Book Culture

This is a wonderful bookstore (and a rather nice toy store with a selection of lovely housewares too). I love to go and browse — and if you want any book that they don’t have, the store orders it and gets it very quickly. The people are lovely to deal with, and the store brings you back to the days when book shopping at a local bookstore was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. A great addition to the neighborhood.

I had the chance to visit this quaint Upper West Side book store while in NYC last October. It’s two levels of books, stationery, greeting cards, gifts, and more. The staff is very friendly and laid-​back: they acknowledge you, but then leave you alone to browse, which I appreciate in any store. An independent chain in the city, I’d definitely choose a local Book Culture over the bigger chain bookstores any day, just like that Tom Hanks/​Meg Ryan movie, «You’ve Got Mail.» #shopsmall

This is my favorite store in the neighborhood! I visit several times a week, just to walk around. Staff members are always friendly and helpful. If a book isn’t in stock, they’ll order it for you. There is a lovely selection of notebooks, cards, candles, and interesting gifts. The LGBT Book Group that meets here is awesome. But my favorite part of the store is the writing desk…
There’s a wooden desk in the store with stationery on it. Customers are free to sit down and write a letter. Put the letter in the basket and Book Culture will pay for postage.
Several months ago, a friend and I (who live just a few blocks apart) started corresponding through letters from Book Culture. Today, we’re dating, and we continue our little tradition of writing to each other from the store — letters that say both nothing and everything. Nothing makes my face light up at the end of the day like seeing one of these letters in my mailbox. Thanks to the folks at Book Culture for such a wonderful service that sparked romance on the UWS.

Stopped in at Book Culture this morning with the intention of buying «Home» by Carson Ellis. The book had wandered into a hard-​to-​spot corner of the children’s section, and half the staff of the store spent a good thirty minutes doing everything in their power to locate it for me (successfully!). I have nothing but great things to say about the staff of the store — friendly, knowledgeable, helpful. What a rare thing that such a beautiful store is complemented by equally lovely people. Highly recommend stopping in!

I finally wandered in to Book Culture, after tickling through the ‘seconds’ book trucks displayed outside the store for a few months. What a pleasant surprise: books and sundries laid out in a spacious, clean, browser friendly setting. Books are separated by genre, or by ‘new books’, and children’s books, as well as many seconds to hunt through. I found a 2016 Cosmos calendar in the seconds section for a great price.
The jewel in this store is the writing desk service. An enormous desk is available for patrons to write letters. The bookstore sends out these letters (they provide the stamps), once a week. This is not only romantic (you should see this desk!), handwriting a letter forces you to be less edited, more pure, and to freely scratch out your mistakes and over loop your cursive. I will definitely be using this service.
I found the employees very helpful, knowledgeable, and the key ingredient to all retail: quick at the cash register. No long lines with lost or bored employees.
The location is easy to find, I noticed it was dog friendly, and near a Starbucks — there’s nothing like coffee and books to bring out the brain in you.

I love this place. It is such a great addition to the neighborhood and a wonderful shop to browse. I always come across something that I wouldn’t have otherwise and leave feeling inspired. It is very cute and well curated selection of paper goods, gifts, house décor items and of course books.
The kid section is more toys than books. Well they are nice quality toys they are really a distraction. Also, there isn’t anywhere out of the way to park a stroller so taking two toddlers is kind of a nightmare. I prefer to go here without my kids. That said, the kid section is nicely decorated and filled with quality items.

Great for little kids. Downstairs reading area complete with reading nook and benches. Like a cozy little library that also sells toys. Upstairs has enough knick knacks for any last minute gifting — including dishware and fine stationery items. They make the most out of relatively small space.

Omg I love this place + am so happy I live just around the corner. I some times just walk-​in to get inspiration for life, with no other agenda in mind. It’s a beautiful addition to the neighborhood!

Very cute cozy bookstore with a variety of books for sale. I’d like to see them add a section dedicated to african-​american literature. Lots of non-​book items like planners/​notebooks & bags. I always enjoy browsing those items.

I swear I’m not giving Book Culture five stars just because it’s an actual independent purveyor of words on paper that dared to open in the Internet Age. Sure, that’s part of it, but the place is a genuinely great reminder of how vital and essential bookstores can be. Ambiance, vibe, super-​smart and wide-​ranging selection — it’s all here.

Bin hier einmal durch Zufall gekommen, als ich im Upper West Side spazieren gegangen bin. Sehr, sehr schöné Buchhandlung mit einer guten Atmosphäre und einer interessanten Auswahl. «The Marshmallow Test» und «Bernstein Meets Broadway» sind zwei Beispiele davon. Ein sehr tolles Geschäft; ich würde auf jeden Fall hier zurückkommen.

Recently discovered this store and loving it! Wonderful little and stylish oasis on the Upper West Side. They have a really good selection of books, gifts, magazines, and backpacks. What I especially liked was their collection on New York (these are definitely not the books and postcards you find in the souvenir shops) as well as their children’s books selection. What I also love is their wooden writing desk, which you can use to write a letter to somebody.
Oh, and I have to admit something: the second time I went in here, I later discovered (to my own astonishment) that I spent about 60 dollars but did not buy any actual books! (Oops! Oh well, a vase and a phone cover are also really essential, I guess…)

It’s an independent bookstore so I would love to give it five stars. It is nice to see a philosophy section again, for example, random as that selection may be. It is nice to see poetry, too, although the they feature the recent phenom Kate Tempest at the expense of carrying anything by the recently deceased and phenom-​enal Philip Levine. But it just isn’t pleasant: it was bustling, not with customers but with employees who shouted at each other, got in each other’s way… all abuzz, yet the store is completely disorganized and feels hectic and anxious. I was not greeted or offered assistance, which is not that big of a deal, but when I checked out the super cool gal at the register was downright rude. I’m a broke grad student. If I’m paying retail it’s not because I can’t go to Amazon or, better yet, the library (or the academic Book Culture near Columbia, which is great) – it’s a moral purchase, I want to support something, I want bookstores in my life and in the life of future generations. This, however, I cannot support.

They carry not only books (and some discounted GOOD remainders), but also, Tshirts, totes, ceramic ware, and lots of cards and stationery

This gorgeous bookstore is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, with so much more than just books — great selection of cards, stationary, home goods, etc. The downstairs children’s space has lots of nooks for reading and playing — now if only they would get a few story times on the calendar (pretty please :-))!

So so happy to have a wonderful new bookstore in the neighborhood! It’s brand spanking new, has a great road selection of books, friendly staff, a great rewards program… I can’t say enough good things.
I’m definitely coming here over B&N!

What a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. And it’s already solidly crowded!
Great for books, obviously, as well as house and baby gifts. (Not many baby/​children books, though.) Lots of nice cards. This store is already rampant with people. It was hard to tell who actually worked there and could help!

So glad to see a wonderful bookstore added to the neighborhood. In addition to the nice selection of books, there are tons of greeting cards and wrapping paper to choose from. There are also random gifts such as scarves and mittens. There’s a wonderful kid section downstairs as well. Wonderful addition to the ‘nabe.