Rowan Spencer
Rowan Spencer is a creative director, writer, and DJ based in New York City, and is one half of the pop-up restaurant Mon Petit Canard. His work focuses on places of gathering, including Public Records, Colbo, and the many rooms he soundtracks both in and beyond the city.
From a Bowery shop that feels like raiding someone's private library to a Lower East Side spot that sells you a paperback and a pickle, here are five, each paired with a nearby bar, café, or park to crack the spine the moment you've bought it.
Codex
The size and curation of Codex make it feel more like someone’s personal library than a bookstore, in the best way. Finding a gem of literature, art, or politics there really feels like you’re getting away with something. When you do, take it to Tom and Jerry’s around the corner for a whiskey-bitters or four.
Rowan Spencer
Greenlight Bookstore
A beloved community bookstore that has something for everybody, on the shelves and the event calendar. It’s a short walk to Fort Greene Park, which Walt Whitman basically got designed and built for reading (Look it up (at Greenlight)).
Rowan Spencer
Human Relations
I don’t go to as many Bushwick bars and clubs now as I did when I lived there 10 years ago, but I do make a point of going to Human Relations whenever I’m in the neighborhood. Their subtly vast selection includes a lot of mind-opening politics, philosophy, and poetry, as well as several foreign language sections. Take something to Sey Coffee or the Honeys rooftop!
Rowan Spencer
Liz's Book Bar
Coffee. Cab sav. Classic lit. Crossword collections. Liz’s has just about everything you need on a summer afternoon in the city, including indoor and sidewalk seating. If you can’t grab a spot, you’re steps from Carroll Park’s shaded benches or Gowanus Yacht Club for a cheap burger and beer in the sun.
Rowan Spencer
Sweet Pickle Books
Your trusted booksource in the heart of the capital of performative sidewalk reading. Also your trusted picklesource. Elizabeth Street Garden is a nice green space nearby, and you’ve got options when it comes to LES cafes and bars. That’s a story for another list.
Rowan Spencer