Sweet Pickle Books is a time capsule.
As one browses the shelves of this small shop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, one gets the feeling of walking through someone’s apartment and peering into the life they once lived. Like other used bookstores and thrift shops, Sweet Pickle Books is filled with items that people had cherished but gave away once the object stopped being useful in their lives. The shop is known for selling used books and $12 artisanal pickles. Yet, it offers so much more.
On the bookshelves lined up against the walls, there are old cassette tapes, vinyl records, DVDs, and CDs. There are boxes full of comic books. Underneath a shelf filled with jars of pickles are shelves full of old board games like Yahtzee and Trivial Pursuit.
Now, most of these forms of entertainment exist in digital form and can be accessed on one device. There is no longer much need for a CD. Yet, these items hold value for how they trigger a sense of nostalgia. As I peer through the shelves, boxes, and grocery bags full of things, I find myself recalling when my family used to own a bulky white computer in the shape of a cube. I remember the collection of Disney movies and romantic comedies kept underneath the TV stand. And the closet with shelves filled to the brim with old records.
Sweet Pickle Books reminds me that I lived through a technological and cultural revolution. And it offers me a look into the decades that precede me. On the floor, I spot a rusty typewriter. In the children’s section, I see books with yellow pages, dense typewritten text, and withering spines. It is a miracle that items so tender and vulnerable to time have been preserved well enough for people to still view and enjoy them.
In addition to books, the store owners preserve the photos found inside of them. There are photographs of people with their loved ones on the walls. Soft jazz music plays as I browse them. Atop the walls of photographs, a piece of paper asks, “Is this you?”
I find myself impressed by the attention to detail, which shows through the note cards with humorous messages for customers on the walls, the cartoon images, and the household decor. Sweet Pickle Books inspires a feeling of warmth that makes it clear the store was crafted with care.
On the way out, I notice a sign next to the door. It tells those who want to steal, the location of an Amazon bookstore because unlike the used bookstore, “they don’t care about the books.” I could not help but agree.
