Are you someone who refuses to believe the theory that "print is dead"? Who always makes room in a suitcase for a paperback? Who finds it easy to spend more time at a charmingly ramshackle bookstore than a crowded tourist attraction? You're not alone.
The organizers of Independent Bookstore Day celebrate book havens and book lovers everywhere each spring, and what better way to mark the occasion than to seek out an indie book shop on your next trip?
"The idea of Bookstore Day, first and foremost, is to celebrate indie bookstores and the symbiotic community of authors, readers, booksellers, and book lovers of all stripes," Bookstore Day Program Director Samantha Schoech told me via email. Participating bookstores in the United States celebrate Bookstore Day by offering up special collectables, limited edition novels, and hosting author signings and other events for one day only — but there are plenty of picturesque print-hoarding spots around the world that are also worthy of a visit in spirit of the day year-round, even if this holiday doesn't formally broaden its reach beyond the U.S.
"We've already had a lot of contact with our counterparts in the U.K. and Canada and know that both Australia and New Zealand also have their own takes on bookstore day," Schoech says. Here are some of the most storied book shops to celebrate the bookworm in all of us.
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Shakespare and Company, Paris
One of the most famous and photographed independent book shops in the world, Shakespeare and Company sits along the Seine River in Paris and was an expat-author watering hole of sorts for some of literature's biggest names — James Baldwin, Allen Ginsberg, Anais Nin, Wiliam Burroughs — in the 1960s.
Prior to its reopening at its current location, Shakespeare and Company was a Sylvia Beach-owned shop just a few blocks away that hosted some even more storied names like F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Earnest Hemingway, and T.S. Eliot.
There's no denying the historical importance of this place, but it's also simply a comforting spot to escape busy Paris and read a heavily used novel free of charge, hear a stranger expertly play piano, or stumble upon a famous writer. New and used titles fill this two-story shop to the brim, and it's the perfect place to pick up a worthy souvenir to read on your flight home. For a peek at its charming art- covered walls, packed shelves, and matted armchairs, watch the second film of Richard Linklater's Oscar-nominated Sunrise trilogy, Before Sunset.
Livraria Lello & Irmao, Porto
Harry Potter fanatics of all ages should make the pilgrimage to J.K. Rowling's former home away from home, Porto, if only in pursuit of the story's Muggle- world origin. Rowling taught English in Portugal's second city, and wrote some of the now-famous series around the time that she frequented Livraria Lello & Irmao's stained-glass upstairs cafe. The shop boasts breathtaking Gothic Revival and Art Nouveau architecture, and is suspected to be part of the inspiration for the Harry Potter series' settings.
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Ler Devagar, Lisbon
South of Porto in Portugal's bustling capital, Lisbon's most versatile livraria is aptly named Read Slowly, and is equal parts cafe, local art gallery, concert/event venue, and brimming bookstore. Pop in for an espresso, to buy a new title, to take a peek at the long-standing art on both floors, or for an exhibition or poetry reading.
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