Step aside Barnes & Noble, New Yorkers have declared their independence. Bucking the out-discounting trend of yesteryear that sent Booklink and other cozy neighborhood staples packing, small bookstores are once again taking hold around the city. So, to help promote the who’s who of NYC’s mom-and-pop hardcover renaissance is the first-ever Independent Bookstore Week. Through Saturday Nov. 21, non-chain bookstores in every borough are hosting a slew of events. In our borough alone, you’ll find a Palin/Nabokov release party and simultaneous midnight reading, a neighborhood essay contest and a borough-wide photo scavenger hunt. But there’s plenty more, so check out our Brooklyn highlights, and be sure to peruse the full list of participating sellers.
Unnameable Books, 600 Vanderbilt Ave., 718-789-1534, November 16, 11:30 p.m.
This is the place for that simultaneous reading. The event will feature the last work of V. Nabokov (left incomplete at the author’s death, recently released by his son) and the much anticipated memoir a la Sarah Palin. Guests are encouraged to dress up as their favorite character from either work.
WORD, 126 Franklin St., 718-383-0096, November 18, 7:30 p.m.
Editor Sean Wilsey and writer Jed Lipinski will read from “State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America”, a wonderful collection of essays about the states they love. You also might hear from the winner of the “Neighborhood by Neighborhood” writing contest, which was along the same lines, but on a smaller, local scale.
Old First Reformed Church, Seventh Ave. and Carroll St., November 19, 6:30 p.m.
Jonathan Safran Foer is set to read from his new book, “Eating Animals,” a fatherly perspective on the nature of meat consumption and its impact on ourselves, our world and, most of all, our furry animal friends. Reading is followed by a wine & cheese reception at 8 at the Community Bookstore (143 Seventh Ave., 718-783-3075, Suggested $10 donation).
BookCourt, 163 Court St., 718-875-3677, November 19, 7 p.m.
Have you ever wondered how a heroin-fueled anti-hero and his clairvoyant prostitute lover go about traversing temporal and spatial landscapes from Coney Island to Russia during the Second Chechen War? Hear all about it from “Luna Park” author, Kevin Baker, and the book’s Brooklyn-based graphic artist, Danijel Zezelj.
powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., 718-666-3049, November 20, 7 p.m.
Music, miners, and mayhem. This event celebrates Gina LeVay’s photographic testament to the miners who have been digging City Water Tunnel #3, 800 feet below the streets of Manhattan, since 1970. The event features live music by the Chauncey Upson Jazz Quintet.
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What about Freebird Books & Goods on Columbia Street? I'm not sure if they fulfill the cat requirement, but the store and Team Freebird are the acme of cool.