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:

• 

  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:

• Munro’s Books
• Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon
• National Geographic’s Top Ten List

<<  ===  >>

Check out other Bookstores I Love. What about you? What bookstores do you love? Tell us in the comments.