New York bookshops catering to communities from the margins

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Tucked away on the ground floor of a quiet side street in Manhattan’s bustling Chinatown, just opposite a small patch of green space, you’ll find the city’s first Asian American woman-owned bookstore: “Yu & Me Books.” I make a point of going every time I visit New York because it’s the only bookshop I know that centres anglophone writing by Asian writers; I know I’ll always find something there that speaks to me.

Growing up in postcolonial Hong Kong as an international school kid, I would spend hours at my local English-language bookshops (Crown Books, Commercial Press and Page One – sadly all have since shut), hunkering down on the floor with a pile of books while I waited for my parents to finish their shopping. I fell in love with so many anglophone children’s book authors that way, from Eva Ibbottson and Philip Pullman to Zizou Corder (Louisa Young and Isabel Adomakoh Young). Their stories very much shaped my perspective of the world during these formative years.

But despite how much these narratives meant to me, they weren’t written for me; I could never see myself represented in them. There’s a certain internalised invisibility that occurs when you only read in a foreign context, which I only became aware of in retrospect, after becoming exposed to narratives that captured the experiences of anglophone Asians like myself. As a child, it didn’t occur to me to seek out such narratives; I simply accepted that my experiences would never take centre stage. As a young reader, I was very much complicit in my own mental colonialism. It took me a long time to break free of that. Now, whenever I reflect on this insidious erasure, perpetuated by the “international” education I received – my heart breaks a little.

In recent years, mainstream literature has expanded to include many voices from the margins, and it’s been wonderful to witness. Yet East and Southeast Asian writers still remain underrepresented in London bookshops, where there are very few titles centering our communities. The contrast between London and New York is stark when you enter bookstores like McNally Jackson, where you’ll find an entire wall dedicated just to Asian literature, and another separate section for global studies/Asian studies:

I felt so seen as I browsed these shelves, which featured familiar titles like When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin and Capitalists Must Starve by Park Seolyeon (translated into English by Anton Hur).

Read my review of both these novels, originally published at Jacobin Magazine:

Asian literature aside, I also loved the sheer number of themed bookstores scattered across the city, from horror and socialist literature to romantasy. Here’s a non exhaustive list of the ones I stopped by on my self-guided tour:

Brooklyn

I started off exploring a few local favourites like WORD in Greenpoint and Spoonbill & Sugartown in Williamsburg. Both were relatively small bookshops, but had a healthy and eclectic mix of art/zines as well as more mainstream titles. I also love the indie bookstore Books are Magic, which my best friend recommended to me on my last visit (sadly, I didn’t have time to go again this time but it’s on my list for my next trip)!

I was most excited however to visit The Twisted Spine, a relatively new horror and dark literature bookstore that also doubles as a bar. The interiors were extremely on point – I loved the gothic design, fake fireplace etc. that made me feel like I was entering a book dungeon. I spotted a few of my favourite thrillers, like My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, the Old Woman With the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo (translated by Chi Young Kim) and of course recent viral books like Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. I also loved that they had a section for underrepresented writers, featuring emerging Asian voices like Monika Kim.

Another bookshop I was very eager to pay a visit to is The Ripped Bodice, a romantic bookstore that is “proudly woman and queer-owned.” It’s possibly the cutest bookshop I’ve ever been to; the interior looks like the inside of a Taylor Swift album (they were also playing August, one of my favourites) and was deceptively large, with a surprising large selection of non-fiction books too that centre women’s voices.

Manhattan

In Manhattan, I spent ages browsing through second-hand books at East Village Books - a no frills used books and music store that is great for readers who want to browse academic books an hidden gems:

The most eclectic bookshop I visited was Village Works: a community-oriented store that had a huge range of music and art titles, as well as left-leaning zines and books from indie publishers. It also has a very cute cat; do check it out if you like any of the above (or can go for the creative vibes).

I also stopped by Sweet Pickle Books (very New York), sheltered from a storm in Codex Books, a very small bookshop with a handy cafe attached to it, held a vintage copy of Audre Lorde’s essays at the minimalist and art-focused bookstore Mast Books, peeked through the windows of 1804 Books – a socialist literature bookstore that was sadly shut when I tried to visit. On the way to watching a play, i strolled through The Drama Bookshop, one of the most elegant and beautifully-decorated bookstores this side of the city (if you’re into scripts and theatre, this one’s for you):

For a place to sit and grab a drink, I visited Book Club Bar (very dark and cozy, perfect for a winter evening) and The Rabbit Books & Bar (bright and airy, good for daytime working and of course, reading). I was happy to see that it had a section celebrating Women in Translation Month, with iconic books like Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels and new Chinese literature like Women, Seated by Zhang Yueran (translated by Jeremy Tiang). My review of the novel will be published shortly – stay tuned.

Lastly, I had to stop by The Strand, an iconic New York chain that has pretty much everything one could possibly need. I particularly enjoyed their “Banned & Challenged” section (the US saw a record high of 5,668 books banned in libraries last year, according to the American Library Association).

Do you have a favourite bookshop in New York that I haven’t listed? Let me know – I’d love to put it onto my list. Until next time!