Soho Discount Books
is located on Nassau St, between
John and
Fulton streets. It's a narrow
store,
wedged between an empty shoestore
and a
cell phone place. The whole
store
is about the size of the
master bedroom in
my parents' home. Not big.
To lure
pedestrians into their store, they have a
rickety card table set up outside their
window. There's a sign reading 'All Books
on This Table only $1.98!' It works.
The truth is that most of the books inside
are also $1.98. It's my idea of heaven. Lots
and lots of books at low prices. Some are old
and waterstained, but mostly they carry
publishers' seconds and discards. Small
area, high concentration of material. No organization, just dig and move until you unearth your treasure.
I have found quite a few offbeat books,
the kind I've never noticed in
Barnes and Noble. I've managed to unearth
the books that I take out of the library
often to reread. Now I have my own copies.
There's a satisfying feeling I get
from spending $21.40, and coming
home with 10 new books. Can't beat it.