Mast Books

I love love Mast Books. This bookshop is very well curated. The staff was friendly and helpful. I like the vibe here. The books are displayed beautifully. I always find books that I love here. I wanted a book that was $15.00 and since I was buying a few books the bookseller lowered the price to $10.00. Thank you. I bought the beautiful well made book bag so I can help promote this gorgeous bookshop...

I always walk by this place on my expeditions through the East Village, and frequently note how I need to pop in. "I could get a sick coffee table book in there..." But yesterday, I saw a "Sofia Coppola Archive" book in the window and knew that was the good lord screaming at me to come in. Say what you will about nepotism, but Lost in Translation is a top 3 movie of all time for me. I won't go into great detail here, but I will go into minor detail: 1) I am obsessed with Japanese culture and am equally as obsessed with romantic comedies, so put those things together and I am an easy sell. I feel I need to live in Japan for a period of time before it's all said and done. 2) She wrote the script in Japan as she had an obsession with it while she was there working on another project, and would do anything to make it work. It came from her soul, and I truly believe that the best works of art come straight from one's soul. 3) It was shot in 27 days, much of this without permits. She kept a flexible schedule during filming with a small crew and minimal equipment, with a good portion of the script being unfinished. They stayed flowy. Be water. 4) First adult role for Scarlett Johansson!? Speaks for itself. All this to say, I HAD to come in to check this book out. Whoever curates this place is on their SH*T! So many great options. A fantastic place to come and find new artists, authors, or inspirations. Also, I serendipitously ran into my new boss in here who is rad and creative. If you catch Shiva in there you know this is THE place... IG @jnov_ Tiktok @jnov__

The first book I ever bought here was “How to Mend: Motherhood and Its Ghosts” and wow! usually the books you find on motherhood are all the same, but this book touched topics that are realistic but never really addressed (perhaps in conversation but not in books) — I can’t think of another bookstore in nyc where they would have had this displayed. The selection at mast feels carefully curated; niche and interesting topics.

Some great books here but overall has an elitist and condescending style. Staff was rude. This place thinks that because they know a thing or two about art and literature and have a wealthy clientele, that makes them better than you. Go a couple blocks to Alabaster Bookshop for the same books without the pretentiousness or attitude.

A really impressive bookshop. The selection isn’t huge but covers such a wide range of topics that you can easily find yourself list in there for hours. We were able to come across some pretty obscure volumes too that aren’t always the easiest to find. Will definitely be including this on my roster of stores to visit whenever I’m in New York.