Brooklyn Book Shopping (A summary)
The goal:
The trail:
Barnes and Noble (Court Street): Out-of- stock fail
Barnes and Noble (7th Ave): Out-of-stock fail
Amazon.com: sent-book-to-four-year-old, long-defunct-address-on-Hilton-Head-for-some-reason fail
Community Bookstore (7th Ave): WIN!
“Wow, first time that’s happened,” the girl at the counter said when I explained above tribulations.
Plug: Community Bookstore, 143 7th Ave. in the Slope. It deserves your shopping there.
Oh, and also, John Turtoro is one of its investors. That creep can roll, man.
(Edit: should note that the first store I tried was Book Court on Court Street, which also did not have it. Still an indie win in the long run)
Inverted Soapbox 
i’m into that bookstore too. i haven’t been in a long time, but i remember them having a cat.
all bookstores should have a cat.
But not all cats should have a bookstore.
Here’s my opinion, and it’s pretty well-supported through my own experience:
Good indy bookstores stay afloat. Bad ones fail, and they should.
I don’t love Barnes & Noble and Borders, but those places have what you’re looking for, and, in my experience, they’re not killing worthwhile stores. Most indy shops would benefit from carrying used books in addition to new shit — that way they round out their merchandise nicely, including out-of-print stuff. One of my favorite book stores ever, Eagle Eye Books in Decatur, Ga., does exactly that. I just got two, unworn, hardcover Rick Bragg books there this week for less than $10.