A big thanks to the Disorganized Librarian, who appreciates my inveterate listmaking. Here's another one:
My Favorite Bookstores1)
The Strand - Off Union Square, NYC - The mother of all bookstores. What is their slogan again? Seven miles of books? More books than there are in heaven?
2)
Gotham Book Mart, 46th street, NYC - Now defunct and sorely missed. Here is where you found the flavor of old New York.
3)
Elliott Bay Book Company - Seattle, WA - Every little nook has a cranny here, so to speak - also their author events are outstanding - I saw Russell Banks here when he was promoting
The Sweet Hereafter, and Jasper Fforde, when he was promoting one of his Thursday Next books.
4)
Heritage Book Shop - Los Angeles, CA - I attended a luncheon at this Antiquarian book shop in 2003. You have to be to the manor born to be able to afford anything in this gorgeous shop.
5)
Shakespeare & Company - Continuing in the tradition of Sylvia Beach's original English language bookstore in Paris which was frequented by Hemingway, Fitzgerald and a veritable plethora of a literary who's who of American expatriates in the 1920's. The progeny is still going strong today, and does not disappoint!
6)
City Lights - One of the first places I went in San Francisco was this bookstore. For some reason, I had pictured it overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge (it doesn't). Nevertheless, the ghosts of Ginsberg, Kerouac, et al., still resonate.
7)
Rodgers Book Barn - Hillsdale, NY - This cavernous barn is another of the nook and cranny school - you can get lost for days in old treasures - a bit out of the way, but definitely worth it!
8)
Book Revue - A local gem in Huntington, NY. Over 150,000 books, many author events (I saw Janeane Garofalo and Ben Stiller here, among others) and the fact it is just down the road from Cinema Arts Centre and IMAC doesn't hurt either.
9)
Bookhampton - A Long Island mini-chain, I like the East Hampton venue and the many many authors who live in the area assures that there is something of interest going on almost all the time.
10)
Marchpane - A perfectly charming children's bookstore on Cecil Court in London, just off of Charing Cross Road, in the heart of antiquarian book row. If you're a book nut, this is nirvana.
Hay-on-Wye (that book town in Wales) awaits!
