Best Bookstores in Brooklyn

CENTER FOR FICTION

The Center for Fiction is a light-filled bookstore lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves in Fort Greene. As much as you’d like to fulfill your Beauty & The Beast fantasies, the ladders to access the books on higher shelves are unfortunately for staff only. What makes this bookstore special is its extensive selection of work written by BIPOC authors. It’s also conveniently next to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a progressive arts & culture center, and Blick Art Supplies. Don’t forget to grab some tacos at Tacombi, a vintage-inspired Mexican restaurant, across the street.

BOOKS ARE MAGIC

Books Are Magic is perfectly located on a street with full of eclectic restaurants and small unique shops in Cobble Hill. This neighborhood is surprisingly as date-friendly as it is family-friendly. Make sure to support these Asian-American owned businesses while you’re there: try some Filipino barbecue at FOB Brooklyn and get rose ice cream at Malai afterward.

MCNALLY JACKSON

McNally Jackson is my absolute bookstore — they’ve recently opened a location inside City Pointe in Downtown Brooklyn, which is home to the Dekalb Market. This bookstore is designed with a gorgeous stairway of books that you can adore as you’re making your way upstairs. If you’re hungry, you can have lunch downstairs at the food hall or you can grab drinks and small bites at Grand Army Bar, a local favorite.