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Every person who isn't like "you" is an "other". I've owned here since 1999, and I can assure you that there weren't many people like me here then, but there were plenty of "others" who made me feel welcome and safe. After a 6 year marital detour to Manhattan and Brooklyn, I have discovered a JC that is barely recognizable. There is no parking, where it used to be ample. Same for seats on the PATH. There are local businesses I loved that have been replaced by expensive condos, and entire new streets that didn't even exist. There are lots of things I could choose to complain about because NEWPEOPLE moved here, but I don't, because with all of the drawbacks that NEWPEOPLE brought, there are some wonderful additions their coming here have brought too. I think it is hilarious when people think they're righteous pioneers for discovering a place that has been happily inhabited for generations for the same reasons they think it's wonderful.

A real, live bookstore is a wonderful thing. Yuppies, hipsters, aging hippies or any other pejoratively named social class are all welcome, as far as I am concerned. My Dominican and Salvadoran neighbors didn't react with hostility when I moved here, and I will do them the courtesy of acting with the same respect.

The bookstore should be open by September

Some pictures from the Klosterman reading in that article as well.

Looks like Word may be running late on their opening. They're having a Chuck Klosterman book signing tomorrow July, 9th. However, it will be at Barcade and not at their Jersey City Word location.

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From what I heard, it was supposed to be a late June/early July opening.

Anyone know when Word is planning on opening? On their Facebook account they have a Chuck Klosterman reading scheduled for July 9th so it would seem that the opening is imminent. Really looking forward to frequenting this place. I'll be ditching the Kindle to support them.

Is it going to be near the new Whole Foods?

Thanks Seagull.... I should have read the thread below :)!

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Stumptown won't have a store, but WORD will have a cafe with a barista and they will be brewing Stumptown beans, so essentially Stumptown will be offered in JC. I like that there are coffee options in JC these days. Dames offers Counter Culture, Warehouse offers Intelligentsia, and now we will have Stumptown with WORD's arrival.

Did i miss something? Is stumptown coming to JC???? It would be awesome! Love those hipster barristas :)

MMMMM... Stumptown... After enjoying a nice pizza at Roman Nose, I look forward to a coffee while browsing books at Word... And then to sipping a tequila at Orale... I forgot about Choc o Pain...and Dames... Thirty Acres....Barcade...

Yay to JC for all the new businesses over the last 2-3 years!

This is exciting. There are too many empty storefronts around Grove Street area. Hopefully there will be more stores to come!

Read on their twitter feed that they will be offering Stumptown coffee when they open.

A New Jersey 'Destination for Books'
Wall Street Journal
By JENNIFER WEISS

A neighborhood that recently got its first independent general-interest bookstore in years is about to get a second. Word, the?popular Brooklyn bookstore, is planning to open a new ocation in downtown Jersey City this summer.

When mother and daughter Carol and Aleta Valleau opened Tachair Bookshoppe last summer, their slogan was "Jersey City needs a bookstore."

And it did. The area has lost several booksellers in recent years, including a Barnes & Noble in Hoboken and a B. Dalton and small independent bookstore/gift shop in Jersey City, leaving buyers of new books little choice but to travel or shop online. Tachair, Scottish Gaelic for "meet," became a rarity in New Jersey's Hudson County, selling new and used books and hosting events, author readings and classes.

Now, a second independent bookstore is coming to the neighborhood: Word, a popular Brooklyn shop also known for its community events, is planning to open a new location soon on downtown Jersey City's Newark Avenue, less than half a mile from Tachair. Word's New Jersey outpost will be a 2,200-square-foot bookstore-cafe big enough for the buzziest of authors, and best-selling music and culture writer Chuck Klosterman is scheduled to read from his new book at Word's grand opening on July 9.

Tachair Bookshoppe opened in Jersey City last year.

The competing independent bookstores will present a test of Jersey City's rapidly gentrifying downtown neighborhood, which has drawn an upscale, artsy crowd of transplants priced out of Manhattan and Brooklyn in recent years. Jersey City may have needed a bookstore but can it support two?

The owners of both Word and Tachair said they believe the answer is yes.

"I hope that there's room for all of us, it seems like there's room for all of us," said Christine Onorati, who owns Word with her husband, Vincent. "I think it's just a positive thing."

"With two bookstores, sort of the bookends on Newark Avenue, we can draw a crowd between us," Tachair's Carol Valleau said. Jersey City, she added, could become "a destination for books."

Word would add to a growing number of independent shops dotting the downtown Jersey City landscape, including Tachair, fashion boutiques and dessert shops, along with well-known New York names such as Barcade, Two Boots pizza and the gift shop Mxyplyzyk. Restaurants such as Thirty Acres and Madame Claude Cafe have garnered foodie accolades.

Ms. Onorati said she and her husband chose to expand Word into Jersey City after seeing the success their relatives had with Roman Nose, an Italian restaurant next door to the vacant building where they plan to open. The location is a stone's throw from the Grove Street Path station and the foot traffic it generates.

Ms. Onorati said Word would be different from Tachair, selling a wide variety of new books at full retail price. The Roman Nose would provide food for Word's cafe. Tachair (pronounced tah-HAIR) offers used paperbacks for $3 and hardcovers for $5 along with a small, curated selection of new books. It serves coffee and pastries, and its collection is largely based on what the Valleaus learned about Jersey City preferences while selling used books at markets in the past. Like Word, it hosts events, including a recent poetry reading that drew 20 people.

Brooklyn bookstore Word plans a branch in Jersey City.

Bookstore Finds Novel Ways to Succeed
Ms. Onorati said people who want a place to bring used books and buy books cheaper will still go to Tachair. She compared the situation to Word's in Greenpoint, where it coexists with several other book sellers in adjacent neighborhoods. She said she sees the competition as complementary.

In some ways, Word and Tachair will be similar. Both take pride in making recommendations to customers.

"It's not always just about getting exactly what you want," Aleta Valleau said. "It's about finding what you what."

Such niceties help fuel the unusual economics of independent book sellers. Even as large retailers such as Barnes & Noble retrench and the rise of digital publishing and online sales continues, independent bookstores are gaining a stronger foothold, particularly in New York, said Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, an independent bookseller trade association that is gaining members.

"The picture for us is nowhere near as bleak as often gets expressed," he said, attributing it in part to the "really unique role that [independent bookstores] play in the communities in which they are found."

New bookstores have popped up in recent years in Fort Greene, Prospect Heights and most recently, Bushwick.

"There was a realistic fear that the neighborhood couldn't necessarily support two bookstores at this point," said Matthew Winn, who opened Molasses Books last June in Bushwick, banking on the fact that no other book shops were nearby. Then, another one, Human Relations, opened within a month.

But the stores are different enough, Mr. Winn said, that people go to each for different reasons. "I think we're both doing OK," Mr. Winn said.

Jersey City resident Nick Urban, 29 years old, said he found it encouraging that another bookstore was opening, particularly one with a cafe.

"I don't think it'll be a problem," he said as he browsed books at Tachair, where he sometimes brings his laptop and sits and works for hours. "Have you ever seen the Starbucks on Grove Street? You can't even sit down in there."

Write to Jennifer Weiss at jennifer.weiss@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared April 8, 2013, on page A21 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: A New Jersey 'Destination for Books'.

WSJ: A New Jersey 'Destination for Books'

According the article, WORD will open on July 9th. The grand opening will feature a reading by Chuck Klosterman.

Tachair sells new, used and vintage/rare books. They also special order new books at no cost for shipping. Jersey City needs book stores. Tachair started the latest trend. It's great to see the interest building. It looks like the new book store will be joining Tachair on Newark Avenue. Welcome, WORD!

Hopefully they will support local businesses in Brooklyn and export some freshly roasted coffees from one of the local roasters. Tony's Estates or Blue Bottle would be a dream come true.

An article on the new location in Shelf Awareness, a publishing newsletter. They plan to have a cafe and host frequent events.

I was living in Greenpoint when WORD opened around the corner from me, and I was sad to leave it behind, after many years of wishing for a good bookstore nearby. They had some fun events, and it was also friendly and low-key--a great place to browse while waiting for my laundry to dry. I can't wait!

WORD is also one of the independent bookstores taking part in the Kobo/American Booksellers Association partnership, which gives the participating bookstore of your choice part of the proceeds of e-books purchased for the Kobo reader or app. I've been holding off on getting an e-reader, but now that I can also benefit a local business, I'm going to pick one up. The Kobo Mini is awfully cute.

http://brooklynbased.net/email/2013/0 ... ith-your-local-bookstore/

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Yes. Heaven forbid attractive women who are also smart enough to read should come to Jersey City. ;)

I'm glad to see Newark Ave attracting some great businesses and wish them the best of luck!

Wow -- bucking all trends -- Newark Avenue Downtown has 2 bookstores now!

I'm super excited for this place. I might move in under one of the tables. Welcome Word!!!

Welcome WORD and best wishes!

I think this is great news. I still prefer reading traditional books, even if e-readers and such have their good points.

I would definitely support this. Will they serve coffee? A new book find and some coffee is all i need to spend the day away. :)

I used to live in Greenpoint, Word is a normal bookstore, you don't need to worry about a "hipster invasion," they have a very good selection. And no...JC is not even close to BK in being "hipster," though I'm not sure what that word means anymore.

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So what happens after a hipster invasion? How can we prepare for such an occurrence? Are there shelters in which non-hipsters can ride it out?

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as a longtime local (moved to downtown JC in 1988), I doubt it can support one in the era of Amazon. with this location, it has a better chance, but I'd be surprised if it's still there two years from now.

Quote:Agreed, downtown is more yuppie than hipster... I think BeLa over by Communipaw and Grand is more hipster than downtown. Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses.

Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. Downtown has some folks that fits this descrip... but not too many, when I am downtown, I see more new moms with yoga mats.

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What do you consider an invasion? Two guys with tight jeans brunching at Marco and Pepe on Sundays? Have you been to Brooklyn this decade? Downtown JC isn't close.

Cool to have another bookstore, but I'm wondering if the immediate neighborhood can support not one but two bookstores? Even if they do have different business models.

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You're half right. On a good day. JC is on their radar, but not yet en masse. Maybe we'll level out like Inwood or S Bronx instead of going the way of WBurg. We'll see.

But you're wrong about me, I failed this test. http://www.quizrocket.com/hipster-quiz