Best of New York 2014 • Shopping

• The Astoria Bookshop

  31-29 31st St., Astoria; 718-278-2665

  The nouveau-community-bookstore scene has largely been a Brooklyn phenomenon. But Simon & Schuster alum Lexi Beach’s shop is a new beacon in Astoria, where she and the sci-fi- focused Enigma both opened back in August, becoming the borough’s only indie bookstores. Beach features the latest best sellers, classics of every genre, and a special “Queens and NYC” section (staff recommendations are handwritten on oak tags), plus regular events (Kevin Cook is up March 19 to discuss his book on the murder of Kitty Genovese). The outpouring of support from Queens-based authors ranges from Megan Abbott and Daniel Nayeri, who’ve donated signed copies of their books, to memoirist-teacher Emily Herzlin, who leads in-store writing workshops.

From the 2014 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine