A World Full of Bookstores.
Posted June 14th, 2008 by lizOne of the things I always do when traveling is check out the local bookstores. Not just the local Borders or Barnes and Noble but also whatever independent bookstores might be around. Last year I discovered the Fieria de Libros - Madrid’s Open Air Book Market and New York City’s Strand Bookstore.
This year I’m looking to discover more bookstores around the world. But because I’m not traveling at the moment, it will have to be via the internet. And so far, I’ve discovered some new and interesting places to add to my ‘bookstore’ list.
The Guardian’s Sean Dobson list of 10 bookshops from around the world has introduced me to Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, a 800-year-old church converted into a bookstore and El Ateneo in Buenos Aires, another convert, this time from movie theater to bookstore.
The Boston Traveler’s Ten Great Places to Browse Books in Boston includes Brattle Book Shop, a antiquarian bookstore that’s been around since 1825.
Rolf Potts put together a Very Subjective Guide to Bookstores praising Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon and Shakespeare & Company in Paris, France.
The Bookstore Guide, an amateur guide to book shopping throughout Europe, lists Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal and The Bookàbar Bookshop in Rome as top impressive appearance bookstores.
USAToday’s Nine destination bookstores worth putting on a tourist’s itinerary highlights the Elliott Bay Book Co in Seattle, Washington and the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado.
With recommendations like these, my bookstore list is growing.
Want to add to it?
What’s your favorite non-chain bookstore?
June 19th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Afraid I have to cheat. I’m a devotee of abebooks.com, where I buy most of my books. It’s an Amazon-type website, except that it’s not just one store — it’s 13,500 independent booksellers from around the world. It’s the Mecca for used and out-of-print books, AND new titles. It’s incredible. So, instead of going to the website of Powell’s in Portland, Oregon (I have to say Rolf Potts has no imagination there — Powell’s and Shakespeare in Paris are two of the best-known bookstores on the planet), I just go to abebooks.com and Powell’s lists its titles there, as does New York’s Strand, with 13,499 other booksellers worldwide.
June 22nd, 2008 at 6:53 am
Hi Nia,
Abebooks.com sounds like a great resource. Have heard of it but haven’t yet checked it out. Think I’ll save it for a rainy day — which shouldn’t be too far off given we are in winter here in New Zealand.