I don’t usually promote expensive coffee table books, but I just found this beauty which is a new New York Times 2025 Holiday Gift Guide selection. Bookstores of the World : The Ultimate Around-the-World Tour for Bibliophiles and Bookshop Lovers would make a terrific present for any booklover —not hinting at all.

Jean-Yves Mollier and Patricia Sorel’s Bookstores of the World is a beautifully photographed tour of, and paean to, the bookstore as a cultural and literary institution.  Starting in France (which leads the world in bookstores per capita), the tour continues through Europe and the Americas before visiting the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. French academics Mollier and Sorel celebrate bookstores—historic, architecturally attractive, or otherwise distinctive—in 40 countries, with stunning photos showcasing memorable architecture, unusual settings, and memorable interior design.

Readers may recognize such giants as Foyles in London and the Strand in Manhattan, but the book also features tiny bookstores set in cottages, courtyards, and even on boats. The text of Bookstores comments on various aspects of bookselling, including book festivals and “book towns”; the financial and cultural challenges of keeping a bookstore afloat; the constant shadow of censorship; and the ingenious ways booksellers of all stripes continue to serve their communities.