McNally Jackson Books SoHo — Local services in New York

McNally Jackson has been one of my favorite booksellers in New York City since I was an NYU undergraduate in 2008. But last week, the Prince Street-based store also served as host to one of the absolute highlights of my life — meeting my personal hero, Bono. More on that in a moment.

(Warning: It’s a long story, one I must share in detail. The next paragraph exclusively covers McNally Jackson’s wonderful qualities.)

One of the three “must-visit” bookstores in NYC, McNally Jackson offers a deep selection of titles; a helpful, courteous staff; and strong “top picks” for those who like to browse. Make sure to visit the lower floor, which contains more titles than its modest size suggests. The store also houses a docile and adorable dog. All of this adds up to an extremely comfortable, calming environment — perfect for immersing one’s self in great literature.

Unfortunately, McNally Jackson no longer has a cafe — likely a result of the COVID years.

But as long as the store exists in some form, I am sure it will offer a top-notch book-buying experience. It will serve as my go-to for new titles. Here’s why:

Around 7 PM this Halloween, U2’s YouTube channel debuted an animated teaser video — mere hours before Bono’s memoir, “Surrender,” officially hit shelves — that clearly featured the lead singer under McNally Jackson awning.

Fans who saw the clip lined up on the street the evening of October 31, to no avail. Undeterred, I spent most of Nov. 1 (release day) at or blocks away from McNally Jackson, figuring my longtime personal hero would make some sort of appearance.

The staff allowed me to read in the store while waiting for a possible appearance. I reflected on the band’s music and perceived similarities between Bono and myself: both of us short redheads who want to better the world, who appreciate great literature, who shattered our humerus (shoulder) bones in NYC-based accidents, and, most significantly, who lost our mothers — both named Iris — at young ages.

That evening, I spotted Bono’s famous security guard near the staircase. I calmly approached him — he was accompanied by Bono’s friendly personal assistants — and explained I had stayed up until 4 AM the previous night, loving the emotional early chapters and especially the sound effects-laden, hilarious audiobook version.

(Side note: Would highly recommend “Surrender,” even for non-U2 fans. The book avoids salacious “rock star” cliches, contains clever writing, and most importantly, includes insightful reflections on the world and life via an outspoken, determined singer-showman-activist narrator.)

As I was about to leave, the body guard gently called: “Hey, Dan? You free the next couple minutes?” I turned, gulped. “Just wait right here.”

Sure enough, Bono emerged shortly thereafter. I can’t really describe my two-minute chat with Bono, because my mind essentially exploded midway through. My initial, most critical spoken words were: “Sir, if you take away nothing else from this conversation — thank you for making art that has contributed so much positivity to my life. I’m not the world’s most optimistic person.” I just hope I made a good impression: I tried to touch on a few points I had expressed in a heartfelt letter I had handed Bono the week prior at an event hosted by the New Yorker.

Bono and I took a photo together (below), which I will forever cherish. He left in the blink of an eye. I still worry that I spoke too much or said something stupid, just as I now worry I’ve written too much about the rockstar instead of the rockstar bookstore. But everyone at McNally Jackson, mostly staff members, seemed shocked that the greatest rock singer of all time (and Nobel Prize nominee) had visited their cozy store.

I will always remain grateful to McNally Jackson, the security guard/the personal assistants, Bono, and U2 for shining so much light onto my life. I keep with me the memory of a lifetime.

Just as important, I have a definitive answer for my favorite bookstore in...

Quite simply THE best bookstore in NYC....forget The Strand and its snotty, snooty, ill tempered, holier than thou stooges (although, to be fair, that is mostly a relic of the past life of The Strand, which I find sad... one of the charms of old NYC that is gone is the surliness, the attitudes, the 'go f*ck yourself' gleem in every shop keeper's eye as he or she sums you up in seconds... remember Bleeker Bob's? Yeah, everyone likes to say Bob was a complete A-Hole, which he was, but EVERYBODY went there because Bob was an A-Hole), McNally Jackson is EVERYTHING you want from a real bookstore. The selections at the front as you walk in are so perfectly curated as to make you think someone was reading your thoughts. The magazine selection rivals the good old days of magazine shops that had everything under the sun from floor to ceiling (another NYC experience that is almost entirely gone); the cafe, should you be able to find a seat, is blissful and relaxing and oft times affords you a glimpse of the glitterati pictured in those very same magazines. It has one of the best art and photography selections outside of museums. Its section of staff pics is just f'in dead on in terms of finding buried gems to read (yeah, you're thinking, meh, it's probably just hipper than thou show off time for English majors... you would be VERY WRONG) and the comments from each staff member are not only erudite, elucidating and intelligent, they are very frequently funny and witty as well. BONUS..it has an unlocked bathroom downstairs so if you just need to pop in some place to unzip, this should be on your map (The Strand as well has free bathrooms...do NOT forget that). Staff know pretty much everything about anything so asking one of them, even if they look like they are NYU freshmen, for recommendations or opinions is always rewarding. Also, they have very frequent and very interesting guest speakers in the cafe running the gamut from new fiction authors to established authors to artists, photographers, musicians, etc. Always check their schedule to see if anything grabs your eye. This place is truly an institution in modern NYC and as with all places like it I am constantly anxious that I will cross Lafayette, pass whatever ridiculous, over-priced, Instagram-famous populated restaurant occupies the corner and see the place shuttered and a COMING SOON CITIBANK sign on the front door. I pray to whatever god controls these things that I die before McNally Jackson does. ...

Insane coffee. Insane as in strong delicious smooth without that artificially amped aftertaste.

The book selection is unparalleled and every book can be judged by its cover. As in, every book is like a piece of candy. Tasty and you want more in other flavors. Except the disgust mechanism that activates after ten or twenty pieces of candy is less likely, since these are books, and 'novel', pardon the pun.

The sections are labeled thoughtfully. Quality rules over quantity, since quantity is not necessary to provide the illusion of quality. As for style over substance, I can't vouch for everything. The basic guarantee I can make is, this is the place to get a cool, clever, stylish, seemingly or actually substantive present for everyone, whether they dislike books or own three editions of Proust's...y'know what I'm saying.

So you (from my observation and experience) will probably spend more than you bargained for, or will be glad you're rich enough to kill off your Christmas list in one go in a matter of minutes.

They have cute pens. Although I wish there wasn't so much plastic involved.

The pastries are not too sugary not on anything yet overwhelming the senses nonetheless. I think from Balthazar? They have good readings too but usually packed. I regret running away from the launch of the 4 hour workweek because that would have been cool to meet Tim Ferris before he became...y'know what I mean.

McNally is nearly the platonic ideal of bookstores. P.s. Bring quarters for the bathroom. I think that's a reasonable charge and less demeaning than having to bother...