Category archives: amazing bookshops around the world

 

 

Amazing Bookshops Around the World: 57th Street Books (Chicago)

57th Street Books (Chicago)

1301 E. 57th St. // Chicago, IL 60637
773.684.1300 // fiftysev@semcoop.com
Hours: 10-8 daily
website // twitter // tumblr //

 57th Street Books is located in the Southside Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park. I’m from the north side, but my family always loves to make a trip to this neighborhood for great food, views of the lake and city, and the bookstore. I took my boyfriend out for a similar outing just a few weeks ago and he loved the bookstore too. He even got a book without me forcing him.

57th street books

This bookstore is made up of 4 or 5 small rooms that require some weaving in and out of bookshelves to find. The bookshelves and walls are all made of wood and it’s very cozy, surely a little too cozy at times. In every section, there is a selection of books on display. They look new and inviting with bright and artistic cover sleeves (which always entices me, despite the never-judge-by-the-cover theory), but my favorite part is they are not top ten list books. They look like they might be and actually they are a few years old. Which is great because when I decide NOT to buy the book, I can go get it from the library without 8 week hold list. They also have used books and a great collection of classics with both original and artsy fartsy covers (great if you want to decorate your apartment AND look smart). Books on display often have someone’s hand written recommendation or review alongside them as well, which is actually what convinced my not-a-big-reader boyfriend to get the book.

57th street books

Lastly, the bookstore is in a great neighborhood (as I mentioned before). Buy your book and go read it in one of the big parks or on the lakefront of the Hyde Park area (the place where Obama grew up! Oh yeah — rumor has it he loved this book store too!) under the 100 year old giant trees. Hope you make it there some day!

Words by Abby Williams

Photos by Christine

Click here to see the other bookshops in the series and to learn how to collaborate. 

 

Amazing Bookshops Around the World: East of Eden (Berlin)

 

Amazing Bookshops Around the World: Flow Organic Bookshop (Hong Kong)

 

Amazing Bookshops Around the World: Joot Books (Amsterdam)

Joot Books, Just Out Of Time (Amsterdam)

Hartenstraat 15 1016 BZ
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31(0)20-6881783

Joot Books (Amsterdam)

Amsterdam has a lot of nice bookshops. I was slightly overwhelmed and couldn’t stop hyperventilating and fantasising about how big this section was going to be after my trip. Joot Books was one of the most interesting bookshops I’ve come across in a long time. Located in an area known as “De 9 Straatjes” (the nine streets), famous for its small independent shops and cafés, Joot Books fits in perfectly with the spirit of its location, offering something that is definitely special and sets the shop apart from the generic bookshops that can be found all over the place.

 

Amazing bookshops around the world: Voltaire and Rousseau (Glasgow)

Voltaire & Rousseau

12 Otago Lane
Glasgow, Lanarkshire G12 8PB
United Kingdom
Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

 

Voltaire & Rousseau is everything that a great second-hand bookshop should be. Silent, dishevelled and rammed to the rafters with great books. It has been quietly sitting in Otago Lane for over 30 years, becoming a mecca for Glasgow’s students and intellectuals. It’s not a big place but every inch is chock full of something. What I love most about it is that there’s no real sense of hierarchy. It gives the impression that no book is too unfashionable, too old or too shabby. New books mingle with old. Hardbacks and paperbacks come together, pamphlets are fair game. If the spine is broken or the dust jacket’s ripped that’s fine, no one stands on ceremony here. It feels like more a tribute to the printed word than a business.

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Amazing bookshops around the world: White Cat Book Co. (Saskatoon, Canada)

White Cat Book Co. (Saskatoon, Canada)

 

129-B 2nd Ave N, Saskatoon, SK S7K 2A9
Twitter: @WhiteCatBooks
The bookstore looks like nothing special to the regular onlooker, but to a lover of books, it looks like a haven. To a visitor with no love for literacy, it looks like an overwhelming messy pile. To a lover of reading, it looks like an opportunity, an escape, a fantasy, and new found relationships with characters and authors. After browsing the bookshelves, I felt like I was home, and my visit ended too quick.

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Amazing bookshops around the world: The Book Exchange (Amsterdam)

 

Amazing bookshops around the world: Kubrick Cafe and Bookshop (Hong Kong)

 

Amazing bookshops around the world: Spui Square (Amsterdam)

 

If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam and, upon your arrival, discover that, much to your dismay, you forgot to pack a good book, your best bet for a quick literary fix is to head to Spui Square. Here you will find several places to satisfy your book hunger.
The American Book Center is a labyrinthine bookstore where you will surely find whatever it is you’re looking for. Even though slightly overwhelming and overpriced, they have an incredible variety.
If The American Book Center is too American for you there’s no need to panic, as the English chain bookstore Waterstones is pretty much in front of it. Having been inside too many Waterstones shops as it is, I didn’t even step in it, but I’m sure it’s a good choice if you’re looking for something specific, recent releases or want a wide variety to choose from.

If big book stores are not your thing and you’re more of a browsing type or you just enjoy the smell of old paper, you might find something of interest in the book marketthat takes place right in Spui Square every Friday. It won’t be easy to find the right book there, but it is a great place if you have some time to spare or an uncontrollable love for old books and prints.

Spui Book Market

 

Amazing bookshops around the world: Lire & Chiner (Colmar)

Lire & Chiner (Colmar, France)

36, Rue des Marchands
F68000 Colmar

Colmar is a little village located in the East of France that looks like it didn’t really get past Medieval times. The perfect location to stumble upon a bookshop like Lire & Chiner.

Colmar Alsacia
Photo credit: Francisco Antunes
In Lire & Chiner you can find both old and new books, but it’s speciality is in old books. There are so many books that there is no room to sit down. Most of the books were old, old, old. Such treasures there, like a whole shelf (A WHOLE SHELF!) of old chemistry books.
They specialise in books from the Alsace region, but you can also find a lot of French classics. There is a lot of Victor Hugo and Jules Verne and other French writers I haven’t heard of. It has a lot of old, valuable books and a whole section of kids books and school books! You can find their entire catalogue on their website.

Post and bookshop photos by Fiona

 

Amazing bookshops around the world: Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights (Bath)

Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights (Bath, England)
14-15 John Street,
Bath, BA1 2JL
Open: Mon – Sat 9.30am – 6.30pm

Mr B's - the best bookshop I have ever encountered
When I saw Andrea’s bookshops around the world feature I instantly knew that I had to email her about Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath. Isn’t that just the best bookshop name ever?
We stumbled upon it by accident (don’t you find all the best places like that?) and loved it so much we visited it numerous times during our little trip. Here are the reasons I love it:
1. There is a ‘book spa‘ booth upstairs where you can book a session to sit in peace &; quiet to enjoy a book! You can also book a ‘reading therapy’ session where Mr B will help you find the best books for you and go away with a doggy bag of reading treats. More info here.
2. There is a bookshop dog! She is called Vlashka. I really believe that every good bookshop should have a resident bookshop dog.
3. Free tea & coffee upstairs! At Mr B’s you are really welcome to browse for ages. In fact I am sure they would be happy if you spent all day in there. There is no pressure to buy anything but the booksellers are all so lovely & helpful.
4. The tin tin comic wallpaper going up the stairs!
mr b's
I almost want to move to Bath just so that I can join a Mr B’s reading group and spend all weekend there.
Post & photos by Helen from Afeitar

 

Amazing bookshops around the world: Galerie Bortier (Brussels)

Galerie Bortier
Rue de la Madeleine Ilôt Sacré
Brussels (Belgium)

Galerie Bortier

I was happy to stumble upon Galerie Bortier when I went to Brussels. According to my guide, it’s the only shopping gallery entirely devoted to bookshops in the world. That’s pretty remarkable and fully grants it access to the Amazing Bookshops Around the World series.

Galerie Bortier

 

The gallery itself is beautiful, and inside you can find a few small bookshops, mostly selling old books and bargains, and some shops selling prints of antique maps and things like that.
Galerie Bortier
Galerie Bortier
It’s located in central Brussels, very close to all the tourist attractions, which makes it worth visiting if you are one of those peoplewho have an inexplicable love affair with old paper. Unfortunately, I don’t speak French and their selection of books in English was, well, it just wasn’t there, so I came out with no books but a beautiful original sketch.

Galerie Bortier
DO VISIT IF: You have a taste for 19th century shopping arcade and/or antique prints.
SKIP IT IF: You’re actually looking for something to read.