for the best reading experience click the post’s title above to open in a new page which allows you to hover over the numbered footnotes to read them alongside the text. no scrolling necessary.
Have you heard of tumbleweeding? It is a program through the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company where one can live in the shop’s studio to work on their own writing projects while living among the shelves. While I never lived in a bookstore, I did work in one1 for a few years and whenever I travel, they are one of the first places I search for when assembling my Google Map. You can tell a lot from a city by their bookstores and I’ve found that they often showcase culture, creativity and comfort as well as any bar, cafe or hotel.2
While I, of course, enjoy the massive general bookstores like Powells, Foyles, Elliot Bay and Topping & Company, there’s a place in my heart for the quaint, the niche and the unique.3 So, today I’m sharing a few of my favorite bookshops from around the world that have thoughtfully curated collections and show off their particular niche in charming and inspired ways.
Wander the aisles, in person or virtually, of these enchanting bookstores.
BOOK LARDER
Book Larder offers a carefully selected collection of new and imported cookbooks to lovers of food and cooking in Seattle and beyond. We are also a spot to gather for author events, cooking classes, demonstrations and other food related discussions, both formal and informal. When you visit, we hope you’ll linger over titles that catch your fancy, and make yourself at home around our big kitchen counter.
I was lucky enough to work at this lovely spot for six years, organizing author talks, events and the spice drawer. It has a demo kitchen in the back with a large table that invites customers to take a look at the selections4 that the hardest working staff in the biz will help you assemble if you need guidance. A special draw is their import shelf with curated international titles you won’t find many other places5 and assorted delectable pantry items. This space has hosted classes, pop-ups, signings, fundraisers, talks, CSA pickups, dinner parties and more in their mission for creating community around food and cooking.
Not in Seattle? Follow their Instagram and check out their YouTube channel or their (now ended) podcast6.
CHARLIE’S QUEER BOOKS
Our mission at Charlie’s is to provide a unique bookstore experience that is dedicated to creating community connection through queer literature. We believe that by promoting diverse and intersectional voices, we can contribute to a more just and equitable society for all.
Down the hill from Book Larder, inside a candy bright house is Charlie’s Queer Books, a heart warming and welcoming space. Its got eye grabbing design, a wide range of titles that focus on queer literature and an event space upstairs. I loved the little flags inside the Romance books that denote the types of relationships inside and its full notice board with all sorts of book clubs, meetups and community building events. I’m delighted that this exists and in my own city too!
Not in Seattle? Follow them on Instagram!
HARRIET’S BOOKSHOP
An avant-garde bookshop celebrating women authors, artists, & activists under the guiding light of Harriett Tubman.
I was staying in Fishtown7 for a couple days last year and stumbled across this incredibly powerful space. Focused on titles that promote education, activism and inclusion, the store has a stark black and white drawing motif throughout and its shelves hold only a few copies of each book, framing and spotlighting the individuality of each. Downstairs is a dark, cozy basement with a large neon sign illuminating secondhand books. The inventory and space is potent and intentional so I was delighted to come across a short documentary of its opening, “Sisters of the Soil”, to find out more about the store’s origins and mission.
This Philadelphia Bookstore Honors Harriet Tubman's Legacy With Literature, Art, and Activism
…Cook makes sure that visitors have a new experience every time they come to Harriett's by working with a local artist to rotate the collection of books monthly. Cook will ask the artists about what books were instrumental in their lives or what books they feel pair best with their works, which then get featured on the walls of the shop.
Not in Philly? Follow them on Instagram!
THE RIPPED BODICE
The Ripped Bodice is an independent brick-and-mortar bookstore devoted to the celebration of romance novels. The store is proudly Woman and Queer Owned.
The Ripped Bodice features a vast and diverse selection of romance fiction. In addition to books, the store has a wide selection of gift items with a focus on supporting independent, woman owned businesses.
Though there are many romance focused bookstores8, you cannot beat the name “The Ripped Bodice” and its lovingly decorated space. I’ve only been to the Culver City location, but it was bursting with creative displays, artwork and sundries all revolving around romance and its tropes including a large Lego neighborhood called “One Bed Falls”. Gloriously unabashed and shameless in its decor and inventory, fans of the genre both new and veteran will find something to love here.
Not in LA or NY? Follow them on Instagram!
LER DEVAGAR
Ler Devagar is a bookshop (for new and second-hand books), library, temporary exhibition gallery, permanent exhibition gallery for ‘Objectos Cinemáticos’ by Pietro, auditorium, music shop, restaurant, cake shop and bar.
Ler Devagar9 is a sprawling multi-leveled warehouse located inside the art/shopping venue LX Factory in Lisbon. It has floor to ceiling books, music, art, a cafe and even performance installations. When I was there a few summers ago, there were a few individualized puppet shows where you pay a small fee, put on headphones and watch the puppeteer put on a short, sweet, silent story just for you. It was so quaint and charming that I was almost angry. But, that is Lisbon for you!
Not in Lisbon? Follow them on Instagram!
ARTAZART
On the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin, in a bright red building is a bookstore that focuses on art, design and lifestyle titles. Filled with mind bogglingly beautiful books, stationary, posters, prints, illustrations and more, I dare you to leave without purchasing something. I adored the gorgeous and cheeky cards designed by local artists and could have browsed much longer. 10
Not in Paris? Follow them on Instagram!
DAUNT BOOKS
Finally we come to Daunt Books, one of my favorite bookstores in the whole wide world. I hadn’t heard of it before noticing a chic woman’s lovely deep green ‘Daunt Books’ tote while sipping a negroni at Bar Termini in London a few summers ago. I had to get that tote and check out the store for myself immediately!
Originally focused on travel books, this store is organized by location so optimal for unhurried, meandered browsing as it includes a bit of an armchair exploration in the experience. Each country’s shelves contain fiction, non-fiction, biography, graphic novels, children’s titles etc etc etc.11 We ducked into this oasis to hide out from a surprise London rainstorm and I still wasn’t ready to leave when the rain ended. Daunt Books is one of my inspirations for this newsletter in the way it switches up classic organization to cross genres and invites readers to explore books they wouldn’t ordinarily come across if they stick to their regular sections in a bookstore.
Not in London? Follow them on Instagram!
What are your favorite niche bookshops?
and also lived above my high school’s library, does that count?
the other places i google map
Blame Nora and The Shop Around the Corner.
though do not take photos of the recipes inside books you have not bought. obviously.
in the US at least
produced by me! while i worked there
a philadelphia neighborhood
it is after all: “by far, the top-selling fiction genre”
means ‘read slowly’
i’m always the last of the group to leave a bookstore
genres welcome
Ooo! I have some to share. 1. Libreria Desnivel in Madrid, it’s a travel book focused shop that sells travel guides, travel memoirs and small travel gear. It’s wood paneled, and colorful. It’s near a beautiful food hall and a street that honors Spanish authors. 2. Minoa Pera in Istanbul is astounding. It’s posh and sophisticated and there is a gorgeous cafe on the ground floor and one upstairs, most books are in Turkish but they have a few English books by authors you’ve never heard of. 3. Massolit Books & Cafe is an English bookshop in the Jewish quarter in Budapest. It’s got winding rooms, a back garden and is stuffed full with new and used books. They have a little cafe amongst the book stacks and it feels just like the kind of place you would have spent hours in high school. 4. Last one, a chain in Mexico City, they are all over, they all have cafes and live music spaces though the cafes aren’t so delicious, the each shop is different and gorgeous and perfect for when you are caught in a rain storm, El Pendulo.
I think bookshop passports should be a thing, and every bookstore has their own stamp. It will make my desire to visit all the bookshops seem more understandable.