Baseball Toaster Bronx Banter
Help
One Stop Shop
2008-06-13 10:16
by Alex Belth

I love used book stores, I'm just a sucker for 'em.  These days, used book stores are doing a lot of thier business on-line which takes some, but not all of the fun out of book-hunting.  It just so happens that one of our own, a Banterite who goes by the handle "unmoderated" runs a used book store (pictured below).  I've been using him recently in my search for old books and he's been great to work with.  Check out the store on-line and please consider supporting one of the gang. 

Comments
2008-06-13 10:34:29
1.   Alex Belth
Oh, and I should mention. I asked Mike Popek, aka unmoderated, if I could put up a post about his store. He insisted that it wasn't necessary. But I think that it is. Not only because he's a loyal BB reader/participant, but because he's good at what he does professionally, I was very happy with our transaction and further it is my pleasure to help spread the word. Good karma and whatnot.
2008-06-13 10:56:00
2.   rbj
Bookmarked! I love used bookstores. Er, usedbook stores?

Nothing like coming across an old gem that you never knew about. And while I use Amazon a lot, nothing beats browsing.

2008-06-13 11:06:18
3.   Alex Belth
browsing and then finding that special book, for a good price, NOTHING beats that thrill.
2008-06-13 11:20:33
4.   Eirias
I love used book stores. Truly great fun.
2008-06-13 11:47:30
5.   Raf
Coliseum Books FTW... Haven't been since they reopened though, so I don't know how they're doing now.
2008-06-13 11:51:04
6.   dianagramr
5

They reopened???? Where? When?

I fondly remember their presence on 57th Street, and then they moved across from Bryant Park.

http://www.coliseumbooks.com/

2008-06-13 11:53:00
7.   dianagramr
And of course, there is always Strand Books

http://www.strandbooks.com/

And here is a good web-only site for used books:

http://www.alibris.com/

2008-06-13 11:54:47
8.   kylepetterson
While I'm not much of a used book store kind of guy, I love digging through used LP's. I can to that for hours.
2008-06-13 11:56:01
9.   Raf
6 I had no idea they closed again; the Bryant Park location was the one I was talking about. I hadn't been to that location, and it doesn't look like I ever will be...
2008-06-13 12:00:32
10.   williamnyy23
I found an original print copy of Bob Hope's "I Never Left Home" in a London churchyard that was having a book fair. I love Bob Hope and had read the book several years before, so to me, it was like finding the holy grail. Browsing old books, or any form of nostalgia, definitely provides a unique, wisful feeling.
2008-06-13 12:01:25
11.   williamnyy23
10 make that wistful, although wishful would have also applied.
2008-06-13 12:09:58
12.   dianagramr
In a used bookstore in my old neighborhood of Jackson Heights about 20 years ago, I stumbled upon this, and bought it for a mere $3

http://www.betweenthecovers.com/btc/item/81870
2008-06-13 12:10:39
13.   Shaun P
Sweet! Some good independent sellers in the Boston area, but they are better in person than online. I usually use abebooks.com but now I'll make sure to try your place online first, unmoderated.
2008-06-13 12:29:40
14.   bp1
8 You'd love the Great House of Guitars in Rochester. I haven't been there since I got out of school (20 years!! Geez - how'd that happen), but I see it's still the same old crazy place it always was.

http://www.rocpic.com/hog/hog.html

Alex - you da man today. Salami and used book stores all in one day? Gotta be a big Yankee win tonight. Just too much good karma in the air for anything else.

2008-06-13 12:59:32
15.   dianagramr
NY-loving and baseball fan Tim Russert (Meet the Press) passed away today of a heart attack at the age of 58.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145431/

2008-06-13 13:19:47
16.   kylepetterson
14 Oddly enough, I've been there. My wife is from Rochester and I was there visiting her family and her dad took me there. One of the 3 times I've been to New York.
2008-06-13 13:29:33
17.   Alex Belth
The Strand is still a place to check out. It's far more managable to get around these days--they've widen the staircases, installed an elevator, but you just can't get real "deals" like you once could. Still, it's a good place to snoop around.

The Coliseum on 57th street was a great store, and memorable for me because when I was a kid, only that place and Shakespeare and company on the Upper West Side were open late. When they moved across the street from Bryant Park, they lost all their personality and just became another store--they were always pricey to boot.

2008-06-13 13:34:23
18.   Alex Belth
Diggin in the crates for records is a great hobby too, although in the hip hop world it isn't what it once was either, especially now that so many rare soul/funk records have been reissued.

I once went to an overpriced record store in a New England college town, and the heads there were mad snotty. All their stock was too expensive. They didn't have but a few rap records, but I found a sealed copy of "Description of a Fool," a single from A Tribe Called Quest's first album, for five bucks. My eyes almost bugged out of my head. I steadied myself, paid for it, and resisted the urge to dance up and down and go "In Your Face Jerky Record Store Dorks!"

Then, I flipped it for $40 bucks back in NYC.

2008-06-13 13:42:16
19.   unmoderated
hey, that photo looks a lot like -
2008-06-13 13:56:17
20.   Raf
18 I found a mint copy of Rappers Delight @ the flea markets they used to have @ Yonkers Raceway a number of years ago. Got it for a couple of dollars.

Not a big fan of wrecka stows, but give me a Salvation Army, or any other thrift shop (Volunteers of America), and I'll spend the better part of a day diggin through the crates. Scored a beautiful copy of "Mr Magic's Rap Attack" vols 1 AND 2.

2008-06-13 14:05:06
21.   JL25and3
17 Widened the staircase? That's just wrong.
2008-06-13 16:59:14
22.   rbj
18 I'll root around for used vinyl too, but more for rock-n-roll. Of course I need a new needle for my record player too.

And next month I'm going to Portland OR for a few days -- Powells Books is an amazing store, a damn near rival for Strand.

Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.