Remembering Jeremy Nussbaum, Owner of Bookhampton
Ever since I was a kid, Bookhampton in East Hampton has been a part of my life and almost every other local and tourist who loves to head out East. Jeremy Nussbaum, one of the owners of Bookhampton, died Tuesday, and the Hamptons has really lost somebody special.
Bookhampton has always been not just a place to buy books, but a place to hang out. Mr. Nussbaum was always very supportive of anybody who was looking to sell their self-published books in his store. Just about every local author on the East End has at some point, done a book signing and sold their books at Bookhampton.
When Bookhampton was located down the street from the movie theater in East Hampton, there was an upstairs area that you could sit down on a couch and hang out. Mr. Nussbaum used to let me and my friends sit up there and read books and joke around when we were in the eighth grade and killing time before a movie would start.
The dude was just a good man. He helped create a real culture at Bookhampton, and really because of that, Bookhampton has been able to survive the undeniable competition from people moving towards buying their books online.
I remember so well enjoying myself in Bookhampton as a kid. It’s was a magical place for me, and even today, it still is. Of course, every once in a while, when I was was townie, and was laughing or talking too much inside the store, he gave the occasional, “SHHHHHHH!”
Mr. Nussbaum’s service will be held at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton on Thursday at 11 a.m. and a burial will take place at Shaaray Pardes Cemetery at 306 Old Stone Highway in East Hampton.