Book Culture threw a grand opening party for its new store on Columbus Avenue between 81st and 82nd street last week, and the store announced an investment by the publisher of Harper’s Magazine.
We’ve already been hearing good things about Book Culture since it opened about a week and a half ago, and the party helped instill some hope — the owners confidently proclaimed on their cake that the store would be around “for generations to come.”
It will take quite a bit of money to get through the first year, let alone the first generation. Book Culture secured an investment from John Macarthur, the publisher of Harper’s and a critic of our culture’s gradual enslavement to technology.
As part of the deal, the store will become quite the literary salon: “Columbus Avenue will be the site of issue launches for Harper’s, and the store will also host discussions and readings with the magazine’s writers, many of whom, like MacArthur, have also written books,” Publisher’s Weekly reported.
The photo above is by Nancy Novick, who writes book reviews and art stories for West Side Rag. Nancy published an account of the party on her new website about the UWS literary scene, West Side Words. She tells us there’s a nice selection of merchandise, and children’s toys downstairs — another possible revenue source. Others have also sent us messages about how much they like the new store.
Finally visited the new #UWS @bookculture & was so glad to see it jammed packed with people. Great staff and book selection. @westsiderag
— HowardFreeman (@meadonmanhattan) December 7, 2014
