Travel Between The Pages

I first had the pleasure of visiting Shakespeare and Company bookstore more than 30 years ago, and I still return without fail each and every time that I’m in Paris. But not every book lover gets to browse Europe’s most beloved independent book shop. Now everyone can pay a virtual visit thanks to Shakespeare and Company’s new digital presence. There’s a completely revamped website—with e-commerce facility—a blog appropriately titled “Le Blog”, and a tumblr called “Down the rabbit hole”.

If you’d like to pass some time at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, and even buy some books to support the Parisian institution, now’s your chance. Owner Sylvia Beach Whitman promises:

In return for your online purchase, we’ll endeavor to give your books that certain je ne sais quoi. It could be with the bookstore’s official stamp, a vintage postcard of Paris we found in a second-hand book, or a pocket-sized poem typed by a Tumbleweed at the desk looking onto Notre-Dame. Each package will be carefully, beautifully boxed and shipped, sent like a message in a bottle to you or perhaps to a friend, a message of warmth and solidarity that wherever you may be, in whatever town or city, there’s always a home for readers and literary wanderers at Shakespeare and Company.