In a hole in the ground, there stood a bookstore. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with worms and an oozy smell, nor a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: this was a bookstore, and that meant comfort.
If you’re surprised, I was just as surprised when I found out about an underground bookstore too.
Nestled at the beginnings of Adamson Square, Underground Books is an absolute delight. A friend of mine was actually the one who first mentioned the place to me, and ever since I learned about an underground bookstore, I knew I had to see what was going on over at Adamson Square.
I didn’t really know what to expect. Was it going to be really deep underground? Is it actually underground or do they just say that to get people to come visit? Unsurprisingly, I made certain that this was the first place I checked out once I arrived.
Also unsurprisingly, the bookstore was indeed a hole in the ground. Or rather, a hole in the sidewalk…
Opening the door in the sidewalk and walking down into the sidewalk was honestly a surreal experience. It didn’t dawn upon me until I was already inside that I was standing underneath a building and sidewalk (and subsequently the people walking on them). If I could only describe the interior with a few words, I’d say it was cozy, warm, and fantastical. It felt like I’d stepped into a fantasy novel and had walked into some sort of magical shop filled with scrolls, potions and dainty wood carvings.
There was, quite honestly, every genre you could ever hope for. There were classics like Dracula, Moby Dick, and Grimm Fairytales, iconic fantasies like various works by J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan, romance novels, science fiction, horror-thriller, and countless others. If you could think it, odds are it was there. The bookstore even offered it’s own kids’ section. Even though it wasn’t as full as the rest of the bookstore, it was still stocked with plenty of books for any young reader. In addition to this, there was, of course, a teen section as well (considering it is one of the most widely-written demographic).
One of the coolest parts of Underground Books was the Staff Selection system they practice. All along the shelves were small notecards. From a distance, they didn’t seem too significant; maybe they were just a way of marking what genre is where, or something similar. However, upon closer inspection, they’re actually recommendations from past and present employees. The notes were attached right next to the book they were recommending with either a synopsis of the book or the impact that the book personally had on them. This was one of the coolest things I had ever seen implemented into a bookstore. As I’m sure is true with others, whenever I visit a bookstore, I don’t always know what I want to read. And sometimes I’ll buy a book that maybe looked interesting but ended up being not all that enjoyable to me. Getting to see someone else’s impressions and see personal recommendations is such a unique and creative way to help someone find something they’d actually be interested in. I actually did end up purchasing one of the staff recommended novels myself.
Underground Books also turned out to have much more than just books. In the main area, there were a variety of handmade items such as pins, keychains, bookmarks, and even socks and bags. They also had journals on display, though they weren’t just normal journals. Underground Books accepts destroyed books and uses the scraps and remnants to create something new from them. Destroyed pages become the covers for beautiful notebooks. In addition to this, there was also a surprising amount of historic memorabilia. Vintage artworks and old magazines were available for purchase should any history buffs be interested. One of the coolest finds, in my opinion, was sheet music from old Broadway shows (I even ended up purchasing one).
Underground Books truly was one of the coolest shops I’ve ever visited. It was certainly unlike any other bookstore I’ve been in.
