The Office: Barnes & Noble Review
I finally got out today to test out some places for my new “office”. Today I went to the Barnes & Noble (150 East 86th Street bn Lexington and Third Avenues). When I was studying for the bar exam, I occasionally went to the Barnes & Noble in Lincoln Center (1972 Broadway). It was enormous and expansive, but there was little pressure to buy snacks to sit in the cafe, and there was a ton of table space. Since I took the Bar in July 2006, I have been back to the cafe to sit and read the occasional book, and for one (very bad) date.
Here’s the info:
Name: Barnes & Noble
Location: Various. I went to the one on East 86th Street between Lexington and Third
Overall Score (out of 10): 5.5
Cost of Food: $4.35 for grande iced coffee and small red velvet cupcake
Pros:
- “Free” Reading material (you can read the books and magazines at the cafe without purchasing them)
- Plenty of seating
- Lack of pressure to purchase coffee or snacks
Cons:
- No Wi-Fi
- No Electrical Outlets
- Loud
- Lack of ability to leave personal belongings to go to the bathroom or to get additional snacks
- Tons of tweens, crazy people, and other such asshats
Verdict: Not recommended. I have to say that I do love the new Barnes & Noble. Its huge, has tons of book selections, and is very clean and modern looking. The cafe is a fine place to stop for a drink with friends, which is probably its overarching purpose, but it is not a place to park yourself all day. There’s no free wi-fi, outlets to plug in your laptop computer, or cell phone service in the cafe, which makes it difficult to stay connected. Moreover, I had to endure the schizophrenic ramblings of a crazy homeless guy, and a conversation between two tweens about orgies (I hope they weren’t talking from first hand experience). On the positive side, there is something to be said about the fact that even though I didn’t have wi-fi, I was able to research the writing style of the articles in Bicycling magazine and look up a map of Western Europe.
