What to Read While Apartment Hunting
Absolutely incomprehensible StreetEasy listings, that's what.
Welcome to another edition of Amateur Bibliotherapy, my weekly newsletter about book-y things. Use this Google Form at any time to tell me about what you’re reading—you might be featured here or on my Bookstagram! I’m an affiliate of Bookshop.org, which means that I may make a small commission if you make a purchase through my affiliate links. That commission will be donated to Welcome To Chinatown before the year’s end.
Hi there. Apartment hunting is the bane of my existence, but it does mean I got to see a wild top-floor apartment in a Queen Anne mansion with a gigantic crawl space/boiler room/opium den (see picture #12 and beyond). Though that won’t be my new home, I’m pleased to report that I will in fact be living in Brooklyn once again very soon.
Since I’ve been attending open houses and stomping on necks to get an apartment, I haven’t been reading as much. I am currently flitting between How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell and Winter In Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin.
I have, however, continued to acquire books. Take a gander at my recent finds from some favorite spots!
Recent Acquisitions
Their SoHo store used to have an Espresso Book Machine that allowed patrons to print books themselves, which likely led to a lot of self-publishing by aspiring authors and textbook-printing by cheap NYU students. It’s always seemed to me like the most self-serious of the local indie bookstore options, but they do a great job curating and showcasing small press books and typically have unique staff recommendations.
After a re-routed R train took me beyond my intended destination against my will, I took an impromptu consolation trip to McNally Jackson. I haven’t been there since they installed bargain book bins outside, where I found the intriguing A Queer Anthology of Sickness for $4. I also picked up a copy of Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami, a book I have intended to read since its publication but waited until its paperback release to purchase. I also bought Garden By The Sea by Mercè Rodoreda because I am a sucker for any book that includes “gossip, betrayal, occasional illicit sex on the beach, and impossible yearning” (Harvard Review of Books).
Though I’ve talked about Three Lives at length in this newsletter before, it was before I visited their new temporary location on West 10th Street (they’re renovating their permanent space). They opened their cozy space in 1978 and have a loyal neighborhood clientele, which makes it a delightful spot for eavesdropping on the lives of West Village patrons and booksellers alike. A nosy brat’s dream!
On a recent lunchtime jaunt, I wandered into Three Lives to buy a book for my mother and walked out with my copy of the aforementioned Winter In Sokcho for myself. (I got her a signed copy of Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri, and ordered a copy in the original Italian online as well.) Because I am weak-willed, I also got cupcakes at the nearby Magnolia Bakery and someone yelled from a car that they were probably full of rat droppings. ~New York is back!~
When Cobble Hill literary cornerstone BookCourt closed in 2016, local author Emma Straub decided to open Books Are Magic to fill the void. They host a really lovely scene for local authors, who have participated in lots of book signings and other events (most of which successfully shifted to a virtual setting during the pandemic). Their online presence and community offerings are really strong—and they’ll be a 5-minute walk from my new apartment!
In search of meaning after losing an application war for a glorious Brooklyn Heights apartment, I found solace in Books Are Magic by purchasing a signed copy of Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner. (Her music videos as musician Japanese Breakfast are wild joys.) I remember reading an excerpt of the book back in 2018, so I’ve been looking forward to this book. H Mart continues to be the shit.
The Internet
Because I am a menace to my wallet and society at large, I tend to buy books online when I get bored. This time, I bought Philosophy, Pussycats and Porn by the mononymous writer/actor/pornographer Stoya on a whim and Zigzags by Kamala Pugligandla from Not A Cult.
Stoops
Stoop Kid’s afraid to leave his stoop!
It is finally temperate enough that readers all over the city have started leaving books out on their stoops again! I snagged a copy of If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha in the West Village because I want it to go to a good home (so if you want it, let me know); as you may recall, it was one of my favorite books of 2020. I should’ve also grabbed The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré, according to many of you. While sleep-deprived and traipsing through Carroll Gardens, I snagged a copy of Florence In Ecstasy by Jessie Chaffee because I accidentally thought it was Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett. I am accepting optometrist recommendations.
Stay tuned for some giveaways of books that won’t be coming to Brooklyn with me. But until then, stream Butter by BTS and enjoy the song of the summer!