Growing up, I was a voracious reader. I loved to crack open a book first thing in the morning and last thing at night. In second grade, I got in trouble for surreptitiously devouring “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” under my desk during other lessons because I couldn’t stand that my class was reading it one chapter at a time.
After I went to college, though, other distractions crept in: the internet, peak TV, disposable income. But I’ve never stopped loving the idea of loving books — my apartment is filled with reading material for the day I rediscover the girl who was willing to risk her entire second grade education just to find out what happens next.
I believe that a lot of people are trying to find their way back to a simpler time when nothing was more interesting then a new book, and along with that has come the rise of the book bar. These aren’t mere bookstores, they’re cafes, bars and restaurants that invite you to sit for a while and read with no concern about clearing out for the next patron, providing the “third place” we all so desperately crave.
Wine and the newest release
The Lit. Bar in the Bronx, open since 2019, may be the most widely known example of the book-bar hybrid — the walls are lined with books and bottles of wine — but it’s hardly the only example anymore.
Down in Alphabet City between Avenue A and Avenue B, there’s Book Club Bar, also open since 2019. Just past the long bar — emphasis on the bar, Book Club is open until midnight or 1 a.m. daily — there’s an entire bookstore filled with the latest releases, a cozy seating area and a sizable (for Manhattan) backyard, where I looked on with just a little of envy at the well-read patrons sipping wine, cocktails and coffee. (Note: Laptops are banned after 6 p.m. on weekdays and after noon on weekends.)
Cacio e pepe and design books
If you’re looking for a slightly more specialized book bar, consider Sullaluna, a months-old Italian bistro (the original location is in Venice) on Carmine Street in the West Village. Sullaluna focuses on illustration and design, as well as beautifully illustrated children’s books in both English and Italian artfully displayed on all the walls. (And yes, there are Italian speakers on staff.)
The space is pretty small, so consider making a reservation and see if you can’t get one of the tables in the airy bar area. There is also a full-blown food menu here, so you can slurp up a plate of cacio e pepe over the latest Murakami and a Negroni. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the frittata di patate, a small potato patty under a shower of arugula meant to be pressed between crispy focaccia. I thought I’d ordered something closer to a Spanish omelet, but this was a pleasant mistake.
Chocolate chip cookies and a classic novel
In Brooklyn, the strip of Smith Street already made popular by Books Are Magic is now also home to Liz’s Book Bar, a charming bookshop and bar owned by the author Maura Cheeks. (Liz was Ms. Cheeks’s grandmother.) The space, lined with wood shelving and filled with natural light, is effortlessly cool, which is why it gets pretty packed on weekends with people looking to buy and then read the latest releases and just over 4,000 other titles. That, and the absolutely amazing R&B playlist.
If you have the privilege of working remotely, consider posting up at one of the tables, at the bar or on the dimpled couch set in front of a nonfunctioning fireplace on a weekday — I wrote this very newsletter at the bar. Or get lost in a good book with a glass of wine, a cheese plate or a very good chocolate chip cookie from Bien Cuit. After all, time lost between the pages of a good book is no time lost at all.
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