📚
Ok, this is a more obscure rec but bear with me. I recently started spending weekend days strolling into a new used book store in the Lower East Side called Sweet Pickle Books. The store has become a comforting place to make a quick cheap purchase for me, and also my go-to store for presents. Every time I go in there I find myself picking up books with the coolest names or covers and just buying them hoping I’ll like them. I’m currently reading J.G. Ballard’s Super-Cannes which I probably would have never even known about had I not stumbled upon it and thought the cover looked cool. I suggest this method for branching out from your usual genres or authors.
Mar 16, 2021
Related Recs
😃
It’s important to note that my Amazon dilemma is particularly potent because I used to have a firm belief that the next book I bought had to be in-store. This was, in part, inspired by Fran Lebowitz (someone I both love and fear), who says you have to touch a book in person to truly decide on it.
But as I continued to shop in-store for my books in East London, I found that a type of hyper-curation takes place. Many bookstores, whether chains or independent, carry the same selection. This makes sense, as stores need to invest in books that are more likely to sell, but it also means shoppers are led into a quasi-algorithmic experience of book shopping. To find more niche titles, you almost always have to turn to online sources (see above). To find a happy medium, I’ve started using the resale site World of Books. You can find pretty much anything and everything there. and always at a discount
Sep 18, 2024
📚
I love record stores and the discovery that happens when old stock mixes with new. More recently I've been getting deeper into art books and love buying books for people as gifts. NYC has a great community of shops like Karma and Mast, and there’s a gaggle of independent vendors that work the fairs like the Printed Matter MoMA PS1 Art Book Fair. I started going to the fairs a few years ago. They are like record fairs but even crustier in some ways, full of curmudgeons and characters. Check The Booksellers documentary for a nice slice of this world. I have met a few dealers and developed some rapport, one of which is Jeff Hirsch Books in Illinois, which has an incredible inventory and their sales emails are one of my favorites of all types. Even if you don’t buy, you learn something.
Apr 6, 2021
Stories is a book store in Echo Park that I go to very often. It’s kind of a bad money habit that I end up buying at least three books every time I go there, but I think of it as my reward for the 40 minute long walk it takes from my place to there. I love the cozy vibes, the drinks are great, and their recommendations shelf right by check-out always helps me find new books to read. It’s also a great space for studying if you ever want to get some work done alone or with special people. I just recently purchased Giovanni’s Room and If Beale Street Could Talk- both by James Baldwin, and Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn.
Jun 5, 2025
Top Recs from @molly-yelon
💁
You want to know what I’m fucking with right now?? MYSELF! Nothing makes me feel more powerful than when I feel good about myself. I’m certainly no stranger to feeling down about myself or not believing in myself, but I can usually pull myself out of those slumps with a face of makeup and a great outfit. Put on those jeans!! That skirt!! Those shoes!! Whatever makes you feel hot as shit, feeling hot is one of the only things we have anymore! I feel hot in black tights and a black skirt! Throw it on, and own your socially-distanced gathering!!! YOU are smart, cool, funny, and stunning!! And make sure to tell your friends they’re hot too!
Mar 16, 2021
💄
While 2020 was a year of wearing mostly no makeup, when Byredo announced they were launching makeup I immediately felt inspired to wear a full face once again. The coolest makeup artist out there, Isamaya Ffrench worked with the brand to create incredible products and some of the best beauty campaign imagery I’ve ever seen. The contrast between the brand’s usual minimalist packaging and the weird alien design of the beauty products is striking, but somehow still makes sense for the brand. The packaging is worth the price alone, but the products are great quality and come in the most fun weird range of colors. My two favorite products are the Mascara and the Prism Palette.
Mar 16, 2021
⚾️
I have to shout this out because I’ve been wearing it ALL the time. I was inspired by a picture of Chloe Sevigny and DJ Pauly D sitting courtside at a Knicks game, and Chloe S had on a sick orange and blue Knicks jacket. I wanted one of my own, or something similar. I live right by a store called Mr. Throwback that sells incredible vintage sports merch. One day I walked by and saw a beautiful silky Mets jacket in the window, I had to have it because it reminded me of the Chloe S jacket. Ever since I bought it I’ve been wearing it with everything. I get so many compliments on it and I rep my favorite team! You can shop their store online and it’s sorted by league and team so you can rep your faves too.
Mar 16, 2021