The Community Bookstore

I’ve been lucky to have lived a couple blocks away from the Community Bookstore for almost three years.
The book selection is on-​point and the titles are curated well. I love peeking at the up front sections where they have best sellers and staff favorites.
The physical space is small, but it definitely adds to the charm. It gives the impression that books are haphazardly placed everywhere, however, they have a pretty robust system in place to locate every title. I’ve never had trouble finding a book and, in dire situations, the staff was quick to help.
Business model-​wise, they also have a buyer’s club, where you get 10 bucks off after every ten books purchased!
Given their community focus, the store hosts numerous book talks. I’m actually shocked at their frequency and they seem to be well-​attended.
All in all, a fantastic Park Slope institution.

The Community Bookstore is awesome. I decided to walk into it after exploring Brooklyn’s Gowanus /​Park Slope areas, and I’m glad I did.
Though this bookstore is relatively small (it’s shaped like a wide rectangle), I could tell that the books on the shelves were well-​curated: with new fiction books, a cultural studies section, many Wallpaper* City Guides in the travel section, and many New York Review Book Classics (which one can identify through their brightly covered spines). Also, the store’s friendly, chill gray cat gave this space a homey, welcoming vibe.
There were around six booksellers in the store, which made finding help quite straightforward and simple. When I asked the cashier if their store held «In Defense of a Liberal Education» by Fareed Zakaria, another store worker who had overheard my question grabbed the book and handed it to me within a few seconds. I felt pretty impressed by how quickly I was able to get that book, and I bought it.
That said, I think the Community Bookstore is a great stop if you want to browse for a great book to read (rather than coming in to look for a specific book), given that it isn’t a large bookstore with every book that you can think of. That’s why I docked off one star– this bookstore lacks a breadth of books, but makes up for that with how thoughtfully curated their shelves are.
This bookstore is the only one I’ve visited that has a backyard area where customers can sit and read, weather-​permitting. This outdoor space has a lovely, rustic, Alice-​in-​Wonderland feel, which I think is The Community Bookstore’s distinctive feature.

Great bookstore, with a cute bookstore cat. I’m very lucky to have a place like this so close. The selection is good considering the size, and I’ve never experienced bad service there. Will definitely keep going back– it’s also a great local spot to bring out of town guests.

They have all the books. And a turtle in a pond in the back for your toddler in the summer. And all the toddler’s books. And most of the people that work there are nice. Yes, they used to let you use your $ 10 for every $ 100 the day of the purchase and now you have to wait for the next time. You need to put on your best book snob attitude and approach it with an eye for you knowing more than them. Then they’ll surprise you if they’re kind. The other day, a cashier got me a tote bag for my huge holiday purchase. plus! Another time, barely eye contact was made asking for a book. Support them, they deserve it, and don’t expect much otherwise and you’ll be fine.

Small selection, rude and snobby customer service.

Community is a treasure. Friendly, smart, helpful staff, a delightful selection of books, an ornery cat – what more could one ask for? The platonic ideal of a local bookstore.

I visited The Community Bookstore on 9÷29÷15 for the first and last time. I won’t ever return to this place. EVER.
Why? Let’s see.
— TERRIBLE customer service.
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+ i searched their website for contemporary monologues for women since i wasn’t able to make it over to The Drama Book Shop, thinking this would save me a trip to the city.
+ website says they have books in stock. Kewl!
+ get to the bookstore — 2 males and 1 female are crowding around the register.
+ no greeting or acknowledgement until i said «hello», and that seemed to annoy them.
+ i go up to the guy at the computer/​register and ask for him to point me in the direction of monologues for women. All 3 stare at me like an alien, as if i asked for some crazy banned book or something. Female says something to other male and they both start giggling. okay.
+ guy at the register immediately says «we don’t have anything».
me: but i checked your website before coming here and saw that you did?
guy: uUGHh *loud sigh* hold on. proceeds to bang on the keyboard. yeah. we don’t have anything in stock.
me: okay, thank you!
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
I wandered further into the bookstore after this bizarre encounter, but left within 2 mins. I found the staff to be rude, pretentious, condescending, and all around shitty attitudes. Don’t bother coming here. They’re not helpful and act as if answering a simple question is too much of a task/​beneath them.

As much as I want to support this independent bookshop, their selection is really limited and uninspired. I never find what I’m looking for, and always wind up at The Strand instead.

This beautiful bookstore has had such excellent customer service and lovely people working there over the years, that it is hard to write this review, but at this point it must be said, spirit of the store is in a slow but steady downhill since the disappearance of most of the seating, the potential for conversation over books, and the fun sense of humor that used to fill the place. I have visited this store many times and always found the staff so refreshingly fun and also aware of practically everything in the store before they even look it up, plus being well-​versed on new and classic books, and ready to engage and recommend and offer opinions. But I have also noticed over time certain workers have been on the grumpy side… and as a few tables, and then all the tables, and then some of the seating, and then most of the seating inside the store has cleared away, that customers (looking not particularly relaxed) don’t really mingle together except to try to steal the other’s chair when she gets up, or parents with babies reading in squashed positions and folks bumping into each other on the way through. Is the piano still in there? I never hear anyone play it anymore. At one point I hear there was an entire café in the back of the bookstore, and a pet reptile for a long time who is now gone. So I am sure they are aware that they are changing the mood from one that was completely unique (pre-​Barnes), old school and quirky and the changes have been gradual, but they are all still felt, as the store becomes a normal sort of store, with some normal unpleasantries.
So l came in recently with friends who have small children, and we found that on this day anyway, where there used to be this awesome feeling with the employees there is now the sort of smug blankness to get the transaction closed and it is about as fun as checking out at CVS.
We came up to buy our books, and the man behind the counter looked generally annoyed with us and acted unwelcoming to the adults. This was a surprise but what was most disappointing was his attitude toward the children’s interest, and the kids were peeking up and asked some little questions about the cat and the store, nothing loud or obnoxious… and they were completely ignored by the man, he doesn’t even look at them. Kind of like they don’t exist. This in a store with a beautiful cove devoted to children’s literature that connects to a garden.
The vibe from this employee was… boredom. Never seen that at Community Books before, ever actually, in several years of shopping here. He seemed a new employee so perhaps is summer part-​time help, and the former staff is going to return. And I am sure I’ll stop in there again hoping for the best. But my stops here feel more like solely a place to get a book I need, and no longer for the cool experience with people that it used to be.
Community Books, bring back some chairs, you’re down to about three. Creating space that allows for book lovers to hang out in the shop (vs. just buying things and finding a spot on the floor to try to read) has set you apart as a special bookstore in the Slope for so long. And please keep the garden space feeling alive, I wonder if that will disappear next, which would be so sad, too much.
But most importantly, hire people who actually like children again? They are part of your community, too.

What a wonderful bookstore. The attendants are helpful and engaging… of course the bookstore cat is super cute, if a little snippy, as one expects from a cat.
What this store lacks in stock they make up for in willingness to order you stock. Indeed, within a few days of requesting a book, it is time to go pick up said book.
If you support independent bookstores, this is a wonderful place to browse and ultimately spend a few hard-​earned dollars.

Great Books store. Wonderful, old school vibe. Friendly, smart, knowledgable staff. Very welcoming to browsing.

Ridiculously cute bookstore that fits right into the community. Proof nr 1: there was a Korean TV show filming in the kids’ section when I was there (because this is what bookstore should look like!). Proof nr 2: Check out their great website, where — among other things — they let the community know that they can deliver your books to your front door: «If you live within walking distance of the store, please remember that we deliver for free! We might even consider delivering out of our walking range if it isn’t an unreasonable distance, like Yonkers. Or France.» Proof nr 3: Quite of the few customers were regulars, as witnessed by the guy at register recognizing them.
I told myself I’d only buy one book, but ended up buying two. Thank goodness I did, as I’m a fast reader and almost finished both on the bus ride back to DC.

I am a jerk. Why? When Community Bookstore was really struggling awhile back and on the verge of extinction I was the jerk still buying stuff from Amazon. I also take many books out of the library. I am atoning for my jerkdom. They will happily order books for you and they arrive in pretty short order so put that amazon 1 click buy button down and scoot over to the store or pick up the phone and call them!

Really great and charming bookstore in the heart of the Slope. The staff is made up of friendly, knowledgeable readers who know their stock. I came in asking about a recent release (The Terminal Bar photo book) and before the person I was asking could look it up the other staff member stood up saying“I think I saw that somewhere” and wandered off as if in a dream. They seemed to listen to the air for a minute before the spark of memory took them and they reached down, grabbing their only copy for me.
I was also on a John Le Carre kick for a while and had some nice conversation at the counter about that author and others. My next statement is the truth I promise: every time I buy a new book it is here. I live a very pleasant 1 mile walk away and look forward to dropping by when I do.
*Forgive me Community Bookstore for I’ve been on a used book kick for a while now, but your shop is the greatest!

Is Christmas stress really excuse to be rude? As many readers may know, January 24^th is National Readathon Day, which is, among other things, a national fundraiser to raise money for people struggling with illiteracy. Many people are working even over the holiday season to organize teams in order to raise money or to find existing teams that they can join.
I get that National Readathon Day falls just after the holiday season. I certainly didn’t pick the day. All I wanted to know was whether the Community Bookstore was going to have a team or not (yes or no question) because I am trying to figure how best to donate and participate.
When I called to ask my yes or no question («I apologize for asking just before the holiday, but will you have a team for National Readathon Day?»), the man who answered the phone said, in the nastiest tone of voice: «You must be kidding me. We have a line out the door.»
In basically the same amount of time, someone could have said: «Yes, we will, and thank you for wanting to be involved, but right now we have a line out the door so can we give you more information after Christmas?» However, it was the «You must be kidding me» that really rubbed me the wrong way. Even a response like, «Thanks for calling, but I really can’t address questions about National Readathon Day until after the holidays» would have been a perfectly pleasant response.
So, in answer to this rude man’s question, no, sir, no. I care about literacy and fundraisers that support it. No, I was not «kidding» you. I will not, however, be supporting your bookstore on National Readathon Day (or, frankly, probably ever again).

Very cute bookstore. Has the necessities for everyone. Without the noise like Barnes and Noble.

Beautiful selection of books, in a beautiful store with friendly people and a gorgeous garden to read in. You can’t do better than this.

Full disclosure: I was only in this bookstore for 15 minutes. My friend had to buy a book here for class and she played with the store cat for 10 of those minutes while I pretended to read Maya Angelou’s newest book, «His Day is Done».
This store seems to have all the books you were looking for and the ones you didn’t know would be great until they suggested it with a cute cat doodle note. I like the look of this bookstore and it seems like everyone was comfortable just walking around, asking questions etc. The staff seemed beyond friendly and ready to help, awesome shop!

This store is adorable. If I had and made more money I would probably buy a book from here every day. *cries* But I probably spent it all on new shoes and beer. *cries* But seriously, there are great ideas for book gifts here. They even have a Shakespearean version of Star Wars. I want that. The science fiction section, which is about 80% of what I read at times, waves dork flag proudly, is a bit sparse. But there are more unique books geared towards humor, some more private editions that may not be widely released and cater towards local and independent authors and publishers. A better selection of children’s books I feel that are not totally generic that you will find in Barnes and Noble. I love small book stores because you will notice more diamonds in the rough instead of National Bestsellers. Only thing is that its still pricey as far as books go.

They don’t have a HUGE selection but they have great books in a cozy small store. Cute back reading area and good kids section as well.

I love this book store! There are so many reasons, but in an effort to keep your attention I will start by listing a few.
#1 They are completely local and support small presses and independent authors
#2 They had an educators night that gave me great ideas for my classroom and introduced me to new texts
#3 They have a cat
#4 The owner (or one of the owners… I think there are two) is very patient and incredibly helpful with suggesting good titles. If I went into Barnes & Noble and asked an employee for suggestions, I’m worried I might end up going home with a work by Dan Brown or Helen Fielding.
#5 Everyone who works here is super kind & knowledgeable

Wow wow wow! I love this place. Great selection of kids’ picture books with new ones carefully displayed to catch your eye. I found two that I went in to buy, plus a whole bunch of others that I will definitely go back for. (I am a teacher. This is a dangerous discovery.)
The staff here was wonderfully helpful and told me when the book I was looking for was coming out in paperback to help me save some money, but when it wasn’t coming out for another six months, I decided to splurge on the giant and expensive hardcover. I’m only $ 20 away from getting $ 10 my order though!
I love the cat that lives here. And the lizardy thing. Both are reasons that I will return. In addition to great book smell.

Quirky independent bookstore in the heart of PS.
I love all the little drawings that inform you that you need reading glasses or to yes clean up after yourself in the restroom.
The seating is limited but the selection of books are adequate for your fiction needs at least. I also like the community book swap where you leave a book and get one for a $ 1. What a great idea!
The back of the store offers a small children’s section, a deserted kitchen, some baked bars sitting out on a plate, and a homey atmosphere for chillin’.
There IS a cat in this store so beware to the cat allergic.