Dungeon Books Press Kit

Story

Dungeon Books is an independent sci-fi and fantasy bookstore in Jersey City. Panat Taranat and Carrie Vu opened it in 2024.

The idea came from Appendix N in the original AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide, the reading list that inspired the people who wrote the game. The store is built around that premise: the same shelf can feed the novel you read at home and the campaign you run on Saturday.

We wanted it to feel more like a friend's living room than a retail space, where someone could walk in for one book and leave with one they weren't looking for. Every book on our shelves was picked by a person who reads them.

Weekly D&D sessions in the back of the store are non-negotiable. A lot of our regulars met each other across a table of dice and character sheets.

Short description

Dungeon Books is an independent sci-fi and fantasy bookstore in Jersey City, opened in 2024 by Panat Taranat and Carrie Vu, with weekly D&D in the back of the store.

Quick facts

Opened: 2024
Owners: Panat Taranat and Carrie Vu
Shelves: Sci-fi and fantasy novels, vintage paperbacks, RPG books, comics, board games and dice
Address: 115 Brunswick St, Jersey City, NJ 07302
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 12 to 7pm
Online: dungeonbooks.com and @dungeonbooks on Instagram
Contact: hello@dungeonbooks.com

Founders

Panat and Carrie outside the shop. Download

Carrie and Panat met across a D&D table. A few sessions in, they were sketching what eventually became Dungeon Books.

Carrie Vu

Carrie was a software engineer, then an actor, then a bookseller in Manhattan before opening Dungeon Books, where she manages the shop. She comes from improv and sketch comedy, and her love of storytelling is what got her into D&D. On screen she has appeared in Orange Is the New Black, Mr. Robot and Partner Track.

Panat Taranat

Panat is a software engineer whose collection of sci-fi and fantasy paperbacks had been slowly taking over his apartment. He teaches AI and technology workshops at the Jersey City Free Public Library and gives presentations on technology and tabletop games at Liberty Science Center. He writes at taranat.com.