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The area below NYC& #39;s Union Square was once called "Book Row" - a six-block stretch boasting nearly 40 bookstores, many of them used and rare bookdealers. Today, the sole survivor is @strandbookstore, whose "18 miles of books" encompass new, used, rare and academic books.
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It& #39;s hard to overstate what an anchor for bookselling, writing and reading The Strand is. Each of my last three tours has taken me there: twice in the rare book room& #39;s event space, and, last week, on the store& #39;s Zoom channel.
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The Strand is a family owned business, now in its sixth generation. Like America& #39;s other great multigenerational bookselling dynasties - thinking of @WellerBookWorks in SLC - the sense of holy mission and history pervades the store.
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The Strand has weathered two World Wars, innumerable recessions and depressions, and even the 1918 flu pandemic. But today, with its revenue down by 70%, it has burned through its reserves and its lines of credit.
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Both of The Strand& #39;s stores are open for in-person shopping, and the store& #39;s site boasts a fantastic ecommerce portal boasting recommendation lists written by some of the store& #39;s most beloved authors:
https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/authors-bookshelf
5/">https://www.strandbooks.com/books-med...
https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/authors-bookshelf
5/">https://www.strandbooks.com/books-med...
Also available online: the treasures of The Strand& #39;s legendary Rare Books Room, boasting everything from signed first editions by @neilhimself to a 7-volume set of Shakespeare folios.
https://www.strandbooks.com/rare
6/">https://www.strandbooks.com/rare"...
https://www.strandbooks.com/rare
6/">https://www.strandbooks.com/rare"...
And if you just want to be surprised and delighted four times/year, you can sign up for thematic subscription boxes: Fiction, YA, Art/Photo, Feminist Lit, Politics, SFF, Kids& #39;, or Classics.
https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/bookhookup
7/">https://www.strandbooks.com/books-med...
https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/bookhookup
7/">https://www.strandbooks.com/books-med...
Saving The Strand is important, but so is saving your local bookseller. Money is tight all around, but as you& #39;re thinking about how to spend whatever discretionary capital you have, please consider buying yourself or a loved one a book.
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Image:
Ajay Suresh
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strand_Bookstore_(48072652191).jpg
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Ajay Suresh
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strand_Bookstore_(48072652191).jpg
CC">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File... BY:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
eof/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
