Bookhouse is an intimate space located at the American Sephardi Federation. Its rooms are casual, softly lit, infused with music, and filled with books, carpets, and all sorts of amiable obsolete items abandoned and found in the streets of New York.

It is not an archive; every item is repurposed. Like in an old-fashioned bookstore, you can participate in readings and talks, browse and purchase books on the pre-nation-state era, Ottoman and Mediterranean history and culture.

Throughout history, books have come into existence in many forms. While technology has influenced how they’re made and how we use them, the conundrum of seizing the spoken word on stone, parchment, papyrus, paper, or a screen continues to be central to bookmaking. For Muslims and Jews alike, though not exclusively, the tension between that spoken “breath” and its organized form on a surface has never ceased to be a source of awe and ambivalence even as they came to define themselves as the “Peoples of the Book.” This tension breathes life into Bookhouse.

We are open to the public on Thursdays between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm or by appointment. Visit us for coffee or tea, to browse our books attend talks and conversations.