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Category: Bookstores [Edit]
Neighborhood: Morningside HeightsCathedral Pkwy (1)
Mon-Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
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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?
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.
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!
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.
In terms of having the best selection of academic books, it gets no better than Book Culture. I've been going here a long time. I still call it Labyrinth, but the selection is just as good.
Cool place! Full of eye-opening selections, that can be tightly focused but intersting still to those who are not in whatever field.
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.
Confession: It took me a really long time to truly appreciate this store.
The thing is, I've known…
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Interesting bookstore with lots of autobiographies, memoirs, historical perspectives, and other genres. Pretty cramped up space, so if you're looking for something in particular, be sure to ask. Otherwise, a quick browse is enough.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Normally I am like that grad student in the movie Metropolitan.
"Books?" he gasps. "Who has time to read books? I read book *reviews*..."
(He also takes a taxi to the Hamptons, so I am not saying he is my role model.)
Besides, books take up a lot of space in an apartment already filled with stuff.
However, when I want my fix for intemellectual brain candy, I stroll up to Labyrinth for a gander through their aisles.
Yum!
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 likey, 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.
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.
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 ....
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Great bookstore for cultural/political studies and occasional discount and remainder sales.
Great bookstore...
Not as big as the Strand downtown and not as much variety as Acres of Books in Long Beach, CA, and maybe with not the same reputation as either of those heavy-weights...but this bookstore is much more focused, as many reviewers have indicated. Yes, they've got great philosophy, history, cultural studies, and critical theory sections; I'm less happy with the Art History and Film and Architecture sections (many of the best titles are full-price), but then again, that's my specialty, so I'm never happy enough with selection and price :) On their website, you can sign up for amazing email alerts on recently stocked discounted books in various topics (I get Cultural Studies, Art, US History, etc.) but unfortunately, these books are not available for pick-up in the stores: you HAVE to order them online and pay for shipping, as the internet wholesale division of Labyrinth is completely separate from the Labyrinth stores, apparently. Aside from that inconvenience, I love the bookstore: it's the total antithesis of going to a Barnes and Noble-type chain (where they sell tons of stationery, comics, mags, and coffee, but not even the greatest common denominator of "academic titles," like "The Society of the Spectacle"!)
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