What types of books are your fellow Greenpointers curling up with this winter? More winter survival tips are coming your way this week, this time we get some solid literary recommendations from Word Bookstore’s Brooklyn floor manager Steffanie Ostrowski.
Check out our previous interviews here, here, here, here and here.
BOOKS: WORD BROOKLYN | 126 Franklin Street
Steffanie Ostrowski, Floor Manager
Greenpointers: What types of books are currently the most popular at the Greenpoint store?
Steffanie Ostrowski: I think that in general, everyone is looking for a lot of social science books so that they can learn about things that are going on today. Also, there’s the escapism of fiction so that they don’t have to deal with the world, so people are getting the new fiction that’s coming out. When Pete Souza’s Obama book came out, that was our big ticket item. Now it’s out of stock everywhere because everyone just wanted to remember.
GP: Is there a book that you’d recommend right now to make people feel better about the state of things this winter?
SO: I don’t know if there’s one book that’s a cure all for everyone. I wish there were. I think in general, just keep reading anything. I know that for myself in the winter I read a lot of memoirs, whether it’s of a political figure or a novelist. I just devour them and live someone else’s life while I’m freezing. I just finished The Price of Illusion by Joan Juliet Buck who was the editor-in-chief of Paris Vogue for a little less than a decade. She had a really fascinating life. Her godfather was John Huston and she grew up with Anjelica Huston and had all of these famous people in her life.
GP: Do you guys still have the dating wall in the shop where book lovers might be able to find a like-minded love connection this winter?
SO: Just last week I learned that this was something they used to do here. I thought that sounded amazing and I would love to bring that back, especially for Valentine’s Day. I’d really love to see that happen again because I want to see a romantic connection in this bookstore. I met my boyfriend at a bookstore, so I love the idea of anyone else meeting their partner like that.
GP: If you want to just curl up under a blanket and wallow in the darkness this winter, do you have a good book to pair with that option?
SO: There’s always Handmaid’s Tale. Be happy that your life isn’t that.
GP: What’s your favorite thing to do in Greenpoint in the winter?
SO: I really love walking down Milton Street where all of the houses are decorated and they’re decked out for the holidays. It reminds me of when I was a kid and seeing all of the houses with the lights on them. It’s really lovely and nostalgic and that little block makes you feel like everything is good for a little bit. It’s a moment of happiness.