Mercer Street Books & Records — Local services in New York

This place is such a sweet lil nugget, please if you visit, just throw your money at this fabulous store. It sells actual used books at very low prices (most books are ~$5) which less and less stores do these days as they opt for moving a shipment of the newest release. Thats fine too, but this is where I go just to get lost, discover 4 or 5 books in their diverse (somewhat random.. or maybe serendipitous?!) selection, divided into sections. That could mean a vintage cookbook, a memior by some person I never heard of, a lesser known title by a favorite author or, indeed -- that big best seller from 6 years ago I never got to, now $4 on paperback. A real gem. If you love to read or just want to feel like you are in...

Loved that they had racks of preview copies, but maybe that's just me. I didn't explore for too long but it had an array of books and records and I picked up several intriguing selections without even going that deep into the store. Ambiance was more "basic" than that dusty, cozy used books/record store vibe we may all be longing for these days - but don't let that stop you: their titles are so entrancing I barely noticed anyway. I'll be going back and you will be glad if you go there too. They're open 12-8pm every day, in a neighborhood where you can forget your troubles. So go. Like, now. Before you buy anything else...

Really disappointed to see a cart of advanced reader copies (ARCs or galleys) for sale in this store. These are unfinished copies of books that publishers have sent them for free and are not to be resold which is clearly stated on the covers. After bringing this to the attention of the manager it was clear that he was completely aware and completely uncaring of his unethical practice. There are so many hard working people that work endlessly to write and manufacture and publish books. This practice does all of them a disservice and shows a complete lack of respect for the publishing industry. Spend your...