Is any kind of store more important to a writer than bookstores? Absolutely not! That’s why I’m reviving this series on bookstores I’ve visited and love.
I’m inspired by an article I saw the other day: Munro’s Books cited as one of world’s best bookstores. Number THREE in the entire world, according to National Geographic’s book, Destinations of a Lifetime. It was also the second bookstore I featured.
Unless you live in Victoria, British Columbia, or followed my Bookstores I Love feature, you probably don’t know about Munro’s Books. Here’s what Nat Geo says:
In 1963, exactly a half century before she won the Nobel Prize in literature, Alice Munro co-founded a bookstore with her then-husband, Jim. Munro’s has since moved into a magnificent, neoclassical former bank, decorated with gorgeous fabrics.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Nat Geo list included two more of the bookstores I love:
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Me at Powell’s — proof I’ve been there in person
Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon. I’ve visited Powell’s several times and enjoyed each visit. Here’s part of what Nat Geo had to say:
The flagship of the world’s largest independent bookstore chain stretches over an entire city block in downtown Portland. The color-coded rooms are stocked with a huge selection of used and new books; the store also hosts readings, story times for kids, and book groups.
- Shakespeare and Company, on the banks of the Seine in Paris. I hadn’t gotten around to the writeup, but it was one of the three bookstores on my to-do list. (The others are Antigone Books in Tucson, Arizona, and Foyle’s Books in London.) In truth, I visited Will & Co mostly because of its reputation as a haunt of the many writers who lived in Paris. I didn’t buy anything.
Here are a few of the links:
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Check out other Bookstores I Love. What about you? What bookstores do you love? Tell us in the comments.
Yes! I’ve been to Victoria a few times and always made sure I had a Munro’s budget. Love that place. And of course Powell’s was always a favorite when I lived in Portland. I’d camp out amongst the stacks on rainy afternoons. 🙂
Camping out amongst the stacks … that sounds like heaven.