![\"Used](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bronx-bodega-library.jpg\")
Used books are getting a new life in bodegas across the Bronx in New York City thanks to two schoolteachers. (Credit: Books x Bodegas Instagram)<\/p>\nUsed books are getting a new life in bodegas across the Bronx in New York City thanks to two schoolteachers. (Credit: Books x Bodegas Instagram)<\/p>\n
Bodegas are serving a new purpose in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
The convenience stores that are ubiquitous in New York City are now carrying novels for people to take for free, according to the New York Post<\/a>. The idea was hatched by two Bronx schoolteachers who want to instill a love of reading in residents of the borough, which has the highest poverty rate<\/a> in the city.<\/p>\n Since launching last fall, the initiative, dubbed Books x Bodegas, has since expanded to include several delis and even a Mexican restaurant.<\/p>\n Teachers Suzanne Likeness and Zoeya Garcia, who live in the Bronx and spearheaded the initiative, said the bodega books are meant to complement libraries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe library is a destination, but the bodega is a part of New Yorkers\u2019 daily routines,\u201d Likeness, who teaches high school English as a second language, told The Post, adding that the books \u2014 nestled among chips and candy \u2014 are \u201cmore about the visibility and the accessibility.\u201d <\/p>\n Books x Bodegas is similar to the Little Free Library<\/a> concept, which follows a \u201ctake a book, share a book\u201d model.<\/p>\n The Bronx currently has one independent bookstore, The Lit. Bar. The only Barnes & Noble shut down nearly a decade ago because of a rent hike.<\/p>\n