My professor has a fondness for choosing the most obscure books known to man and then expecting us to find them in short periods of time. I had been unable to buy Eva Hoffman's Lost in Translation online. I was really surprised (not to mention panicked) when I realized this morning that I'm supposed to have the book read for tomorrow's class. After calling every Barnes and Noble in the city, not to mention the Strand, Strand Annex, Three Lives..the list goes on..I was giving up hope. And then St. Marks had it. AND, to top it all off, they're open until midnight, which is great because I have work until ten. Friendly service, as well.

This is one of the few bookstores in Manhattan where the salespeople are helpful and nice. Also, it holds a great selection of poetry books for aspiring poets or poetry lovers--stuff you can't really find anywhere else. The one negative thing is probably the size of the place. It can get cramped because of the small space and sometimes there are long lines at checkout. But the prices are decent and you'll find some great buys here.

It took me about fifteen minutes of standing around before I could find a staff that would help me out. I guess they had better things to do. I love reading books, so I asked them to help me find bestsellers, and that took another 10 mintues, but they found some interesting books and I enjoy reading them. Good Selection.

I love the warm environment in this bookshop. The books are arrganged very neatly along the bookshelves for easy looking. The staff know exactly where all the books are and how much they cost. There is always a top booksellers list that I can refer to in the shop so I know what I should buy.

St Marks Bookshop is a great independent book shop which has been serving the East Village community for the last 20+ years. They have great sections on womens issues, literary criticism and current politics. The staff is first rate and can answer just about any question about books.