Marathon prize sponsor: St. Mark's Bookshop

Wait, didn't this place close?

No! St. Mark's Bookshop—a literary legend well beyond the East Village—is still alive. The story briefly: Its landlord, Cooper Union, jacked up the rent, SMB saw its days numbered, but the community flew into action and put together a massive petition, and this fine, fine bookstore survived. For now, of course; this is New York City. (More of the tale here.)

Places like St. Mark's stir in me the best kind of nostalgia: There aren't enough independent bookstores anymore, particularly ones that are a true pleasure to browse, and browsing book and/or record stores was how I spent 90% of every vacation during college (my parents moved around a lot). Every genre you could imagine, helpful staff, all that jazz, plus a true E-Vill character; I mean, seriously: Of their top five bestsellers, two of them are by Patti Smith. Next time you need to waste time in the East Village, trust me on this.

So it's a real honor to have them as a sponsor of our upcoming Tenth Anniversary Quiz Marathon. They're tossing in a gift card as a prize, but you really should go there anyway and buy a few books. (I know you, you haven't gotten around to getting a Kindle yet.) Besides, I'll make you a deal: If you pick up a pointy-headed novel by Jeffrey Eugenides or whoever, I won't judge you for also buying Glee: The Official William McKinley High School Yearbook.


St. Mark's Bookshop is at 21 Third Avenue, just off St. Marks Place, which works out nicely. Find out more here (shop online, even), and look at that! Tickets for the Marathon are on sale!

Marathon prize sponsors: Birch Coffee, Lionel Trains, The Artifice Group's Strange Things, The Bubble Lounge, the best of Off Broadway, Museum of Sex, more soon…