Jun. 25, 2025 By Jenny Seo Romance novels were once dismissed as a “guilty pleasure,” too fluffy for those serious about reading. Now, they’re finally having their moment, with The Ripped Bodice in Park Slope at the center of the trend. Sisters Bea and Leah Koch, owners of the bookstore dedicated almost entirely to…
Jun. 18, 2025 By Olivia Seaman Step into Coney Island on a summer day and you’ll hear it — screams from the Cyclone, music blasting from boardwalk speakers. Walk down Surf Avenue and you’ll see a different kind of spectacle: Sideshows by the Seashore. Inside, you’ll see performers twirling fire or hammering nails into…
Jun. 6, 2025 By Kirstyn Brendlen This summer, Brooklynites can step into a lush, fantastical world without leaving the borough as the Brooklyn Public Library welcomes “Tove Jansson and the Moomins: The Door is Always Open,” the first-ever U.S. exhibit dedicated to the author and her treasured characters. Jansson, a beloved Finnish writer and…
Jun. 6, 2025 By Olivia Seaman When Dessa Carroll became a mother in 2024, she started attending storytimes and “mommy and me” workshops around Flatbush. But as she made her way through Brooklyn’s family-friendly spaces, she couldn’t help but notice a troubling pattern: a lack of diversity. “The only focus on Black or BIPOC…
May. 28, 2025 By Kirstyn Brendlen Basketball and books are colliding as the Brooklyn Public Library teams up with the New York Liberty to release special-edition Liberty-themed library cards. The cards — featuring images of the championship-winning WNBA team and its iconic mascot, Ellie the Elephant, will be available at all BPL branches starting…
May. 22, 2025 By Matt Tracy As a customer, K. Kerimian always enjoyed visiting bookstores, but when they would ask workers about the whereabouts of the queer section, they started noticing a pattern. “I would be met with, ‘There isn’t one,’ or a catchall of ‘Here is all the marginalized identities,’” said K. Kerimian,…
May. 6, 2025 By Kirstyn Brendlen Since the Walt Whitman Library closed for renovations in March, librarians have been keeping its services alive elsewhere, hosting computer classes at the Igersoll Community Center, book discussions at the Willoughby Older Adult Club, and welcoming regular visits from the Bookmobile. On May 6, the library brought everything…
May. 1, 2025 By Miriam Norwitz Brooklyn’s very own Greenlight Bookstore has been voted New York’s most popular small business, according to a new poll from Advanced Funds Network. The org polled 3,014 people asking which small businesses have products or services so beloved they would travel over an hour to get them —…
Apr. 10, 2025 By Gabriele Holtermann The 10th annual Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl returns April 19-26, inviting bookworms on a literary journey through as many as 26 independent bookstores across the borough. Inspired by similar bookstore-led events in cities like Seattle and Washington, D.C., the crawl celebrates Brooklyn’s literary spirit and cultural diversity. Participants can…
Feb. 3, 2025 By Lauren Rapp & Meaghan McGoldrick O'Neil This February, Brooklyn is celebrating Black History Month with a dynamic lineup of events that highlight the borough’s deep-rooted connections to Black culture, history and achievements. From the soulful sounds of live performances at local theaters to thought-provoking discussions on the borough’s role in…