Reviews
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Bookstores/Libraries
Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Rizzoli Bookstore
English, French, General, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This is a truly gorgeous bookstore with a wonderful selection of books—in English, Italian, Spanish, and French. There are not many stores in New York with a meaningful supply of foreign-language books. This is one, and it seems to…
Idlewild Books
French, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This Chelsea bookstore, which opened in 2008, radiates bibliophilia. You can buy books in French, Spanish, or Italian here, and also take classes at the store in any of those three languages. The owner, David Del Vecchio, previously worked at the…
New York Public Library (Mid-Manhattan)
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
The Mid-Manhattan Library, at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, is the main language-learning repository of the New York Public Library. I used it a lot in 2009 and 2010, mostly for Pimsleur audio lessons, but also borrowed books and other resources as…