Hullabaloo Books
In the third installment of my quest to find the perfect New York bookstore, I’m staying close to home – checking out Hullabaloo Books in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Hullabaloo Books bills itself as the smallest bookstore in America, but the largest in Crown Heights. In all ways, it’s the spiritual and physical opposite of behemoths like Barnes & Noble. It’s tiny (just 250 square feet!). It’s volunteer-run. It mixes new and used books. Its hours are erratic at best. It has a “pay whatever” cart. It’s bolstered by Kickstarter. Hell, it doesn’t even have a website. This place is like 10% capitalism, 90% community center.
There’s lots to love about Hullabaloo – the store’s slightly ramshackle charm, the chatty ladies manning the checkout, the tailored book selection that’s heavy on Brooklyn writers, the arts, and social justice. I didn’t have the nerve to break out my DSLR in a store that’s scarcely the size of my closet (how on earth do they do events here???), so I didn’t document much, but I did get some great recommendations and pick up Jeff Chang’s We Gon’ Be Alright.