Idlewild Books – New York, NY

October 8, 2010 in bookstore, recommended reading, translation, travel by Kim | 1 comment

In honor of this weekend’s Book Tourism event, I’m posting a a couple of reviews this week of stores participants can visit during their eight hours of exploring Greenwich Village.

The entire five days I spent in New York City, I exited the subway station to the street and turned in the correct direction only once.  Even when I thought ‘my instincts say it’s to the right, so I’ll go to the left,’ I went the wrong way.  I was so sure I heading the correct direction down 19th Street to Idlewild Books that I walked blocks and blocks away from the store.  It’s a lovely neighborhood, I know because I’ve seen it at a pedestrian’s pace.  Actually, a little quicker.  On the way back it started to sprinkle, then it started to rain, then hard, and I started to sprint.  When I entered Idlewild Books I was dripping.  I literally shook myself off on the landing like my golden retriever.

Some of the stained glass and chairs are from the original Idlewild Airport

David, the owner of the store, asked “Did you forget your umbrella?”

I said, “I’m from Los Angeles, I don’t even own an umbrella.”

I’m sure the store is beautiful in any weather, but it is perfect for a stormy day.  It exudes warmth.  Check out the picture with the wooden floors, huge front window and bookshelves everywhere.  There is an alcove or two for curling up in.  In fact, the entire time I was there a man was diligently working on his laptop in a corner.  In Los Angeles, he would be a screenwriter, but since I was in New York I assumed he was writing the next Great American Novel (no, it wasn’t Franzen).

I hesitate to say that Idlewild Books is a travel bookstore because I fear that the title invokes the travel section at Borders with sloppy shelves of guidebooks.  Idlewild Books has guidebooks (they looked neatly organized), but its charm is as an advocate for traveling with or through literature.  In the last 18 months, I think I’ve purchased about a dozen books there (a set for each family vacation) and only one was a guidebook that David practically had to beg me to buy when he found out I loved Italian art.  My experience has been to tell David where I’m going and what I’m interested in and he tells me the books that will add an entirely new dimension to the trip.  I should add, it’s not just me, he recommends the books my teenagers will carry with them.  [What we read on our latest family vacation, including David's suggestions, will be in a future post.]

The store is divided geographically with all the guidebooks, novels, YA, classics and non-fiction about the appropriate area in one location.  By providing novels relevant to the literature, culture and history of various countries, the store is also a treasure trove of translated literature.  When I was looking for books to read while traveling in Italy, it was from Idlewild Books that I found translated gems.  Lately, they started offering language classes in the store.  It’s one stop shopping-research traveling in a country, read it’s literature and learn its language-all at Idlewild Books.

If you can’t make it to the store, check out the website.  I found the website focuses more on guidebooks than literature for some areas, for those countries I recommend calling the store directly and ask for recommendations.  Give it a try, you’ll find that ‘you are there’ reading (to quote Anne Fadiman) enriches your trip.

Idlewild Books

12 W 19th Street

New York, NY 10011

Tel:  212.414.8888

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