November 2006
Holiday Gifts
by Celia Cheng
Three Lives & Company
154 West 10th St
@ Waverly Pl
212-741-2069
threelives.com
Kitchen Arts & Letters
1435 Lexington Ave
(93rd & 94th St)
212-876-5550
kitchenartsandletters.com
Strand Book Store
828 Broadway
@ 12th St
212-473-1452
strandbooks.com
Books may seem like the most conventional and boring gift, but personally, I find them to be the most endearing. The selection of a book as a present shows how well you know someone and how much thought you’ve put in to the gift. For example, I once received an out-of-print copy of a book on my mentor, Milton Glaser and I was moved to tears! The gift of a book can communicate so much.
While I do love cookbooks, I think all books are great gifts so I’ve selected three different types of bookstores as possible options: Three Lives & Company, Kitchen Arts & Letters and Strand Book Store.
Three Lives is the most charming little West Village establishment with a loyal customer base who trusts owner Toby Cox and the rest of his knowledgeable and warm-hearted staff. It’s more than just a bookstore, its a real establishment and contribution to the community. Once inside the store, you immediately feel a sense of warmth. The atmosphere is inviting and I could stay there for hours to chat with the staff about books or cultural ongoings. The service is completely one-on-one and personal so you feel at home. It’s a place that gets you excited about reading. Three Lives offers a Book-a-Month Club in which the recipient receives a book hand-selected by the Three Lives & Company staff at the beginning of each month. The sender just needs to let the staff know the recipient’s reading preferences, the duration of the gift and preference for paperback or hardcover. The sender’s credit card is charged monthly for the price of the book plus shipping and handling. If you trust the great taste and sensibilities of Three Lives (which you should) this is a great gift option. It’s not insincere that you are not personally picking out the books, but rather you are soliciting help from top professionals. It’s like sending someone flowers monthly but with richer content and meaning.
Kitchen Arts & Letters is a food lover’s book haven. It carries the largest selection of books related to food and wine in the U.S. You are likely to see world-renowned chefs and obsessive foodies alike at this small Upper East Side store. Owner Nach Waxman and manager Matt Sartwell are extremely knowledgeable and if there’s something they don’t know, they are eager to help you find the answer. It’s a great resource to have in the City and fun to come and chat with them as well. The only difficulty may be getting there during its hours of operation which are Monday 1-6pm, Tuesday through Friday 10am-6:30pm, Saturday 11am-6pm. While summer hours tend to be even more irregular, for the month of December, Kitchen Arts & Letters will be open on Sundays from 11am-5pm! They also offer gift certificates and ship anywhere in the world.
On the opposite spectrum, there’s the Strand. What used to be “home of 8 miles of books” has grown to “home of 18 miles of books.” Yes, the Strand is rather chaotic and always bustling with people and activities. You won’t get the intimacy of the other two stores but it certainly has a large selection of books on diverse subject matters at reasonable prices. It’s a different atmosphere but another great New York institution and resource. Plus they’re open until 10:30pm every night (though the rare book room closes at 6:20pm)!
So you see, there’s definitely something for everyone. Give the gift of a book! It won’t break your bank and it will hopefully enrich someone else’s life.
