Ever since its rebirth, Williamsburg has seen a lot of niche stores open up around the neighborhood. From the abundance of bars and cafes, to the copious amount of boutiques, there’s something in the neighborhood for anyone. For literature lovers, there’s Book Thug Nation.

Unlike a major bookstore chain, like Barnes & Noble, this small store located in a fairly quiet part of the neighborhood specializes in selling used books. From rare first editions to more recent bestsellers from the past couple years, Book Thug Nation is a great place for people to not only get a quick and cheap literary fix, but also to donate any unwanted books.

But rather than just be another small niche bookstore in the city, it also has small community events from time to time. One of the major draws is that works from independent writers and artists in the Williamsburg area. A part of the store sells several pieces of literature from said writers, be it novels or poetry collections.

There were readings and Q&A sessions with the authors several occasions since the store’s opening. Aside from that, there were also various evenings in which the hosts would throw a weekly screening party that would have the owners invite customers to join them in watching movies with a side of pizza and drinks.

As for the name “Book Thugs”, according to co-owner Corey Eastwood, it comes from book dealers who would wait for days on end to get into the book sales held in suburban areas that usually began early. Also, when preparing to open the store back, Eastwood and three other friends used their experiences of selling used books on the neighborhood streets. Using this, they opened the store in Williamsburg in 2009.

Despite being a small space, it has books in a wide variety of genres, from science fiction and music, to film and literature classics. Throughout the cramped sections of the store, various selections from authors of all walks of life are on display. In the center, there’s a small cart devoted to selling several popular fantasy and sci-fi novels such as Watership Down and George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones saga.

Near the entrance are several milk crates packed with vintage LPs. While several genres of music are included, an entire crate is focused on The Beatles and each of the member’s respective solo careers. The back of the store has a vinyl player that plays various selections from the LP crates, from jazz to rock.

Considering their vast amount of used books that they’re selling, each of the four owners have a vast amount of knowledge of the books to the point where they don’t even need to keep their catalog on a computer. All a customer needs to do is ask for a certain title and the staff can find it in a quick amount of time. Also common in the store are the staff and customers getting into long and in depth conversations on a variety of topics. This casual atmosphere radiates through the small space of the store and it’s also one of the biggest draws amongst loyal customers.
While it’s fairly hidden in a rapidly changing neighborhood, Book Thug Nation is a unique bookstore that is full of personality and charm that is sorely lacking in most major bookstores across the country.

(Since the owner didn’t feel comfortable with me taking pictures of the store, here’s a slideshow of pictures from the website)