Idlewild Books

Me encanto esta clase. Yo tomé el principiante clase y el avancado-​principiante clase con Eduardo en Brooklyn ubicación. La clase fue muy divertido, y Eduardo esta un muy bueno profesor. Yo aprendi mucho. La clase esta una buena tomaño, sobre diez personas. Yo quiero tomar mas clases a Idlewild! Muchas gracias, Eduardo.

I took three Spanish classes with Juan. He was an amazing teacher and our class was always very fun. His teachings were clear and he had a great attitude toward all of his students. The classes were also very organized. I’ve taken seven years of language classes in my life and Juan was by far my best instructor. I highly recommend taking classes here! Also the selection of books that they sell in the store is cool!

My boyfriend and I enrolled in the beginner Italian class with Stefano and LOVED it! It was a small group (started with about 15 and ended with about 10) where we learned the basics, including the alphabet, general conversation and how to create a basic sentence. The class gets tough, but if you study and do the suggested homework, you will pick up. For the last class, you get in a group and just talk and practice what you learned over snacks that people brought. Stefano does a great job of keeping the class on track, while also making it fun. I would HIGHLY recommend. It is a great value.

Even though it’s just travel books and books about travel, I love this place! Lots of great options. I’m still partial to a paper guide book when I travel and am happy to support this place over Amazon.

Having just finished advanced beginner Spanish, I felt it important to let anyone and everyone know what an incredible experience Eduardo’s class was.
He is an instructor with incredible energy, knowledge, and excellent presentation skills.
He truly makes learning Spanish a fun experience.
Eduardo speaks with the class in Spanish from the minute it begins, which is the best way to learn.
He engages the class immediately and asks us all for presentations in Spanish.
The small size of the class makes it possible for Eduardo to address your strengths and weaknesses.
I cannot rate this class highly enough.

Great bookstore for travel and language books. I took an advanced beginner Spanish class here with Eduardo. He is a terrific teacher. I love that he speaks very clearly. He also speaks in spanglish often which is very helpful to beginners like me. He makes the class interesting. He makes sure that every student is engaged by asking for examples from every one.
Pros:
+Eduardo is a great teacher.
+Price of the class is very reasonable.
+Small class setting makes it easy to be engaged.
Cons:
–I would prefer to have more in-​class student presentations.
–Also wished the class was longer.
Because there are only about 8 classes per level, the lessons are condensed. I really like the quality of the classes, I just wished there were more or longer classes at each level. Each session flies by.
Overall, I would recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn/​practice Spanish. Although the level was only 8 classes long, I definitely can understand much more Spanish than I did before.

The Spanish language class, which takes place inside the book store, is really fun and the teacher, Eduardo, is patient and makes the lessons relevant and interesting! For me, this was a refresher from high school spanish classes and for my boyfriend, it was a first time intro to spanish. We both found the beginner level appropriate and it will definitly help us with an upcoming trip to South America.
The students were all diverse in age and background and had differing reasons for studying spansih (vacation, work, a hobby, etc). These classes could also be a good way to meet new people if one was looking for that.
Make sure you take the class with Eduardo.. he is funny and nice but makes sure the lessons are understood.

Expertly curated book selection mixing travel lit, novels, trip planners, and maps all in one convenient spot. Super friendly staff. And their language courses are excellent.

It’s like somebody looked deep inside of my soul, took everything I love, and put it together to create this bookstore. I love travel more than anything. I am a huge bookworm. And I love New York City. My husband found this store listed on Unilocal and I’m so glad he did, or else we never would have happened upon it.
A small bookstore dedicated entirely to travel books — guidebooks, travel non-​fiction, travel fiction, travel kids books, maps. Beautiful hardwood floors. The music and back and forth of a private Spanish class taking place behind a closed curtain. And to my surprise when I arrived at the cash register, 20% off all travel guides! My only wish is that I could transport Idlewild Books back to my home town. Or, better yet, transport myself closer to Idlewild Books.

Great spanish class at the Brooklyn location I really enjoyed my class with Eduardo!

On one of my passing visits to this store, I found it both charming and interesting. The staff was very polite, helpful and friendly. I am looking forward to take a language class here.

Great bookstore and language classes, especially if you are looking to brush up before travel. Maurice is the best!

Former name of JFK Airport. Beautiful dichotomy; the imagery of being both idle and wild speaks to me. Language lessons, even though I’ll probably never take one. Books about travel — two of my interests housed under one roof. Intimate, but bursting at the seams with exactly what I need (at the moment: novels written about, in dedication to, and/​or set in New York.) Prompts wanderlust, but this bookstore can also cure the insatiable feeling if you can’t get away.
Just a few reasons I really, really dig Idlewild.

LOVE this bookstore. I read a lot of travel essays/​memoirs and I have found so many here that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Check out the new nonfiction and the staff recommendations. Also love the organization: it’s great to pick a geographic area and see travel guides, travel essays, and fiction all in one place. If you’re traveling anywhere soon or are just interested in travel fiction/​essays, definitely come to Idlewild!

Cool concept. Pick up a novel related to the place you’re traveling to.

Das Geschäft macht auf den ersten Blick einen guten Eindruck. Es ist auf Fremdsprachen spezialisiert, ich kam auch deshalb hierher. Als der Buchhändler hörte, für welche Sprachen ich mich interessiere, schickte er mich aber gleich zu Barnes & Noble, zwei Straßen weiter. Es bleibt schwierig, auch hier in NYC!

You cannot underestimate their language classes by being held in a bookstore; I love our professor he is dedicated and really hopes that we master the language — the contents are practical and I could use the phrases we learned in the class in my trip! Just signed up for another semester — hope you can join too ;-)

For a bookstore connected to a language school, Idlewild didn’t have as many foreign language books as I had hoped it would. There’s a pretty sizable section of French books, but they are pricey – the Strand has just as many at about ¼ of the price. The man working here was friendly, though ultimately not very helpful. I guess most people come here for the travel books — I ended up getting my French/​German fix a few blocks down at the Strand.

Excellent place to learn a new language! I’m learning Beginner Level Spanish now, the teacher is fantastico, the class meets once a week and EVERY student in the class has made progress. 5 students in the class and a comfortable classroom. I think I’m going to be a regular. Worth EVERY penny!

Looking to learn another language, then make a beeline to Idlewild. Just signed up for a second class. Love that it’s practical and conversational. Instead of learning phrases like «the horse is yellow», I’ve learned how to ask for directions and order food at a restaurant (I was in a beginner Spanish class).
I love that the classes are intimate and there’s just about the space. It’s not intimidating – no desks here or PPT presentations here.

I’m so used to going to bookstores that sell a range of genres, that going to Idlewild, a bookstore that specializes in travel and language books, was very refreshing. With the sharing of Buzzfeed’s mostly inaccurate, but amusing «Which City Should You Actually Live In» questionnaire to the inches of snow the sky has been dumping down on us, I think we’ve all been thinking of taking a vacation. Idlewild seems like the place to gather materials for just that.
Idlewild, named after NY’s international airport before it was renamed JFK, fills a cozy, quiet space of a second floor with bookcases that line the zig-​zagged walls, and plenty of light from the large windows. There’s also a smaller room in the back with a giant chandelier and chairs. Travel guides, maps, and language books fill the shelves, tables are dotted with globes, and sections are clearly marked by country. In addition to travel guides and language books for each country, novels written in the original language (mostly for the European countries) as well as novels translated into English by authors from that country are also included.
Bonus:
–There is a wonderful children’s section with some books even written in French and Spanish here.
–French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic classes are available.
–There’s a book club.
Likelihood of another visit:
Very likely. I really want to look at the US road trip travel guides more closely the next time I’m here. Also, I should ask if the globes are for sale.

If you want to learn a new language, study a different culture, or hell, even buy a children’s book in another language, this is the spot that you definitely need to hit up.
For fun, I decided that I wanted to learn French. I have a few tools here and there, but what I *really* needed was a workbook that would challenge me and allow me to write out (rather than choose) vocab and grammar.
This was the only place that I managed to find just that.
They even have classes in the evenings and on Saturdays! I’m definitely interested in checking that out, too.

This is clearly a bookstore geared towards lovers of the Romance languages like French and Spanish; although, the majority of bookshelves are stocked with French literature. One of the reasons I came to this particular bookshop was for German literature, but the selections are meager in comparison to the Spanish and French offerings.
Literature aside, wanderlusters will be pleased to know that there are a variety of travel books that can be found here. In addition, there are also children’s books written in different languages.
Idlewild didn’t meet my needs, but I can imagine that it’s a treasure trove to others.