This week’s prompt is bookstores we most want to visit. Which is a really long list for me, because I basically want to visit ALL of them. There are a few that come to mind first, so I’m including those. But in usual fashion, I’m putting a twist on the topic by also including a few of my all-time favourites in case any of you get the chance to stop in and check them out!
Some of the bookstores I most want to visit:
A bookstore and publisher in London, famous for their gorgeous gray covers and artistic endpapers with matching bookmarks.
One of the most famous bookstores in the world, Shakespeare & Co is in Paris, and known for its bohemian roots (travelers used to be able to crash there in exchange for helping out around the place) and wonderfully cluttered and eclectic style.
One of the best known destinations for bookish tourists, Powell’s is one of the largest bookstores in the world. It occupies a full city block and boasts an estimated 1,000,000 books. It’s basically Mecca for booklovers. I want to live there.
Do I really need to explain this one? It’s a floating bookshop on a barge that travels Britain’s waterways bringing literature to any port it stops at. I love the concept, and I really want to chase it down someday!
Located in Buenos Aires Argentina, El Atteneo Grand Splendid occupies a former theatre, and is one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. I feel like all bookstores should be designed with as much attention and grandeur as is afforded the performing arts and museums housing the world’s most precious works of art, so it seems pretty fitting to me!
One of the most recognizable bookshops in the world is Livraria Lello, in Porto Portugal. I’ve been obsessed by this bookshop since randomly stumbling upon a photo of this staircase several years ago. I can’t decide which I am more drawn in by, the architecture or the walls and walls of books. (Okay, that’s a lie. It’s the books.)
And some of my favourites:
I adore City Lights. A bookstore and publisher, it originally published Ginsberg’s “Howl,” and is known as much for its progressive politics as its books. It is a true home to any lover of the written word. It spans three floors, has plenty of nooks to curl up in with a stack of books and the staff are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. I’ve spent hours there, and it’s one of my all-time favourite places.
Located in Faulkner’s former home in the heart of the French Quarter, Faulkner House books isn’t very big, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in curation and character. We often talk about how the proprietor of a bookstore creates the feel of the store by carefully selecting which books to house on its shelves. But no other store I’ve been in showed such care and style in its titles. I was fascinated by which books had been selected – an interesting mix of current, classic and local titles, and all in the most beautiful editions available. They even wrapped the dust jacket for the hardcover book I purchased in plastic to protect it, which I wish all bookstores did! I was very impressed.
Not San Francisco’s most famous bookstore, but probably my favourite. It’s located right near Moscone and the centre of town, so it is super convenient if you’re staying downtown. It’s huge, the staff are happy to let you wander and hang out there for as long as you want, and it has that wonderful calm vibe common to all the best bookstores I’ve ever been in.
A local pick, Munro’s is located in Victoria, BC. Its biggest claim to fame is that it was founded by Jim and his then-wife Alice Munro, the Nobel Prize-winning author. The building itself, though not the original location, is one of the most beautiful bookstores I’ve ever been in. Its heritage building was originally designed as a banks, and though it was modernized in the ’50s, Jim Munro restored it to its original glory. Definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in town!
That’s it for this week – there are many more books I’d like to visit, and others I have loved, but I’m tired and it’s late, so I’m calling it a day. I’d love to hear from any of you who have visited these stores, and which are your favourites!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I had the Argentinean and Portuguese bookstores on my list this week too! I would also love to visit Shakespeare & Co., it looks so cute!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/16/top-ten-tuesday-181/
Powell’s City of Books is amazing. I’m glad I got the chance to go there once (although I wouldn’t mind going again). El Atteneo Grand Splendid looks so darned beautiful. Wow!
I’ve been to the Alexander Book Company and it is worth the trip!! In fact, this bookstore made my TTT list this week.
All of these places sound amazing!!
Here’s a link to my TTT post: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2018/10/top-ten-tuesday-bookstores-ive-visited.html
Wonderful list! These places all look and sound amazing. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday
Your post is really making me want to go book shopping. I love the aesthetic of Persephone Books. It’s so pretty and colorful and light.
Shakespeare and co looks amazing!