A bookstore without any books? See inside Audible's new audiobook haven in NYC.
Clare MulroyNEW YORK – The world’s first bookless bookstore is now open in New York City.
At Audible Story House, audiobook listeners can explore titles and connect offline. Not quite a bookstore and also not quite a library, Story House is a community hub and listening lounge for readers to hang out and discover a new audio obsession.
This 6,000-foot space is free and open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays during May. It boasts a three-floor design and over 300 audiobook titles to listen to.
James Finn, Audible’s global head of brand and content marketing, says they’ve combined the “great elements” of a bookstore and a record store. It’s not a replacement for a bookstore; it’s a singular addition.
“We wanted to try to introduce people to audiobooks, but then also have a place for those that are passionate fans to come to,” Finn tells USA TODAY. “Fans don’t have an outlet and don’t have a place where they feel like they can be celebrated.”
Step inside Audible’s bookless bookstore for audiobook lovers
On the first floor, choose an audiobook “tile” from genre-specific shelves. You can place these on dockets in listening booths for a communal experience, or choose one with headphones for a solo listen.
Off the main area is a cozy lounge with a stage and seating area. This is where Audible will host events nearly every day this month, including author conversations, trivia, open mics, craft workshops and silent book clubs.
Like a bookstore, Audible Story House is designed for browsing, not full-book listening. But these events present opportunities for more extensive listening together. Finn envisions Story House as a third place where readers “can move away from their phone.”
Downstairs, take your shoes off before entering a dark room akin to a museum film screening. In the Dolby Atmos lounge, it’s time to get down to the floor and relax while you listen to 15-minute snippets of full-cast, immersive audiobooks. The couch-like structure on the floor, I must admit, was very comfortable. Hearing surround sound retellings of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Harry Potter” – tea cups clinking, crowds of Hogwarts students cheering – was even better.
Get a bespoke recommendation from an audiobook ‘storytender’
Up two flights of stairs on the top floor is a cafe serving beverages from Brooklyn-based coffee shop Land to Sea. Try out the immersion reading feature and follow along with the words on a tablet and the audiobook simultaneously.
There’s also another listening lounge on this floor, this time with a bar staffed by a “storytender.” I’m greeted with a “listening menu” that features options like “Let’s leave the real world: With potential notes of heart palpitations, the multiverse, cliffhangers, or the unexpected.”
Each seat is equipped with an audiobook tile docket and a pair of headphones. My storytender asks what I’m craving. Can she find me a narrative nonfiction so gripping it feels like fiction? After a careful beat, she presents a tile to an Audible Original – “Not a Very Good Murderer” by Ronan Farrow. The audio snippet drops me straight into the story and after a few minutes, I’m hooked. She really knows her stuff.
This “storytender” is not a bartender by trade, but an actor and book enthusiast. Another one is a fourth-grade teacher and voracious audiobook listener, Finn tells me.
“We wanted to have kind of like a bartender, but somebody who is really plugged in,” Finn says. “If you love audiobooks, you love books, you’re going to know if somebody’s really plugged in or if they’re just recommending something because they heard about it. For us, we wanted to hire people who were authentically into audiobooks.”
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].