Category Archives: Bookstore Tourism

The Last Bookshop of the World

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was recently directed to a film that is likely to appeal only to bibliophiles, writers, and cinephiles. So, of course, I assumed that it was right up your alley as they say in oldtimey America. Most booklovers that I … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Tourism: Happy Birthday to the world’s most famous bookshop

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

When I first visited Paris more than 40 years ago, I immediately stopped by the iconic Shakespeare and Company bookstore. And, like every other bibliophile, I was smitten. Although it seemed to be an ancient pilgrimage site for booklovers, it … Continue reading →

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Shelves of Time

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Michael Chabon recently shared a very personal project that he worked on during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a serious bout of nostagia, he recreated the science fiction and fantasy section of his childhood bookshop … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Tourism: Best bookshop name ever

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I recently discovered the best named bookstore in America. Mother foucault’s bookshop in Portland, Oregon offers a well curated collection of rare, antiquarian and secondhand books selected by the owner Craig Florence. Located in a somewhat dingy, light industrial neighborhood, the shop’s … Continue reading →

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More Bookstore Mapping

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Indie bookstores in Montana have collaborated to develop the first-ever Montana Bookstore Trail. The mapping project was coordinated by Rachel Elliott-Burg, owner of Reading Leaves in Townsend, and designed with Elk River Books in Livingston, the map features 21 independent bookstores across the … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Mapping

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The Pandemic had a devastating effect on the book trade in Philadelphia. Over the last two years, the city has lost some of its oldest and most beloved bookshops. I was heartened however to discover that the city’s surviving booksellers … Continue reading →

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Five for Friday

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Hermann Hesse // “This day will never come again and anyone who fails to eat and drink and taste and smell it will never have it offered to him again in all eternity. The sun will never shine as it … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Art

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have seen the painting pictured above many times online, but I only just took the time to research the artist. Although the image is often labeled as Bookstore (woman reading), I’m not sure what the actual title should be. The wonderfully … Continue reading →

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If you build it, they will come

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

A 57 year old poet named Jiang Libo in China has spent $116,000 building a bookshop in a remote village on top of a mountain. The Milestone Bookstore is located in a rural area of Zhejiang province in eastern China, … Continue reading →

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words at play

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

MIT Press Bookstore bookseller Barry Duncan stumbled onto the book “An Almanac of Words at Play” four decades ago and it changed his life. Duncan discovered that words could go backwards. The realization set him on a course he would … Continue reading →

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