Oscar Wilde Bookshop

I love this bookstore! It’s adorable, on a quaint street in the west village and has quite a history. The last time I was there the staff was so friendly and helpful. My friends and I looked around for a long time and didn’t feel any pressure to rush. I was also impressed with the diverse collection of books being sold. They have everything from the works of notable gay authors to young adult coming of age stories. If you are in the area and love books I would recommend stopping by.

Don’t be scared to venture into this little gem because it’s a gay and lesbian bookstore. Everyone is welcome. It’s a little small but quite charming and the employees are extremely helpful and nice as well. I highly recommend paying this place a visit.

Call me old-​fashioned, but I like my gay retail shops to have rainbow flag paraphernalia, a wide selection of items from 10%, and proprietors (male and female) who are still rockin’ the flannel sleeveless shirt, white t-​shirt, denim shorts and combat boots look. I want my «community» stores to be reminiscent of the ‘90s, in other words, total relics. And though Oscar Wilde is a flannel-​clad proprietor short of my idea, it’s still a stand out in this «progressive» world where Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon carry queer titles and allow us godless infidels to purchase gay-​oriented material in the daylight and without wearing big floppy hats, sunglasses and fake facial hair – you know, like a prison bride.
Am I fucked up here in thinking that there was something cool about living in fear and shame? Okay, that’s a lie. I never felt that way, but I kind of feel nostalgic for having to «find my community» in semi-​discreet places. I just want want shame to be the new black!
So back to the bookstore, it has of course lots of queer books, mags, dvds, videos (VHS, baby!), calendars, and best of all, rainbow flag accessories including bumper stickers, rings, necklaces, stuffed animals, earrings, and all other kinds of nonsense. It’s GREAT! You can go there for Halloween and put together an outfit as a homosexualist from Kentucky, all decked out in bear pride regalia and be all, «Fuck you 21^st Century faggotry! I’m living in a better time in my head! A time when people said meaningless things like, ‘butch’, ‘femme’, ‘You can trust me, I don’t have any STDs’, and ‘Let’s be monogamous.’»
This bookstore is a survivor, having been bought and sold several times like Britney Spears’ dignity, and still it stands, tucked in a lovely brownstone on Christopher Street.
So hey all you New York literate fags and dykes who actually read for leisure (I know we are a dying breed), buy your fucking books at Oscar Wilde Bookshop and help the good man stay afloat!

I can’t begin to describe how comfortable I felt in this store. I was feeling very nervous and awkward about looking for books about coming out, but the employees were so so kind and helpful. I was rather bewildered, and the lady up front made me feel really welcome and understood, which is really something special. I didn’t end up buying anything that day, but based on what I browsed through this is DEFINITELY the right place to steer anyone wanting to know *anything at all* about gay lifestyle. They even blatantly sell softcore, which is pretty cool.
The little shop is a bit hard to find at first, since it’s nestled between bigger buildings smack in the middle of Christopher Street… but once you’re nearby you can’t miss the rainbow flag out front. It’s highly worth seeking out, whether it’s for information, research, or pleasure reading. :)

Welcome to Gay 101. Or «Everything You Ever Wanted to know about Gayness: The History AND the Sex.»
This is where it all began, folks. Right here on Christopher Street. And this store is where you can read all about it. While there are lots of places to get gay interest books (every Borders and B&N has got a section, or if you can handle the sketchy stores on 8^th Ave in Chelsea) this is the only place that really runs the gamut. Non-​fiction, Gay & Lesbian Lit, Erotica, Comics, Magazines — you name it. Anything that’s in print and related at all to the gays you can find it here.
And in a cute, cozy store with a friendly staff to boot. Big fan.

I was shocked to find out that this is the only true LGBT bookstore in New York City (or did I miss one?)… in such a big city I would have expected for there to be at least a couple more. The store is really small, hardly bigger than my living-​room, but very well-​stocked and cozy. They have a great selection of both fiction and non-​fiction, as well as other goodies such as cards and calendars (including my favorite Dieux du Stade… aren’t French rugbymen something else…). The staff was very friendly and helpful, but the place is so small and quiet I couldn’t help feeling a little self-​conscious. I’m all into supporting independent bookstores, and this one certainly stands out, so I will definitely stop by again next time I’m in the area.

I got here almost by chance. One of the oldest bookstore of gay interest here. I think the first.

Specialized stores face a singular challenge: How to attract enough business to sustain a business while still catering to the tastes and needs of the active customer base that’s needed to support a way-​focused retail establishment.
Hobby shops address this by combining doll houses, rubber stamp art, models, and model railroading. Science-​fiction bookstores do it by encompassing other popcult genres. Comic book stores are starting to address the challenge by selling trade paperbacks, other wares related to their genres, and licensed products. And porn shops meet the need by establishing still-​shady fronts as video rental locations.
Oscar Wilde, the «world’s first gay and lesbian bookstore,» has done so by emphasizing the bookstore with a backstop of LesBiGay intellect.
Walking in, Oscar Wilde is a solid bookstore first and foremost. It’s smart, well stocked, and savvy. It’s also got many overcurrents — not undercurrents — of LBG culture. But the thing is, like a good vegetarian restaurant, you don’t know there’s no meat (or more meat, your choice).
The general fiction and nonfiction is well-​informed and –inspired, and they don’t shy by being explicitly gay in the front room with gay fiction and erotica. But the real deal is in the back room, where the nonfiction, history, and used books are shelved.
I’d argue that the nonfiction and history sections are the shelves a straight readership should become most acquainted with. You get your history of gay New York, your coming-​out narratives, and your health texts.
Oscar Wilde is amazing. Like the old New Words in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Oscar Wilde is a thinking person’s bookstore regardless of your sexual or gender politics. I’ll be back!

Alright, I like to think of myself as a fairly mature person, and anyone who knows me knows that I’m certainly no stranger to queer issues or culture. However, the fact that the Oscar Wilde Bookshop is located on the corner of Stonewall and Gay still makes me laugh. At least you know where you are!
The history of the store is inspiring to say the least, and the bookstore itself is lovely. A gift certificate would be a great present for someone who has recently come out, or for the parents of someone who has recently come out, or for the children of someone who has recently come out.. .

Really interesting bookstore. Devoted soley to homosexual literature and from what I understand it has been a staple in the community for quite awhile. They have a ton of interesting books here and the employees are very friendly and helpful. Great place to visit if you’re bored with your current reading material.

How is it I’m the first to review this Greenwich village landmark? Is no one in Manhattan Unilocaling? Small and unobtrusively tucked away beneath the trees lining Christopher Street since 1967, Oscar Wilde has eluded from time to time a searching customer who fails to notice the building’s mauve bricks or the rainbow flag draped in the window. The charming interior houses a vast collection of literature — both contemporary and vintage — by, for, and about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities. A number of rare, signed first editions — including a two-​volume set of ‘Well of Loneliness’ by Radclyffe Hall — are available. It was the world’s first gay bookshop, and before the days of a community center, was filled with notices of activists’ meetings, and often the meetings themselves. An important bit of history for both the people it primarily serves and the city of New York as a whole.