After several decades of independent book sellers going under as online book sales surged, there's been a resurgence in new and used book stores opening across the nation, including in Brooklyn.
New York City is home to the largest number of independent book stores, and Brooklyn has over 50, according to the city Office of Media & Entertainment. So if you're looking for the perfect gift for your literary family and friends this holiday season, look no further than these three new independent Brooklyn bookstores!
When Andrew Colarusso moved back to his childhood home in Ditmas Park after teaching at Brown University for seven years, he wasn’t sure what he would do next.
A fan of comic books, he started roaming the city, sometimes going as far as Midtown Manhattan, to browse spinner racks. Then, he thought, “What if I had a little comic book shop? Like the kind of VHS store that used to exist across the street. A tiny place that brought us joy.”
After seeing a vacancy in his neighborhood, he decided to open a general bookstore with a comic section in 2023.
Still, opening a business was unfamiliar. “I've never wanted to be in business. It goes against my general inclinations,” he explained.
Yet, as a community has developed around the store, he’s seen how the space fosters belonging. “This is a space where people feel open to engage and develop. It’s a hub of communication—not just via text, but in spoken word and presence,” Colarusso added.
For instance, Maria, a Ditmas Park resident who recently immigrated from Colombia, came into the bookstore, located at 1021 Cortelyou Rd., once and now sells empanadas outside regularly.
“The people in the neighborhood love her and look forward to her empanadas and arepas. It’s one of my favorite things about the shop,” Colarusso said.
Hive Mind Books is the latest addition to Brooklyn’s book scene, which opened in October in Bushwick. A queer-focused bookstore and coffee shop, Hive Mind has been operating as a traveling bookseller since 2021, but now has a permanent home at 219 Irving Ave.
Co-owned by Julie Wernersbach, a veteran bookseller and the former literary director of the Texas Book Festival, the store offers a dedicated space for LGBTQ+ Brooklynites to discover and enjoy books that reflect their community.
“At most bookstores, there's a queer section, but it's maybe one or two shelves. Or, sometimes, queer authors' books are mixed into other sections, so you have to really hunt for them,” Wernersbach explained.
At Hive Mind, queer stories are foregrounded. “It’s really important that queer books are front and center. You can walk up to our entire fiction section and know all of the books are by queer and trans writers,” she added.
Hive Mind also hosts various events, including the popular (and free) Hive Mind Reading Room, where attendees can hang out, read, and enjoy coffee and book discounts. This month, Hive Mind is hosting a Queer Writing Night, a Tarot Card Reading event and a book signing with Vera Blossom, author of the new essay collection How to Fuck Like A Girl.
For residents of Kensington and Prospect Park South, Lofty Pigeon Books has become the area's go-to spot for book lovers.
The store, which opened in 2023, is owned by Briana Parker and Davi Marra, a married couple who met working at the Corner Bookstore on the Upper East Side.
For several years after they first met, Parker pursued a career in editing while Marra continued in independent book-selling. However, both of them “had separate dreams since childhood to open a bookstore,” Parker said.
Then, during the pandemic, when many people were leaving New York City, the duo decided to do the opposite: “We realized we wanted to dig our heels in and invest in this place. We wanted to contribute to and benefit from being in a community” she added.
The shop’s whimsical pigeon logo, found in a mural on the side of the shop and on store merchandise, reflects its highbrow, lowbrow ethos. “We want to have all kinds of books—whether you want entertainment, distraction or challenge. It’s meant to be a little something for everyone,” Marra said.
As an independent bookseller, Lofty Pigeon, at 743 Church Ave., is also unencumbered by the narrow inventory of larger book vendors.
“We have the opportunity to highlight authors that aren't backed by giant publishers and we have the chance to curate books that we sense there’s an immediate need for in the community” Marra said.
Lofty Pigeon hosts story time twice a week, author events, comedy open mics and Hush Hour, a silent book club, among other events.
