The area below NYC's Union Square was once called "Book Row" - a six-block stretch boasting nearly 40 bookstores, many of them used and rare bookdealers. Today, the sole survivor is @strandbookstore, whose "18 miles of books" encompass new, used, rare and academic books.

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It's hard to overstate what an anchor for bookselling, writing and reading The Strand is. Each of my last three tours has taken me there: twice in the rare book room's event space, and, last week, on the store's Zoom channel.

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The Strand is a family owned business, now in its sixth generation. Like America's other great multigenerational bookselling dynasties - thinking of @WellerBookWorks in SLC - the sense of holy mission and history pervades the store.

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The Strand has weathered two World Wars, innumerable recessions and depressions, and even the 1918 flu pandemic. But today, with its revenue down by 70%, it has burned through its reserves and its lines of credit.



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Both of The Strand's stores are open for in-person shopping, and the store's site boasts a fantastic ecommerce portal boasting recommendation lists written by some of the store's most beloved authors:

https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/authors-bookshelf

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Also available online: the treasures of The Strand's legendary Rare Books Room, boasting everything from signed first editions by @neilhimself to a 7-volume set of Shakespeare folios.

https://www.strandbooks.com/rare 

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And if you just want to be surprised and delighted four times/year, you can sign up for thematic subscription boxes: Fiction, YA, Art/Photo, Feminist Lit, Politics, SFF, Kids', or Classics.

https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/bookhookup

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Saving The Strand is important, but so is saving your local bookseller. Money is tight all around, but as you're thinking about how to spend whatever discretionary capital you have, please consider buying yourself or a loved one a book.

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Image:
Ajay Suresh
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strand_Bookstore_(48072652191).jpg

CC BY:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

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