin Fears, Frank O’Hara’s glorious Meditations in an Emergency, Edna O’Brien’s August is a Wicked Month and Alice Notley’s Alice Ordered to be Made in stunning editions, Mast Books offers up a truly one-of-a-kind selection for collectors of beautiful objects and connoisseurs of good literature alike, boasting a unique understanding of the aesthetic beauty of books and reading as a part of their overall identity.

Karma Bookstore, East Village

Contemporary art lovers rejoice! Karma Bookstore features a relentlessly curated selection of art books and interesting literature in beautiful editions, including Cookie Mueller’s book of short stories, Walking through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black’, Somaya Critchlow’s stunning Paintings and the iconic Peter Hujar’s Day by Linda Rosenkrantz. Karma is an oasis for the curious art consumers, and a gorgeous modern archive for the history of unique contemporary art scene.

Molasses Books, Bushwick

The crammed and cozy interiors of Bushwick’s Molasses Books reminds readers why used and vintage bookstores are such interesting places to gather and browse, and what the bookstore can do for the community surrounding it. With its commitment to community building and its overflowing inventory of interesting literature, Molasses is an establishment dedicated to fostering an interesting community and spurring on future readers with its intimate charms.

Inga Books, Chicago

The lovely Inga Books focuses on “independent publishing on art, design, film, ecology and more.” Inga’s dedication to indigenous and ecological literature is unique amongst the stores on this list, and their ethos regarding the curation of the books in their store represent this dedication perfectly. With titles such as Oxana Timofeeva’s How to Love a Homeland, the Sternberg Press’s Art Writing in Crisis and independently published manifestos such as On The Necessity of Gardening An Of Art, Botany and Cultivation, and The Care Collective’s The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence—Inga’s dedication to setting up a shop around the idea of compassionately surviving modernity is inspirational.