Great small, well-curated bookshop in Jackson Heights. Great focus on Queens-based authors and…read moreartists. Gifts, art, stickers, trinkets and books. Some used books as well. Owner and staff are personable and friendly. Wonderful spot to visit.

Cute bookstore on the corner. Gives small town vibes. They have a cool selection of things,…read moreincluding stickers and handmade jewelry. Also saw that they had a separate reading room for kids. Highly recommend visiting if you're in the area! :)

You've arrived at 74th St/Roosevelt Ave in Jackson Heights. You walk a few blocks up Roosevelt Ave…read more to 80th St. and make a right. You'll see them. Racks of books on sale outside and a small hole the in wall with the name of the business: Libreria Barco de Papel, which means "The Paper Boat Bookstore" Behold the last brick and mortar true Spanish Bookstore in New York City. A few years into the 21st century, old business models started to conspicuously disappear from common life. The world hardly noticed, me included, but in the blink of 2,000 days, I now get my indie movie fix from my streaming device at home, and having picked up Kurosawa's "Seven Samurais" from the Blockbuster at 9th St. and Broadway now seems like a distant memory. It was 2006. So it was stopping by Lectorum (the famed Spanish Bookstore in West 14th St.) on a perfect summer afternoon after work all those years ago. Back "then", places like Coliseum Books, the Gotham Mart or Lectorum seemed unmovable institutions that represented the very heart and core of the most cosmopolitan city in the world. It took only a few years more for all of them to be gone forever. In the winter of 2006, on a snowy night, me and my ex GF were taking a shortcut to her apt. in Woodside when I saw Libreria Barco de Papel for the first time. It was Sunday, about 9:00pm and its isolated and melancholic location, not to mention the fact that it was open, caught my eye, aroused my curiosity and commanded my motion. I entered and browsed the selection of books in awe. That night, Libreria Barco de Papel gave me Alfonso Reyes, without knowing that I was walking away with the writer who Borges himself called his master. I also picked my first Valle-Inclan and Zorrilla. I never saw or found Libreria Barco de Papel again. Six years later, while on a haze of nostalgia remembering those summer days gone by, I remembered the unassuming Spanish bookstore in Elmhurst and frantically tried to search for it on the Internet with no success. It dawned on me then that with Lectorum gone, perhaps the last all-Spanish bookstore in New York had closed its doors, and that alarmed me. Here was displayed either one of two things; the NYC Spanish readership had all switched to Kindle, or the number of Spanish readers had dramatically decreased from one generation to the next despite the hike of Latin peoples demographic growth. Either way, a loss of bookstores now is a blow to culture, although I'm sure that in a 100 years this process will appear to readers of history as unavoidable. Everything human-made is just like Libreria Barco de Papel ominously heralds in its chosen name: a paper boat at sea destined to be dissolved by the oceans of time. But then, as I was about to give up my googling, a stay of execution to old ways came in the form of a directory entry on a random internet site. There was this Spanish bookstore tucked away on 80th St in Elmhurst. I asked for a day off, my birthday, and I walked inside and rejoiced in deep emotion. This was the one. Nothing had changed. The near-mint condition tomes of the Coleccion Austral Classics from the 1960's were there. The Catedra Edition ones printed in Madrid in the 90's with which I grew up with were also there, alongside the more modern Alfaguara ones. I happily shelled $70.00 USD as my self-gift and I have paid my King's Fifth to the bookstore often since then. Ortega & Gasset, Benito Perez Galdos, Baltasar Gracian, Juan Leon Mera; nothing can replace the feeling of browsing in silence and barely touching with your fingertips the spines of books that contain untold wisdom, pain, thoughts that elevate our often farcical flesh into anything but. The smell of old pages, the selection process which goes both ways, because books mysteriously select you just as you select them. Libreria has since gone to Facebook, and every day it selects a Spanish poem or a piece of trivia from an author I didn't knew and it teaches me something. It also holds symposiums and supports poetry and readings in the community. It has since gained adepts and hopefully, customers. And while yes, I do have a Kindle (for books long out of print), and yes, there are 2 more Spanish bookstores in New York I've found since; one in Spanish Harlem and one in Inwood; both of the "New Age" Kind, while Libreria Barco de Papel is indeed, the last true brick and mortar Spanish Bookstore in New York City. And hence I'll stand by it for as long as I'm a New Yorker. And nothing could be more apt, more rewarding, than to be its first reviewer.

I'm going to add in a review of this bookstore, which is right down the street from my home. This…read moreis an old school Spanish bookstore, and we are so grateful it's there. It has a good selection of affordable children's books, but many are in the back storage space so you have to be prepared to dig around. It takes time, as it's disorganized back there - better to go in open to whatever treasure you can find. On the up side, it is very inexpensive. I bought an entire set of Stellaluna in Spanish for my son's bilingual class of 24 students. Great place to browse.

Butala is a great place to pick up Indian handicrafts, books on yoga and Hinduism, prayer items,…read moreutensils, etc. I frequented their Manhattan location for years but recently discovered they had closed down that store permanently. My guess is the sales did not offset the high rents. It is likely that this Queens location might come under a similar pressure. It is a large store, well-stocked and clean. The service is friendly but I find their knowledge of the inventory is lacking. Their collection of books, especially the Amar Chitra Katha comic books that I was raised on, is quite unique. Unlike with a grocery store, this is an episodic business and customers visit the store infrequently. But if I am in the market for Indian merchandise, I will be sure to check out Butala. An excellent resource for New Yorkers, although I realize the Manhattan location was too good to be sustainable.

This very nice place, the customer service was excellent, very helpful, amazing selection of…read morereligious artifacts, statues, accessories books, I am so happy found this store!

It is a good place, perhaps the only place in NYC for finding Urdu Books, Literary as Well as…read morereligious. Manto, Allama Iqbal or Faiz Ahmed Faiz, you name it. The best place for buying URDU in NYC!

I recently donated some items here including cassettes, DVDs, and books. The stand seems to be…read morethere everyday for browsing and donations. But you can always text the number ahead of time to confirm.

Sunnyside has a media and book swap location on Skillman Avenue. I stumbled by the area during my…read morework shift and I was intrigued. There is a big selection of pre-loved books in different languages. It was very well organized. Here are some pros: Books are organized by genre Books are in good condition Great location donations are preferred open year-round (weather permitting) close to the 7 train

It's located off main street, but my parents have always brought me here as a kid. Some books/items…read moreare more on the expensive side, but it has a nice atmosphere (off a traditional Chinese bookstore feel) and has great variety!

Noticed this particular bookstore wasn't listed on Yelp so I did us bookworms a favor!…read more One stop shop for books while at the airport. They have other items as well - think stationery, pens, journals, stickers, mugs, notecards, etc. You're sure to find something you want/need here. Need a new read for the plane ride home? Stop here. Wanna tune your seatmates out while on the plane? Stop here. Grab a book as a gift of or someone you care about or someone who needs to read. You can also just purchase yourself a new read because you deserve it. Didn't need any service so not speaking to that. Readers and book lovers stop here!

Just got off a cross-country flight and made the move to a comic shop that I'd heard about over the…read moreyears...I'd been after some specific Neal Adams covers for a while, and they happened to have 3 big "wants" sitting right there looking as clean as possible. Not only that, but they hooked up an on-the-spot customer recommended graphic novel based on the stack that I purchased. It was a great read on the trip and flight home. Hilarious guys and the owner couldn't be more accommodating. I'm just hoping they ship too - highly recommended!

My go-to comic shop in NYC, and even though I moved away a few years back, I always make a point to…read morestop in and drop some cash on their awesome selection of vintage stuff! Mike is the best and super helpful and friendly every time I go in. These guys are great!

I recently checked out this Chinese goods and bookstore in Flushing and had an interesting find…read more When I visited, the book section was fairly picked over. However, the selection of other Chinese goods was still sizable and impressive. I saw a lot of unique items like diffusers and cultural products that I haven't come across in other shops. I think they might have had some furniture pieces too, but the focus was definitely on smaller home goods and accessories. The best part was the value. Despite the low prices, the quality of the goods I looked at was really good, nothing felt flimsy or poorly made. If you're in Flushing and curious about Chinese cultural items or looking for a unique souvenir, it's worth stopping by.

Wow! I stumbled upon this unassuming & surprisingly large Asian bookstore in Flushing and it has so…read moremany offerings! They are on the same street as Teso-X and have a bunch of books, cute stationary items, keychains, calligraphy station in the back, Popmart goodies, and an area in back of the store for children! It had a lot more than I thought they would have and really liked that they had a calligraphy station area! This was the first time I have seen a place have that, which I thought was very neat! I'd definitely come back again next time I'm in Flushing.

There is a wide selection at this bookstore and my favorite thing was the notes the shopkeepers…read moreleft around the shelves reviewing and recommending different books.

This was my first time since Astoria Bookshop moved to this location. Conveniently located close to…read morethe 36th street subway. Came here specifically for Cary Gitter's interview/ chat with Amy Feltman about Cary Gitter's debut novel. I really like the layout of the shop, the way the books are displayed, the diverse offerings of holiday books for children, and the way they fit the folding chairs to attend the author event. Really nice staff and cute items sold in the front. Support local bookshops!