(Cheap) Bookworm!

Mmm mmm Do I love my quick book fixes! There really isn't anything better than taking a break from this crazy city and checking out for a while in a fantastic novel. While this city does boast some incredible local bookstores (Three Lives in Co is a personal favorite, their recommendations are beyond belief!) we could always use a cheaper alternatives. Luckily, as usual, being in the city allows for a way to indulge your mind AND save your wallet. The only drawback is you won't necessarily find every book you want here BUT you will earn your bang for your buck! See my favorite picks below!


1) Your (or my) local stand on the street!
Right around washington square are a number of wonderful guys with an actual GREAT solution of books! My favorite is a little one or two table stand on West fourth street just east of Washington Square park. This guy has AMAZING selections (recent purchases include The Handmaid's Tale (3 bucks), Like Water for Chocolate (5 bucks) and The Amazing Adventures of Cavelier and Clay (7 bucks).
Another great alternative is the line of stands on 6th ave between 18th and 21st streets. These you might have to dig through a bit more. Recent buys include Bel Canto (4 bucks) and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (4 bucks)/

2) The Strand
On the corner of 12th and Broadway and boasting the infamous 18 miles of books (done by the shelf space). This store is not only surrounded by a buck a book shelves but boasts a wide array of VERY marked down books (recent buys include Assassination Vacation for 4.75 and Memories of My Melancholy Whores for 6ish). TONS and TONS of books with a wide arrange of selections including many best sellers and top reads, this is a place not just to buy a book but spend an afternoon.


3) HousingWorks Used Book Cafe
On Crosby by Broadway, this place not only boasts knowledgeable staff, a great cafe, fantastic speakers (including a children's book on Pot and the makers of the white rapper show which I happened upon randomly one day as I perused the shelves) and is an overall laid back place to read (recent purchases include The Time Traveler's Wife, 7 bucks) , but you can feel good about your purchases too! As all the books are donated, 100 percent of all proceeds go to Housing Works, a non for profit which provides housing, health care, job training, advocacy and other services to homeless New Yorkers living with AIDS. Now THAT'S food for thought! Plus, do good and volunteer a few of your hours with the fantastic knowledgeable staff at the store!

Taste of Chinatown!

While my mood is not one of delight today given the recent events at VT and the SCOTUS ban of partial birth abortion, the parade of free fun things in the city must go on!

The taste of Chinatown is this Saturday, April 21st from 12-6pm!

I went over the summer and while it was jam-packed it was also uber fun and wicked tasty (yes yes I am from MA). Aside from the wonderfully cheap tasting plates of 1-2 dollars (Though be prepared to wait upwards of half an hour if you want peking duck at this price!) there are performances and fortune cookie writing contest!

If you're an NYU student you can also VOLUNTEER for this event getting a free t-shirt and five dollar food coupon. Helping out + free stuff = amazing!!!

To volunteer from 12-4pm simply go here

and from 4-7 try here!

Happy eating!