SO what’s happening at Park Slope’s Community Bookstore, one of the mainstays of Brooklyn’s independent bookstore scene?
Lots.
For one thing: Catherine Bohne, the owner has moved to Albania and is in the process of selling the store to a wonderful man named Ezra Goldstein.
I know Ezra from the Park Slope Civic Council, where he is an active member, editor and web master. He is an accomplished freelance writer and journalist, who was at one time senior editor at Long Island Jewish World. Educated at the University of Chicago with a masters in journalism from Ohio University, Ezra has conducted extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors and has had articles on a wide variety of topics published in the New York Times, the Village Voice, American Heritage, New American Drama, Kirkus Review and many other publications.
A longtime Park Slope resident, he’s a very smart guy with a real passion to be the owner of Park Slope’s beloved bookstore. In these times, owning an independent bookstore may not be the most economical thing to do so it takes someone with passion and vision to do it.
Because Catherine Bohne is living in a hard to reach region of Albania (the Valbona Valley), the deal has not been sealed yet but Ezra has been hard at work making the bookstore his own while still maintaining the bookstore’s charming neighborhood feel.
That’s a nice way of saying that he hasn’t replaced the ratty old carpet or reupholstered the couches. That said, he did bring up from the basement some of the nice cabinetry that was built for the bookstore many years ago. And he has rearranged the space smartly so that it’s not such a crazy maze and there are more books on display. He also been “doing our darndest to bring the Community Bookstore into the 21st Century. From the website:
We now have a brand-spankin’ new facebook page, interactive calendar, and twitter (@CommunityBkstr) account. We’ll have book suggestions, event announcements, contests, and chit-chat coming out of all three outlets, so subscribe, like, or follow us to stay in touch and up-to-date.
In addition, our dearest and most beloved Sir Marjorie Lambshanks III, Esq. Now has his own twitter (@SirMarjorie) as well as his own blog: http://sirmarjorie.blogspot.com/
Marjorie will be using these two streams to express his usual haughty disdain for humanity as well as provide an advice column. Tweet him a question (or email info@communitybookstore.net) to have your pressing life-question answered.
So that’s what I know about the status of the bookstore at the moment. Catherine is expected back in Park Slope before the snow comes to Valbona. In the meantime check the bookstore’s website for a schedule of readings and book clubs.
On October 27th at 7:15PM, the Modernist Book Club will resume after a brief hiatus. October’s book is Gertrude Stein’s Three Lives.
In November Paul Auster will read from his new book, Sunset Park–which hits the shelves Nov. 9–on Thursday, Dec. 2, at 7PM.
In anticipation of a large crowd, they’ve moved the venue from the bookstore to the Society for Ethical Culture at 2nd Street and Prospect Park West.