Books Are Magic Begins Second Chapter With New Outpost

BROOKLYN, NY — A beloved independent bookstore in Cobble Hill is bringing its magic to Brooklyn Heights.

Books Are Magic, which opened on Smith Street five years ago, will begin its second chapter this fall with a new outpost on Montague Street, the shop announced Tuesday.

"The secret is OUT!" an Instagram announcement reads. "Books Are Magic is coming to Montague Street, tell everyone."

Books Are Magic didn't specify the new address, but Patch did a little detective work (read: Googling) and found the realty agency shown in the announcement video is linked to 122 Montague St., part of the four-block strip reportedly in the midst of rehabilitating its image amid persistent vacancies.

"We’ve been *dying* to tell you about our second location," the owners said. "And we just couldn’t hold it in anymore."

Brooklyn-based author Emma Straub and her husband Michael Fusco-Straub first opened Books Are Magic in 2017 soon after the closure of Cobble Hill Community Bookstore, a legendary shop still operating outposts in Park Slope and Windsor Terrace.

The independent bookstore — which was greeted with much fanfare and anticipation — quickly grew into a destination in its own right, specializing in a range of hard-to-find-elsewhere books plus free readings by authors.

News of a second outpost was greeted with similar excitement, eliciting thousands of "likes" and hundreds of comments on Instagram in a matter of hours.

Straub herself is no stranger to Brooklyn Heights, having attended Saint Ann's School and now living nearby in the Columbia Street Waterfront District.