Loading...
- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Book Culture
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
536 W 112th St(between Amsterdam Ave & Broadway)
New York, NY 10025
Neighborhood: Morningside Heights
(212) 865-1588
- Nearest Transit:
-
Cathedral Pkwy (1)
116 St - Columbia University (1)
103 St (1)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am - 10 pm
Sat 10 am - 8 pm
Sun 11 am - 7 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
51 reviews for Book Culture
Review Highlights
51 reviews in English
-
Review from Hayley A.
10/11/2011
Love love love love love. This is the kind of bookstore you go to when you need a reminder that Barnes and Noble sucks. While the store seems small, they honestly have every book you'll ever need. I went here primarily for course books (they don't carry textbooks), but almost always ended up picking up a few for personal reading.
I love the way the books are laid out along the stairs and bursting from every table. The store is chock-full, but not messy, and it's a pleasure to browse.
The staff is super knowledgeable, and really friendly. They also buy back books, which is great if you're a student.
What topped it all off was when I went on my final trip as a graduating senior to buy back books. When I told one of the employees that I was moving to the Financial District, he thought about it a couple minutes, and then made me a list of all of the independent book stores in the area. Wow. Pleeeaseee give this place your business. -
Review from Michael W.
New York, NY
2/7/2012 6 Check-ins Here
My Holiday Nook will take a silent step backwards to the Book Culture's grab table of Modern Philosophy and Poetry Books.
This place is a bibliophile's Tardis. It just looks small from the outside.
The place is browser friendly. And have a friendly, helping, and knowledgeable staff. -
Review from Alice G.
Manhattan, NY
12/13/2011
This bookstore does have all of your academic book needs! Sometimes the staff are amazing--sometimes they don't know what they're doing, and think you just might steal Lacan in French. I mean, who really wants to steal this, except those of us who think it's easier in the original. Very few people want to steal this book, or Foucault's Surveiller et Punir in French. The bag-checkers can get aggressive. However, Cependant, this is the only bookstore which would actually have these books. It's expensive.
I know, I'm complaining. Why am I giving them 4 stars then? Mainly because they do understand what you're asking for, and they do have an extremely wide selection of everything literary.
Alice -
Review from Rachel H.
Manhattan, NY
5/4/2012
I don't find anything special about this place. One of my Columbia professors had the books for the course placed there so I had to go. She liked Book Culture simply because they let her bring her dog in. Anyways, so I went. It was alright. The staff tried to be as helpful as they could. They were in general knowledgable about where the books are kept, and whether they were originally written in English or not, in which case, any edition should be okay because there was no translation. That part, I'm impressed.
The only thing I found annoying about this place is that they wouldn't tell us if they would buy back certain textbooks over the phone or not. I called and asked if they would take x,y,z books. They were like "you have to come in and bring the books. We can't tell you on the phone" So I went in with all my books which were very heavy, waited in line for 15 minutes, then the staff just checked the bar codes and said, "They are older editions. We can't take any of them." So I walked for 20 minutes with these heavy books just to walk back with them!! What's so hard about spending 5 minutes on the phone letting us know if our books are salable or not???? Super annoyed! -
Review from Seth G.
Brooklyn, NY
3/23/2012
Best used fiction selection I've found in NYC, and the price is right. Book Culture makes my list as one of the best used/indie bookstores in the city. They have new books, book bags, and other items, as well.
-
Review from Dimitrios D.
New York, NY
9/12/2011 2 Check-ins Here
The employees here were quite helpful in quickly locating the books I needed for one of my classes.
I walked in and checked my backpack in with a desk on the 1st level. This bag check employee then directed me upstairs to another gentleman who assisted me within seconds (literally) of locating the texts I needed.
Finally, once carrying my books, another third employee then asked me if I needed further help and when I said no, directed me downstairs to purchase.
A smooth textbook machine! -
Review from Sam S.
7/4/2011
Book Culture evokes the maze like prison of it's erstwhile moniker, "Labyrinth." Luckily there is no hugeass man bull monster trying to eat you, and the staff is really helpful.
Big plus: they carry Dover Thrift Editions sometimes, which is great, because sometimes you would like to be able to afford food. I mean, I'm assuming you're a poor ass Columbia student and you've already found out that the meal plan stuff is laced with arsenic and laxatives.
What, you didn't know? ;) -
Review from Annie H.
New York, NY
6/14/2011
I can always count on Book Culture, to find books I need for class! Especially more progressive or radical literature that can't be found at Barnes and Nobles. It's always a nice place to sit down and read or just relax.
The staff is friendly...The only thing that bothered me is that they sometimes ask to check my bag, as if I'm going to steal the books. -
Review from Sienna K.
Philadelphia, PA
Updated - 6/21/2008
I visited here again today and was once again astounded by how lovely this place is when it isn't school time. As I said before, during the textbook rush times, this place is an awful place. It's overcrowded, they make you check bags, people are brusque, and so on. But, on a nice lazy Saturday like today, it was absolutely pleasant.
I moved back into the neighborhood and had no books to read (they are being treated for critters... of all things). I remembered that somewhere amongst my scattered stuff, I had a coupon for 20% off my next purchase at Labyrinth. And since the coupon isn't valid for textbook purchases, I decided to go ahead and use it today.
Although they didn't have any works of Mario Vargas Llosa, they did have Chang Rae Lee's "Native Speaker," which wasn't available at either St. Mark's Bookstore orThree Lives and Company. Though disappointed that they didn't carry anything by the Peruvian writer, I was happy to finally get the chance to finish "Native Speaker," which I stupidly returned back in high school having read only half of it. I also picked up two other novels, including a marked down copy of Mishima.
They also have new canvas tote bags with a much better design than the last. I figured I needed a new tote bag, so I snagged myself one of those too.
Anyways, they've recently (ok.. within the last year) started a Book Club program. You just sign up and you get random emails, a coupon giving you a 20% discount on non-textbook items, and a membership card. The membership card keeps track of how much you've spent, and for every $200 you spend, you get $10 in store credit... which is... better than nothing.
But yes, run far away from this place in September when it's a total zoo with all those darn Columbia kids running around buying textbooks. Come here during the summer when it's nice and quiet in the neighborhood. Seriously, those Columbia kids are such pests! I should know... I'm one of them.Listed in: Morningside-ish, Independent Bookstores (and…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
12/20/2007
Confession: It took me a really long time to truly appreciate this store.
The thing is, I've known… Read more »
-
-
Review from Sooj O.
New York, NY
2/9/2007
About the only bookstore in NYC that is comparable to University of Chicago's Seminary Co-op, Labyrinth Books is right by Columbia University.
A Columbia art history Ph.D student I knew told me that the Ph.D candidates were given a $400 scholarship by some wealthy lady to spend at Labyrinth Books. And it might be the luckiest thing to happen during the grueling Ph.D. years for some of these people. Labyrinth certainly has the wealth of art history and art criticism books to accomodate all these students.
Furthermore, their holdings in all academic categories are prodigious. They boast their continuing support of poetry as a pallative to the horrors of living in U.S. post-9/11 (and rightly so).
But beyond the academic categories and poetry, they also keep their current events and fiction categories well stocked with good books.
They've been expanding out to set up bookstores at Yale and Princeton. This is important as chainstores such as B&N have monopolized most college bookstores and left college bookstores filled mostly with utter tripe and nonsense.
As their website quotes:
A room without books is like a body without a soul --- Cicero
I couldn't agree more. -
Review from Zoe P.
Arlington, MA
12/22/2007
I went to this bookstore in the last few weeks that it was still Labyrinth. They had a great selection of academic books - the newest stuff, and discounts on older books upstairs.
The joint owners split up, that's why it's called Book Culture now. And, according to a news item I read:
http://www.publishersw...
The owner that kept the store said, "Our neighborhood . . . has been booming, and we're in a position to become a terrific neighborhood bookstore as well as a scholar's destination."
Hopefully that just means more books, not Norah Jones, coffee and breath mints. I'm with Yelper Tim T. Besides, there's a number of well-stocked card and gift stores around the block. Book Culture should stick to what a good bookstore does best - books. -
Review from Z M.
Brooklyn, NY
8/17/2011
I unfortunately had a bad experience at Book Culture. I went upstairs to the book buy back table and the guy with the brillo-ish greying semi-fro greeted me with a dour face and miserable, perfunctory, "Can I help you," which sounded more like, "Go f*ck yourself." Smiling, apparently, may have broken his face. I had 2 hardcover books to sell back, one was a brand new copy of a well loved classic, and the other a very good condition first edition of an intellectual's memoir from the 1960s still with the dust jacket. Dour-brillo-man low-ball offered $1 for each of them. No thank you.
I left the store unhappy with the entire experience, and decided to try an online site. I have yet to list the memoir, but happily, bidding for the brand new book is already up to $16. So s*ck it, dour-brillo-man. -
Review from Melissa S.
New York, NY
7/18/2010
As a student at Columbia, I'd have been thrown into a relationship with Book Culture eventually. It was either that, paying full price on EVERYTHING forever at the Barnes & Noble bookstore, or waiting anxiously for books to come in from half.com--70% of the time long after we'd discussed them in class.
During the school year, no, Book Culture is not a fun place to go. It's clogged around the clock with students loaded up with books, the staff is too distracted to really help you out that much, and if you're buying anything that vaguely looks like a coursebook, don't think they'll let you use one of those awesome coupons you get for joining the Book Club. If you can come in on a less crowded day, though, Book Culture is one hell of an academic bookstore, and has loads of books on basically anything you can think of. And because of the unending supply of cast off books from students, you can often find a used, much less expensive copy of whatever you're looking for. For students selling, they also offer pretty good store credits in exchange, speaking in comparison to B&N or auctioning them off to Powell's.
The staircase to the second floor is itself enticement enough to go upstairs, as it invariably houses marked-down books on Really Cool Stuff. A few of the employees can be a bit distracted, but the majority of the staff is really nice and eager to help you find something. Overall, a cool and well-stocked local bookseller. -
Review from Heath R.
Los Angeles, CA
8/13/2006
One of the best bookstores in New York City. You'll get smarter just walking through the door, even if you're not a student at Columbia.
Labyrinth is one of the most focused cultural studies, politics, and academic bookstores I've ever seen. The selection of little magazines and journals -- academic and literary -- just inside the entry is extremely impressive. And the new-title tables remind me a little of the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass. (Smarter even than Bookcourt's!)
The politics of the shop run slightly left of center (What do you expect from a shop that advertises in the Nation?), and that's reflected in its political, philosophy, and cultural studies sections, as well as throughout the store. Between this and St. Marks, you should be set, you pomo thinkers, you!Listed in: Best NYC Book Stores
-
Review from Tom L.
NY
2/1/2007
One of the only bookstores in the city that reliably has a great selection of critical theory/cultural studies and other awesome stuff. The best part is that they actually carry used books, marked by orange stickers, and I save a lot of money that way. Of course, you have to take into account how many more books I buy because they actually have them in stock, so I'm out much more in the end. Alas.
Anyway, the closest thing to a brothel that a grad student ever dreams of. -
Review from Dan T.
7/15/2010
Is there a secret room with handjobs & unicorns? If so, directions please...if not, damn, I must be missing something.
Everything's in good shape and appears new, but that's why it's whack. When I think independent bookstore, I think old, hard to find books, not standalone B&N or Borders. Book Culture is small yet wastes space, much like Columbia, bless its soul. Most importantly, this joint lacks charm (and adds creepy, leering employees) and is as pretentious as it sounds.Listed in: Read up
-
Review from Hillary T.
New York, NY
10/13/2010
Maybe it's a hazard of the job, but I find myself becoming more and more particular about the bookstores I frequent. But, this one is worth the crosstown trip. Attentive staff, great selection. And, great space for book events. Fine, free wine and a book reading might not be the norm, but it's still worth a trip back.
Award yourself bonus points for supporting your local independent. -
Review from Rachel M.
Brooklyn, NY
1/17/2011
I am in love with Labyrinth/Book Culture. I drop in pretty much every time I'm in the neighborhood. Just can't keep away.
Hint hint, academics: check out the remaindered titles on the staircase. I've found crazy-expensive recently published books for crazy-cheap. -
Review from Bibiana C.
New York, NY
11/2/2009
I heart this bookstore. It services the columbia community and intellectuals everywhere.
The true test of this is where you go: if you walk in and go straight to the back, you might as well go the Barnes and Nobles Columbia bookstore. If you head directly up the stairs lined with books, you are in search of intellectual stimulation. My favorite is the sociology and anthro section; its MASSIVE, and alll those random names your professor happens to drop during class can be found here. Ahhh, enlightenment. Also makes for an excuse to go to office hours.
The best part is the friendly staff. They are happy to help, and if for some reason you cannot find what you are looking for, they will either refer you to a place known to have it in stock, or order it for you. How much more could you ask for? I like to ask for reading suggestions, since they seem to be well versed in all subjects. -
Review from Colleen S.
New York, NY
7/16/2010
Book Culture (aka Labyrinth) is perhaps one of my favorite places in Morningside Heights.
For the reviewers that are complaining about price: Yes, if you stay on the first floor it is expensive. You're paying retail for newly released, usually hardcover, books. It is no different than going to Barnes and Noble.
The magic happens UPSTAIRS. The scholarly collection is spectacular and it is easy to find previously read and previously loved books at great discount prices.
The staff has always been delightful, polite and helpful whenever I have visited. -
Review from Bria D.
11/18/2009
Book Culture is fantastic! I am almost never in Morningside Heights, but this place is so great that I might have to justify an hour trainride from Brooklyn to make it my independent bookstore of choice and habit.
It has the perfect crammed-to-the-gills look without obstructing your movement between shelves--I particularly liked the mounds of books along the stairs up to the second level. For a parenting section that consisted of only two short bookcases, they had an amazing selection--definitely a better selection than you'd get at much larger chain bookstores. I managed to restrict myself to only 4 titles, but it was a struggle. I might cave and head back for more soon. What's a little hour-long trainride between friends, especially when I can read during it? -
Review from JOSEPH M.
Brooklyn, NY
8/17/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Best book store in the city for highbrow, academic topics: philosophy etc. There's a great bargain section on the staircase where there are always irresistible deals.
-
Review from Kimberli M.
New York, NY
2/17/2007
They carry textbooks mainly...
Sadly -- every time I've tried to support them, they didn't have what I was looking for. Oh, and they don't have ANY travel books unless you're looking for a book on NYC. There's a rumour that they may add this section Spring 2007. I'll go back and check. -
Review from Hank C.
7/12/2009
A mini-maze of books by class on the second floor and subject on the first floor. Watch which direction you peer through, you might knock over a stack of books with your gaze.
While you can find many a strange subject here, and local publishers from the University and "thought"-provoking authors, don't expect to find much in the way of mainstream fiction or fun children's literature here... this is a bookstore that knows it caters to the university students and their professors. -
Review from Hubert H.
Cambridge, MA
4/16/2007
Probably has the lowest prices of remainder books in the City. I found a Houellebecq there for $6 (hardcover!) and some texts pertaining to music theory and criticism.
But the cutthroat factor works both ways! They offered me 50 cents / $1.00 in trade for my hardcover (okay, it was beat, and had markings all over inside of it) copy of Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, and yet they sell paperbacks for $11, when used hardcovers can be found on the web for $4. The guy in charge of used acquisitions gave me attitude when I suggested I receive $1.50 in trade if I bought $20 worth of stuff. Huh? Maybe rent for businesses in NYC is so high that shopowners feel like they need to pinch quarters.
Needless, to say, I bought the other books with cash anyways, and kept my copy of The Corrections, which means that I get to read about Alfred and Enid and Chip and DIane over and over and over .... -
Review from Scott J.
New York, NY
7/10/2011
Excellent selection, despite the confusing layout. Employees are helpful. It was a saving grace when I was in art history.
-
Review from Adele K.
Manhattan, NY
8/9/2011
I love this bookstore! It always has what I need, and certainly contains almost all the books I want. I like their "new release" section because it is not ladened with useless self-help books by celebrity pseudo-scientists. In addition, they have a pretty awesome stationery collection, and a well-stocked magazine section. This bookstore makes it a lot easier to support a local establishment!
-
Review from Andrew M.
2/27/2009
The management are helpful, and undoubtedly superior to the Columbia Bookstore. At Columbia's bookstore, finding a semester's books is a scavenger hunt; at Book Culture, they eagerly search out what you need.
One detail, that may cut for or against, depending on your tastes: the staff can be a tid-bit pretentious, and the book book displays seem to encourage the behavior (proust is just a little to obviously displayed... c'mon). The staff sometimes seem to be putting on a bit of a show; I have witnessed two native-english speaking staff members conversing in (poor) Russian, and for all appearances I'd say it was for demonstration, rather than practice.
In all, it's the best in the neighborhood, and I shop there whenever I can. Don't miss their tote-bags. -
Review from Chris C.
Fairfax, VA
7/5/2011
Great for academics. Well-priced.
-
Review from Brian L.
New York, NY
8/20/2009
Great bookstore. Vast selections! Piles of books everywhere, even on the stairs towards the second floor!
They had the book I was looking for too (I live in Staten Island, and the bookstores around my area did not have what I was looking for)! So a big thumbs up to Book Culture for having that book I wanted! Quite the long commute to get to this store though, unfortunately..
A bookstore to recommend! -
Review from Marygold H.
Brooklyn, NY
5/5/2011
I bet you know that I am not an easy star giver, and have given no more than three to those nice and cozy stores that have sprung in Bklyn. But I can't help giving four stars to this former Labyrinth despite its obvious flaws such as unfriendly staff or limited space they don't seem to change. Perhaps out of reminiscence of the time that I spent here years ago, or out of the neighborhood's atmospheric power, I still find myself being a total sucker of the charm whenever I am around there. Their late schedule and some stationaries and totes are irresistable baits as well, beware .
Listed in: Book Porn NYC
-
Review from Claire V.
1/26/2011
I like you. I can stop in any time on my lunch break, find something interesting, wander but a few steps and find something else very different and interesting. Once, you had a great sale of New York Review of Books titles. That was awesome. Please please do it again. And the upstairs discounts are awesome. But my boss keeps giving me gift cards to Barnes & Noble. It probably wouldn't be the best business decision, but if you reversed the floors so that the sale books were calling to me, out on the sidewalk, from just within, I might succumb to you more often.
-
Review from Trevor L.
1/6/2011
I've loved this store since it was Labarynth, and I was a student. This is definately the best bookstore in the Columbia area. There used to be a totally "used" bookstore on Amsterdam that was really good, but it closed a few years back. Book Culture has pretty much any academic type book you want and also has a pretty good literature selection. I see a lot of complaints about the prices, but the books are marked at retail value. Sure you can go online and order at discount, but then you miss the experience of actually browsing the books, seeing something that catches your eye, even if you were there to buy something completely different. I better stop this review now, before I squirt kids with a garden hose and tell them to get off my lawn....
-
Review from Tim T.
New York, NY
9/10/2007
I want my bookstores to forbid Starbucks coffee, to have stairs instead of escalators, and for their staff to have a genuine passion for literature and, well, books. Labyrinth is just that: a true book store. I come to Labyrinth when my only focus is on books (mainly fictional classics), and I don't want to be distracted by the sale of mints or Norah Jones on the speakers. Their selection of books is actually breathtaking, and if you're just leisurely shopping for a read, you will slowly pace back and forth down the isles, slowly shifting your eyes up and down the stacks. Get to Labyrinth, satisfy your inner-geek, and leave the store just that much smarter.
Listed in: Good for Solitude
-
Review from Steven S.
12/4/2010
Come for the sale items that line the staircase on your way upstairs, where you will also find a dreamscape of Columbia course books. Sometimes this is best for reference purposes, since anything that isn't used or on sale is usually retail price. But this is a great place to browse if you're an intellectual sort of person. Well-curated collection. There's another branch on Broadway now with a less scholarly m.o. but also with discounted volumes out front. The staff are generally affable and not so rushed that they won't chat with you, but you may encounter (less and less frequently, I'm finding), the occasional twat. Not as bad in that department as The Strand, though, where it seems to be a hiring principle.
-
Review from Lily H.
1/4/2008
I used to come here and see what the Columbia students were reading. Or rather, what the smart faculty were assigning for them. "Book Culture" -- great concept, but they might have come up with a more clever way of conveying it.
Listed in: bookstores
-
Review from David S.
Champaign, IL
8/20/2007
One-of-a-kind bookstore in New York City. I finally had to check it out after listening to the raves from both my dad and brother, both of who are bookworms (eh... who am I fooling, I am one too...). The place specializes in humanities, and the selection of books on history, philosophy, sociology etc. is impressive. The also have a good literature and fiction selection, and a lot of foreign language books (including recent releases). Their French literature aisle is impressive (and probably the largest I've seen in the US, but I have yet to go to Librairie de France at the Rockefeller Center). The bookstore is a bit out of the way (a couple of blocks south of Columbia), but it's worth the detour and the area is actually quite nice to walk around.
Listed in: Books!
-
Review from Lisa D.
11/9/2008
This store is dangerous--as you walk upstairs, the sides are lined with piles of remainder books, including nonfiction on esoteric topics, philosophy, biography, and relatively new fiction, all selling for an average price of $5. More remainders fill tables upstairs, along with the best literary fiction, poetry, literary criticism and theory collections around. Discounted used books are shelved next to new, and it's rare that you won't find what you're looking for. More likely, you will find five things you didn't know you were looking for but can't do without. The sell-back system is almost not worth it because they will likely buy about 1/3 of your books for a few cents each. I'm puzzled as to why this store changed its name from the whimsical Labryinth to the banal Book Culture, and I wish they would change it back.
Listed in: Treasure Troves, Best of the West (uws that…, Bookmarked
-
Review from Zach H.
New York, NY
1/12/2008
context: I spent the last 2 years of my life becoming a MAster of social sciences at the university of chicago, which, like, having a non-ivy inferiority complex and, like, being located in the asshole of chicago, makes it SOOOO fucking indie. correspondingly they have two of my favorite bookstores in the world: the seminary co-op and powell's.
And Labyrinth (still refusing to call it by the ridiculous new moniker 'book culture') looks like a Barnes & Noble compared to those. I was a little disappointed when I walked in the first time. Then I eventually got intro'd to the rest of the NYC bookstore scene and realized I wasn't in THAT bad of shape. Labyrinth lacks charm, in my opinion, but its gots what I need -- good/'important' fiction/lit and academic and arty books all around.
I've also strolled in here a couple times during readings and gotten free wine/cheese, which is a bonus, and its of course awesome they host such things, free and open to the masses.
Bottomline: this place lacks the dingyness and charm I typically like, but if you are an academicky type its going to be right down your alley. -
Review from Amanda M.
Islip, NY
12/7/2005
A great place to find books, especially for college classes, if you don't feel like going the college bookstore route. They tend to run a tad bit cheaper than the college bookstores.
