EBToday I’m very excited to be participating in the book blogger convention blog tour!
For anyone who doesn’t know, the book blogger convention is a one day event intended to provide support, instruction, and social time for people who blog about books. It’s being held on Friday, May 28, which coincides with Book Expo America (BEA), a yearly book convention held here in new york city. With many bloggers attending bea and visiting new york city for the first time, those of us on the blog tour have been asked to share our expertise. And so, I present my one kernel of advice for you, intrepid book bloggers:
VISIT BROOKLYN!
As an almost lifelong Brooklyn resident (we won’t talk about my three years in Manhattan), I want to encourage all of you to come to my fair borough, though it is not exactly near the Javits Center. Aside from the many, many wonderful reasons to visit Brooklyn, there’s one that’s best of all—its bookstores! So, to make things extremely easy for you, below is a list of my favorite Brooklyn bookstores, along with directions, places to eat, and places to shop nearby.
Spoonbill & Sugartown
Bedford Ave between North 4th and North 5th Sts
how to get there: from the Javits Center, take the A/C/E trains downtown to 14th st, then switch to the L to Bedford Ave.
what to eat nearby: Relish, located in an spiffed-up old-timey diner.
where else to go: Catbird, my favorite jewelry store
why visit: the cat! (and the excellent selection of art books)
Word
Franklin & Milton Sts
how to get there: from Javits, take the E train uptown to 23rd St/Ely in Queens, then switch to the G to Greenpoint Ave
what to eat nearby: the pencil factory (ok, so there’s no food, but there are awesome drinks!)
where else to go: Alter has men’s and women’s shops right across the street from each other.
why visit: the ladies of word (Christine, Stephanie, and Kelly) are the best. plus, they sell bananagrams!
Greenlight
Fulton st between south portland and south elliott
how to get there: 2/3 to atlantic ave
what to eat nearby: smoke joint, the best bbq in brooklyn (and awesome mac n cheese)
where else to go: if you’re jonesing for some suburban-style shopping, the atlantic center mall, featuring the world’s worst target (last night I watched a man with his pants open get kicked out by security), is just down the street
why visit: greenlight hasn’t been around for long, but it’s already made a HUGE impression on the surrounding neighborhood of fort greene, which had been dying for a bookstore.
Book Court
Court st between pacific and dean
how to get there: a/c/e from javits, then switch to the F at jay st to bergen st
what to eat nearby: the baked eggs at clover club are insane
where else to go: court st and smith st (one street over) are lined with stores, but my favorite is bird
why visit: book court’s exactly as old as i am!
So now you have no excuse—come to Brooklyn!
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