Cleo Le-Tan Knows Where All the Bookstores Are in New York | People - WWD

Kristen Tauer, WWD reports, When Cleo Le-Tan moved to New York a few years ago, she was finishing up her first novel, “Une Famille (A Family).” She needed to find somewhere to write — somewhere that wasn’t WeWork — and landed at her local library.

“A Booklover’s Guide to New York” by Cleo Le-Tan. 
 Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli

“I just treat the libraries like a free WeWork. You go there and you can just write and work and it’s free, and anybody can go there without presenting their I.D.,” says Le-Tan, the daughter of famed illustrator Pierre Le-Tan and sister of accessories designer Olympia Le-Tan. “Anyways, I found the Mulberry Street Library, which is an old chocolate factory in SoHo, and I would go there every day. And the library just became my office.”
 
After finishing up her novel (which was inspired by her own family) amidst the crowd of eccentric locals who frequented the library, Le-Tan became “obsessed” with libraries.

“And then that drew me to everything else book-related in New York: bookshops and literary landmarks and places where authors lived or where they used to write...

Such as Jefferson Market Library, her current favorite library to work from. 

“It’s the old court house on Sixth avenue in the West Village. Not many people know that it’s a library, and that’s why it’s amazing,” she says. “It’s also a bit modern —the floors are a bit shiny and some of the shelves are brand new — but it’s just so cool in there, and it’s got so many local people. And there are no toilets there, it also just sort of keeps the rotation of people.” 

She also likes the public library on 53rd street for its poor cell reception and less charming environment. “It’s good for concentrating and working,” she says.
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Source: WWD