Brooklyn is definitely a hot travel destination featuring its line of boutique hotels, art style restaurants, and trendy cocktail bars as well as the famous Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Prospect Park stroll. But the city has got a snazzy new attraction, an a la carte Bookstore owned by novelist Emma Straub. This is not an ordinary bookshop as it has indie credentials, literary roots and a fan base of Brooklyn resident writers. The store is located on Smith Street in Cobble Hill neighborhood and is named 'Books Are Magic' to tap into the literary mystique of the area.
A lot of tourists visit bookstores and this new shop offers a snazzy pastime for visitors to Brooklyn after some hot coffee or a pleasant neighborhood walk.
Cultural tourism enterprise
The bookstore ranks with other a la carte stores in the country like Parnassus in Nashville, Sky Light in Los Angeles and Elliot Bay bookstore in Seattle. The owner hopes that Books Are Magic will feature on travel itineraries in the area as the store is like a "hyper-local" cultural enterprise and tourists and locals do find browsing books an enjoyable pastime. The store comes as a boon after the closure of Book Court in the area that served indie literature. It has been a guiding light for cultural tourism in the area.
The idea of founding an indie bookstore when big stores like Barnes & Noble closed branches in New York might appear a bit daunting but shops like Book Court also did encouraging business by relying on booksellers and the publishing world network.
Modern social media approach
Like author Ann Patchett, who owns bookstore Parnassus, author owned Books Are Magic is definitely an encouragement in the list.
Such stores stand up for books, for culture and novelty tourism besides encouraging local talent. Books Are Magic branded pens will also be sold beside paperback books to cater to both the traveler and local interests. There is also a modern approach to the launch through using social media on the internet. There, they can create a fan following and community building of fans by forming memberships and Brand tote bags.
The owner author’s husband is a graphic designer who designed branded pens, the tote bags and mugs offered by the store. The space is not supposed to be uber-Brooklyn hipster but pretty minimal with couple of places to sit and delve into books. There is also a store wall mural and a neon pink Books Are Magic sign.
