By Siddhi: 

Who?  Anyone who loves reading or has an interest in specialized books, music, and rare publications. And especially those who enjoy losing themselves in a labyrinth of endless history and creativity.

What? The Strand Book Store on 828 Broadway in New York City (in the East Village at the corner of East 12th Street). This is the main store. There is also a kiosk in Central Park.

How? You can walk on Broadway until you reach the store or take a subway to the Union Square subway station using the 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, and R lines. Once you’re at Union Square, turn onto Broadway.

Why?  I passed Strand all the time walking from Washington Square Park to Union Square. I didn’t explore it at first because I thought it would be just like any other book store in the city. One day on whim I decided to walk in, and my search for good reads in the Great Apple has never been the same. The store occupies 55,000 square feet of space and houses new, used and out-of-print  literature, film, music, and rare books of every niche on its multi-level property. As a movie lover, I first made my way over to the books on film and was blown away by the unbelievable, never-ending shelves of books I have never heard of in my life. There were expansive collections of interviews from directors I never knew ended up publishing papers and theories on cinema and its production. If you look close enough, you can end up finding signed copies of books from notable filmmakers, musicians, and writers just laying on the shelves of Strand. It really is an amazing place for anyone who loves the arts. The store also has a section dedicated to very unique stationery and New York City themed clothing and accessories. You walk into Strand thinking you’ll spend ten to fifteen minutes in the store, and end up exploring for hours.

To learn more about Strand, go to the site here:

http://www.strandbooks.com/