Community BookStore, Brooklyn

Tellingly, it is only when I think of Community Bookstore, among all the bookstores that I frequent regularly, that I realize how far I have come from my roots. Counting sheer hours I have spent in bookstores, I have spent the most hours in Community Bookstore till date. Initially, it was a five-minute walk from... Continue Reading →

January 13, 2019 2

Unnameable Books, Brooklyn

I stay in Park Slope and for the longest time, I did not understand a strange pedestrian phenomenon that was observable outside my apartment. People walking down the street from one direction mostly scowl at me and people walking from the other direction invariable wave and nod at me. I put this down to my... Continue Reading →

December 6, 2018 0

Leaving Berkeley Place

I do not know why physical objects weigh heavily on my mind. I realized this only this month as I was getting rid of my furniture in an effort to downsize into a smaller apartment. Watching the furniture being carried out one by one, I could feel my heart lightening. For the longest time I... Continue Reading →

August 24, 2018 6

Jack, The Friendly Neighborhood Storekeeper

I first met Jack around 4 years ago. Through the following years, I saw him exactly at 4 in the evening. At 4, the days he was at his shop, which was almost every day, he closes his shop, hangs a "Be Right Back" sign, and steps out to get coffee at the coffee shop... Continue Reading →

April 13, 2018 4

Over Thinking Coffee – Thinking Over Coffee

The Daily Walk Every day, stepping out of my house and crossing the road, I pass a coffee shop. It purports to sell Swedish delicacies, Swedish roasts, and anything else the very American-Brooklyn clientele might want for a quick pick-me-up. Caffeine and Sucrose peddlers. At the intersection, once I am confident that I will not be run over... Continue Reading →

May 18, 2015 0

Listening to Ilaiyaraja in a Park Slope Coffee Shop

Park Slope, in Brooklyn, is hippie haven. Well dressed intelligent looking people of all ages congregate in coffee and tea shops tapping away on their macs denouncing corporations and toting organic bags. Coffee shops abound with barristas disdainfully nodding to indie music. Sitting here I have a deep sense of guilt, not unlike what a charlatan might... Continue Reading →

November 25, 2014 2