The Community Bookstore

My rating is really meaningless, since I tried to check in here last Wed. afternoon, 10÷14÷15,
before all the Elvis Costello goings-​on happening up the street at BookCourt, but alas,
The Community Bookstore was closed, with a sign pasted inside the front door (and UPS receipts or Fedex dangling unheeded from it) claiming it would soon re-​open after a long summer hiatus, sometime this week or next. I’m assuming the Park Slope location is going strong, since their site lists various events coming up at that store. I shopped at the Park Slope locale a few times years ago when I lived in Brooklyn for a while, it was always at least worth a look. I hope the main web site updates soon clueing us in to the future of this location, which I’m sure would be a shame to lose.
A glimpse through the door here made it look like a small cyclone had hit the store, it looks like it’s going to need some serious tidying and curating/​reorganization, a messy bookstore is one thing, but when it’s this funky and dirty it tends to put a lot of people off. Even The Strand isn’t that funky. I hope this places gets its act together, since I’d like to come back over sometime soon and really take a good look through here. Though again, it sounds like the Park Slope locale is, at least, thriving. BookCourt was a fine shop, but it doesn’t feature used/​rare/​antiquarian books.

Very close to Book Court, the Community Bookstore is another great option in the area, with a tad more charm IMO.

I have been living in the neighborhood for ¹⁶⁄₁₇ years and have been passing by this store every weekend since. In previous years, I would slow down and glance into the cardboard boxes of cheap books on the sidewalk or at the new titles in the window. (Back then, I couldn’t afford much, even these cheap books, and would remind myself that I could always get a book that I desperately wanted from the library for free.) However, in the past few years, I haven’t noticed the place much, though I pass by it at least once or twice a weekend. I just walk right by and it rarely even registers.
I was reading an article about Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill just now, though, and it mentioned this store and I decided to checkout Unilocal to see what other people thought of it, which I sometimes do. It was nice to see that people appreciate its quirkiness even if I’m not a big fan (though I am a staunch proponent that I would like to see this shop here until my last dying breaths — it’s the last holdout from how the neighborhood used to be before Cobble Hill became, «I-​Banker Village»).
I went in here once, probably 13 or so years ago. I was trying to take it all in (a Herculean task) and I guess I was perusing too slowly or something because the owner started to watch me and moved to view me when I went up or down a different aisle. I don’t know if he was attracted to me or if he thought I was a thief (I suspect the latter). Regardless, it left a bad taste in my mouth and I haven’t been back inside since. For a brief moment reading these reviews, I thought of going to the shop, again. However, dust and mildew do not sit well with me. I will be sure to slow down and glance inside the next time I go by and appreciate the store’s (and owner’s) eccentricities.

I mean… come on! This place is dusty but magical. The path between the stack of books touching all the way to the ceiling is narrow. So leave your work/​school backpack home! Though it looks chaotic, it is somehow organized by sections such as Economics, Children’s Books, Cookbooks, etc, which was very comforting to know :)
Warning: Time does not stand still when you step into the Community Bookstore
:)

This is my favorite bookstore. The store clerk is a well read man who knows his inventory. Ask for a book and he will know where to look. It may seem scattered and chaotic inside but it is like the classic rap group from Queens, Organized Konfusion. This is our psyche.

I saw the entrance of the book store from afar, all I saw was a lot and a lot of books… feeling overwhelm
But after going inside and look around, I kind of realize the place has a bit of organozed chaos.
I found a set of 4 books by paul scott– the raj quartet. They were not put together but I found them all!
It was 3 dollars each, got a very good old chinese cook book for 6.50. A few more international best seller.
The guy assuming the owner is very nice am friendly. Just a warning, there is no space for 2 ppl to walk up and down the aisles, so be courteous!
Definitely going to come back. Esp when I have more. time to spend there! I love it!

Everything about this place is awesome. I don’t have much praise to add that others haven’t said, but I do have two useful pieces of advice:
1) This is John’s shop. Sure, the sign says 3−11pm, but sometimes he’s a little late, and opens at 4pm. Or sometimes he just feels like hanging out and it’s open until midnight. Call in advance.
2) You will walk in, look at the towers of books stacked three rows deep, and think, «Holy moly! I guess the only thing to do is just dig around until I maybe find (or maybe don’t) the thing I’m looking for. No one could know what’s actually i here.» 100% wrong! John knows everything that’s in here. You will be baffled, but he will tell you what’s what. Call in advance.

I came here looking for plastic wrap for a goodie bag I was making for Thanksgiving. I asked the cashier if he had bam he had.
This isnt why I rated the shop 5 stars. Its rare when the store clerk leaves in an impression on you. I am not from this area but I am a frequent visitor. Walking in, I saw so many beautiful books that alone was breath taking. Stores lack intellectual conversation past the small talk. And this man made me realize we lack this skill because he knew how to carry on a conversation. Why can everyone be like him =[
This is why this shop deserves 5 stars. Outstanding customer service and a pleasant shopping experience!

Thumbs up! No its not a place for degree-​less, sexless, character-​less Republicans. What would be the lure? No AM talk radio pundits here, just books! Books galore. Yes: raw, uncensored, open, accessible information here, unmonitored and unrestricted .free-​flowing texts. emanating and dispersing throughout the community via this personable homey little shop. Books to support the free change of debate and ideas and expression and individuality. Quirky, eccentric, dusty, sloppy.disheveled.human.American. Let’s keep this place going! To hell with damn Barnes & Nobles down the street!

The Community Bookstore is the last living gem of used bookstores in New York. If you are a used book addict like me, you can’t miss this place. John the owner is a wonderful human being. Yes, it is crammed and chaotic and you can hardly move in there, but that is what used bookstores used to be. You just have to be open to unexpected encounters and you will always make a great find.
I hope this place never closes…

Been going here since I was a kid… can’t recommend it highly enough.

An adorable hidden gem of a bookstore. Aesthetically very pleasing with sleek dark oak (?) shelves and a calm, cool vibe. I could have stayed in here all day. Not the biggest bookstore in the world – if you can’t find what you’re looking for, there’s always B&N down the road), but enough to keep you curious and entertained. The kids section in the back is adorable, set up for kids to read and even play piano!
Friendly staff and, I noticed, you can order books through the website for in-​store pick-​up, which is pretty cool as well.
HOORAY FOR LOCAL BOOKSTORES!

I made the trip down from Bed/​Stuy yesterday to look for a copy of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I arrived at 3 PM. Saturday afternoon. The shop was closed up with no lights on. It’s notably disheveled appearance looked even worse than the last time I was there several years ago. It had the look of permanently closed that accompanies a shop no longer open for business. Call before you make the trip.

Community Bookstore is like a book-hoarder’s storage unit. It’s a cramped, disorganized, poorly-​lit, unheated space. On a 40-​degree fall evening, with the door kept open to the street, it was so cold indoors that I really needed my gloves but in order to turn the pages of books I had to take them off and freeze. The cold seeped through the soles of my shoes from the frigid floor. Still, I spent over an hour in there satisfying my curiosity, not wanting to leave before I’d seen everything.
There’s barely room for one person (fuggedabout two!) to move through the aisles without knocking over something. Hand-​written signs tacked haphazardly suggest what topic might (or might not) be found there. You can’t go into this store with any other expectation than to browse. On the surface of the piles there are multiple copies of insanely popular recent hits such as the Twilight series or the Da Vinci Code. You must excavate. Books are shelved in double rows: pull out the front to see what’s behind. The eccentric owner has no mysterious encyclopedic knowledge of his inventory, or any database to refer to. He’s aloof but willing to try to answer questions. He hangs out and smokes between customer check-​outs. He seems to be without any clear guideline on pricing except that «new» books are all 20% off retail.
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys the time spent on the hunt, you will love Community Bookstore. Here are my finds:
* A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
* The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo
* How the Other Half Lives (Including the Author’s Photographs) by Jacob Riis
* Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan
* Brooklyn Botanic Garden Auxiliary Cookbook

This place reminds me of Book Scout out in Greenport, LI, a mess, but if you have time to pick, lift, separate, sort, and you can stand the occasional smell of smoke (I think the owner smokes) and squeezing by other customers in the footpaths between shelves and piles and dumpsites of books, you will definitely find stuff you haven’t found anywhere else. I found a copy of DIVINA TRACE in hardcover, an amazing novel and very hard to find (like THE STONES OF SUMMER used to be) and a little first edition paperback of Thomas Merton’s CABLES TO THE ACE, which I had never heard of. It is a wonderful free associative, slightly surreal romp and a serious meditation/​prayer to God at the same time.

Pretty solid bookstore. My friend got «Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants» for $ 1, and I got another chick lit book for $ 2. I also saw Emily Giffin’s (author of «Something Borrowed») book here in pretty brand new condition, and he said it’s just 50% off. Better than ordering from anywhere else!
This place is a bit of a mess, but I did see a ton of popular bestsellers, etc. It’s sort of disorganized with books all over the place, but I didn’t find it too hard to find books.
Surprisingly, they do take credit card here. I wouldn’t have expected that, but they do. Word.

Whenever I walk by this place, I feel compelled to look through the boxes of $ 1 books. It’s a ritual of mine.
I’ve only been inside one time. It was a charming, dusty mess. I prefer browsing outside.
Also, this store has the oddest business hours: 3 pm to 11 pm last time I checked.

First, some analogies:
– DC folk, this is Capitol Books.
– Boston folk, this is those old dusty secondhand bookstores we had in Harvard Square before Harvard Square became the ATM capital of the universe.
Now, for the rest of the review:
The other reviewers capture it well — enter the dusty labyrinth and you will find a tremendous selection at very low prices (you want a Colum McCann? He’s got it. John Banville? Yup. Chang-​Rae Lee? Yup. He’s got it all, which isn’t surprising since there’s a few tons of dusty piled-​high books in this place). Dig, dig, dig, and you will find something good as long as you don’t knock over a sky-​high pile of books.
Truth be told — and I’ve said this in other reviews of used bookstores — I tend to like used bookstores that are organized, and that buy (or acquire) only good stuff. I’m fine at a used bookstore that has only quality fiction or good academic stuff (think Raven in Harvard Square). And I’m definitely someone who is sensitive to clutter — when I walked into this place, I declared «this feels a bit like insanity to me.» And since I loved used book stores, my theory has always been that to ensure their survival, they need to be charming, organized, clean, and mission-​driven (i.e. quality fiction only). But even with all those caveats, I still poked around for a few minutes, and I was happy that this totally quirky, totally jam-​packed place is still going strong on Court St.

The owner of The Community Bookstore admits the place is a total mess but he likes it that way and thinks there should be places like it. So do I. I love digging through all of the books — it’s like hunting for buried treasure. I only wish I had more room in my apartment for a bigger library. This place is awesome!

You know those stories of people finding the original manuscript of some 19^th century writer for dirt cheap? Yeah, if someone told me that it happened at the Community Bookstore, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.
It’s pure foraging madness in the store. There’s some semblence of classification, but it’s really more of a dive-​in chaos. And that’s what’s so awful and so charming about the place. If you’re looking for a specific title, do yourself a HUGE favor and stay away from this place. If you’re looking for something, but you just don’t know what, come on in (with a hard hat on).
I went inside because I’m a sucker for independent bookstores. It was a little intimidating at first (OK, a lot). And some of the books look like they carry ebola, but once you get over thtat it’s really fun just going through.
I got a comic book that I didn’t need, but now adore and a cheap copy of Nabokov for under $ 10. I’m not quite sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the owner makes up the price at the register. The comic book had a price scribbled on it, but for the paperback, he just haphazardly punched in something. Kinda scary, and kinda charming.
Lastly, I’m glad to hear that the owner is back. I went two days before he left, and we had a conversation about France. I don’t recall much, but I remember him being very sweet.