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Do You Read Me? Bookstores Around the World
Lose yourself in the pages of this showcase of some of the most beautiful, innovative, and successful bookshops around the world.
Bookshops are powerful places with the freedom to deep-dive into their niche, from cooking to cartoons, architecture to anarchy. Do you read me? reconsiders the bookshop as a cornerstone of the community, where subcultures have the physical space to thrive. Bookshops are universally recognized as marketplaces of knowledge, curiosity, inspiration, and entertainment. They also promote communication and tolerance across cultures and have become destinations for both local communities and travelers. Within a changing media environment their role has been shifting, leading their overseers to pursue different ways to engage with their customers and build local—and sometimes even regional—support for their businesses. Do you read me? seeks out the most innovative and beautiful bookshops achieving this, sharing their concepts and celebrating book culture in all its glorious forms.
Bookshops are powerful places with the freedom to deep-dive into their niche, from cooking to cartoons, architecture to anarchy. Do you read me? reconsiders the bookshop as a cornerstone of the community, where subcultures have the physical space to thrive. Bookshops are universally recognized as marketplaces of knowledge, curiosity, inspiration, and entertainment. They also promote communication and tolerance across cultures and have become destinations for both local communities and travelers. Within a changing media environment their role has been shifting, leading their overseers to pursue different ways to engage with their customers and build local—and sometimes even regional—support for their businesses. Do you read me? seeks out the most innovative and beautiful bookshops achieving this, sharing their concepts and celebrating book culture in all its glorious forms.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 9, 2020
9 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 12, 2021
4.5 stars
Yes, this makes an ideal gift for a book lover - whether of the armchair-traveller kind or the experience-obsessive type who will want to visit every one of these bookshops in person. Although it does feature a few of the usual and 'storied' suspects - Shakespeare & Company in Paris, Powell's Books in Portland, City Lights in San Francisco, the Strand Bookstore in New York City - it is, overall, an impressively international and varied selection. (I'm fairly knowledgable about bookshops, and I had never heard of the majority of the shops featured in this book. I've only been to a handful of them.) Some of the bookshops are quite new to the scene, and some are tailored to a specific reading niche. Taken as a whole, they give an impressive sense of the scope and possibilities of the contemporary bookshop. There is definitely not a crusty, curmudgeonly bookseller of dry and dusty books in the mix.
Fun to read, fun to look at, and heavy enough to use as a doorstop or a paperweight!
There are books for when you are bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you're calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There are books for when you're thirsty for knowledge. And there are books for when you're desperate. (from Roberto Balano's The Savage Detectives, and the inspiration for 'Desperate Literature' - a bookshop in Madrid which is featured in this book.)
Yes, this makes an ideal gift for a book lover - whether of the armchair-traveller kind or the experience-obsessive type who will want to visit every one of these bookshops in person. Although it does feature a few of the usual and 'storied' suspects - Shakespeare & Company in Paris, Powell's Books in Portland, City Lights in San Francisco, the Strand Bookstore in New York City - it is, overall, an impressively international and varied selection. (I'm fairly knowledgable about bookshops, and I had never heard of the majority of the shops featured in this book. I've only been to a handful of them.) Some of the bookshops are quite new to the scene, and some are tailored to a specific reading niche. Taken as a whole, they give an impressive sense of the scope and possibilities of the contemporary bookshop. There is definitely not a crusty, curmudgeonly bookseller of dry and dusty books in the mix.
Fun to read, fun to look at, and heavy enough to use as a doorstop or a paperweight!
January 4, 2021
I loved the time I spent with this book, which was a gift from my kids for my birthday. The photos are beautiful, the bookstores unique, and the profiles and interviews are interesting. There is something about independent bookstores and the people who found them, own them, staff them and frequent them that is special. It's a community and that theme is so prevalent throughout this book.
It's about more than just the books - it's about the magic that happens in carefully curated book spaces when people meet, connect and engage over stories and ideas contained in all those books. There are people who can't imagine life without books and I am one of them.
I found a lot of joy in this book. Some of these bookstores have struggled to figure out how to make their business model work - and have done it! It's very inspiring to hear them talk about their raison d'être for having an independent book store. It's a book I will look through again and again for the beautiful photographs of special places.
It's about more than just the books - it's about the magic that happens in carefully curated book spaces when people meet, connect and engage over stories and ideas contained in all those books. There are people who can't imagine life without books and I am one of them.
I found a lot of joy in this book. Some of these bookstores have struggled to figure out how to make their business model work - and have done it! It's very inspiring to hear them talk about their raison d'être for having an independent book store. It's a book I will look through again and again for the beautiful photographs of special places.
Read
July 1, 2020I quite enjoy books about books, with books about bookshops being a particular favourite of mine within that nonfiction genre… Saying that, naturally I did like this book. I enjoyed reading about all the bookshops featured – a good many being new to me – and especially liked the photography included (I pored over some pictures for a while!).
It is worth noting that this book is more heavy on the pictures than actual text about the specific bookstores.
It is worth noting that this book is more heavy on the pictures than actual text about the specific bookstores.
September 4, 2022
“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind in my opinion. There are also books for when you’re sad. And there are books for when you’re happy. There are books for when you are thirsty for knowledge. And there are books for when you’re desperate.” - from The Savage Detectives by Robert Bolano. And the inspiration for the name of Desperate Literature in Madrid, Spain - one of the bookstores featured in “Do You Read Me?” By Gestalten Press. Do You Read Me?: Bookstores Around the World is a stunning coffee table book featuring exquisite bookstores from almost every continent. The stories about the founding of the stores and their place in their neighborhoods remind us about how bookstores often are a hub of a community - a place of connection and enjoyment, a place of escape and knowledge. Books about books are a sweet spot for me and I enjoyed every moment I spent paging through this beautiful book, enjoying the essays, drooling over the photos, and ultimately adding bookstore after bookstore to my bucket list to visit.
January 10, 2022
Graži knyga. Labiausiai įsiminęs faktas, kad viena knygyno savininkė savo triušį pavadino Napoleon Bunnyparte
October 26, 2021
Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Do You Read Me ?
"J'avais mis ce livre, parmi d'autres livres sur les livres, dans ma liste d'anniversaire. J'ai hésité, je n'étais pas tout à fait sûre qu'il en vaille la peine, les autres me tentaient plus en fait. Mais finalement, c'est celui-là que ma soeur a choisi de m'offrir et quel choix !"
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Il s'agit tout simplement d'un livre qui nous présente une soixantaine de librairies extraordinaires à travers le Monde..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"Cet ouvrage est une pure merveille. À partir du moment où je l'ai ouvert, je n'ai plus pu le lâcher, tout en essayant de le faire durer le plus possible ce qui, croyez-moi, fut un véritable challenge. Dès le départ, j'ai d'abord eu la bonne surprise de constater que pas moins de quatre librairies françaises étaient répertoriées dont une seule à Paris, fait assez rare pour être mentionné mais évidemment, l'émerveillement ne s'arrête pas à cela. L'auteur a réussi à me faire voyager et surtout, je ne voulais plus quitter cet univers magique des livres. Je veux vivre dans une libraire ! J'ai pu découvrir des gens passionnés, parfois un peu fous, des librairies immenses, d'autres minuscules, certaines classiques, certaines farfelues. Un vrai bonheur."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Vous l'avez compris, j'ai adoré, de la première à la dernière ligne. Si vous aimez les livres, il vous faut celui-ci et la très bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’il vient de sortir en français !“
http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
"J'avais mis ce livre, parmi d'autres livres sur les livres, dans ma liste d'anniversaire. J'ai hésité, je n'étais pas tout à fait sûre qu'il en vaille la peine, les autres me tentaient plus en fait. Mais finalement, c'est celui-là que ma soeur a choisi de m'offrir et quel choix !"
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Il s'agit tout simplement d'un livre qui nous présente une soixantaine de librairies extraordinaires à travers le Monde..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"Cet ouvrage est une pure merveille. À partir du moment où je l'ai ouvert, je n'ai plus pu le lâcher, tout en essayant de le faire durer le plus possible ce qui, croyez-moi, fut un véritable challenge. Dès le départ, j'ai d'abord eu la bonne surprise de constater que pas moins de quatre librairies françaises étaient répertoriées dont une seule à Paris, fait assez rare pour être mentionné mais évidemment, l'émerveillement ne s'arrête pas à cela. L'auteur a réussi à me faire voyager et surtout, je ne voulais plus quitter cet univers magique des livres. Je veux vivre dans une libraire ! J'ai pu découvrir des gens passionnés, parfois un peu fous, des librairies immenses, d'autres minuscules, certaines classiques, certaines farfelues. Un vrai bonheur."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Vous l'avez compris, j'ai adoré, de la première à la dernière ligne. Si vous aimez les livres, il vous faut celui-ci et la très bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’il vient de sortir en français !“
http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
March 21, 2022
9/10
Hats off to Gestalten for publishing this delicious book and giving it the edition it deserves!
Traveling around the world through these book shops and the people who run them is a remarkable and very soothing experience.
Sometimes the level of detail about the place felt a bit short, other times the selection felt a bit skewed towards the US, but these are fairly small remarks in what is a very impressive selection of fantastic book shops from around the world!
If I may suggest - in case there is a second volume :) - it would also be worth including Stanfords (London) and Palavra de Viajante (Lisbon)!
Hats off to Gestalten for publishing this delicious book and giving it the edition it deserves!
Traveling around the world through these book shops and the people who run them is a remarkable and very soothing experience.
Sometimes the level of detail about the place felt a bit short, other times the selection felt a bit skewed towards the US, but these are fairly small remarks in what is a very impressive selection of fantastic book shops from around the world!
If I may suggest - in case there is a second volume :) - it would also be worth including Stanfords (London) and Palavra de Viajante (Lisbon)!
January 17, 2021
Such beautiful pictures and really fun articles & blurbs to read about so many different bookstores throughout the world. They are all so varied and unique! A fun coffee table book for anyone who is an independent bookstore fan. I only wish there was another book, sharing only United State bookstores. I'd be planning a road trip in a heartbeat.
December 29, 2020
For those who truly love books, finding a great bookstore is like magic. A place to gather, explore and discover new worlds.
This book made me long for travel to discover new places in real life in cities with amazing bookstores.
I’m already planning my book vacations for years to come.
This book made me long for travel to discover new places in real life in cities with amazing bookstores.
I’m already planning my book vacations for years to come.
December 21, 2020
A gorgeous coffee table book of bookstores around the world. It caused some serious longing to travel, that's for sure. My only complaint is that it was very focused on Western Europe and the US. I would have loved to have seen much more diversity.
February 5, 2024
If you love books and bookstores, this ode to unique and gorgeous bookstores around the world is for you. The bookstores featured earn their spot for different reasons; many are there for their gorgeous interiors and extensive offerings, some because they have carved a role for themselves as convenors and anchors in the community (e.g. Livraria da Vila in Sao Paolo, Cefebreria el Pendulo in Mexico City, Scarthin Books in Cromford, Books are Magic in Brooklyn, Golden Hare Books in Edinburgh, Happy Valley in Melbourne), some because of their quirky and eclectic decor (e.g. The Writer's Block in Las Vegas, Bart's Books in Ojai, California, Liberia Acqua Alta in Venice) and yet others for the particular point of view they offer and carefully curated offerings (e.g. You Read Me?!, Librairie Imbernon, Bookoff in Warsaw, Taipei's Wuguan Books, Culver City's The Ripped Bodice, Milan's La Liberia del Mare). Several check the boxes in multiple categories.
I've only been to two on the list - Strand Bookstore in NYC and Daikanyama Tsutaya Books in Tokyo and am now trying to figure out how I might make my way to these:
1. Berlin's Do You Read Me?!, Krumulus and Analog
2. Melbourne's Happy Valley and Readings
3. Marseille's Librarie Imbernon, which sells books on architecture, design and art in the Cite Radius designed by Le Corbusier
4. Sao Paolo's Livraria da Vila
5. Brussels' Cook and Book
6. Hay-on-Wye's Honesty Bookshop
7. Venice's Liberia Acqua Alta
8. Paris's Shakespeare & Company
9. Tokyo's Morioka Shoten that only sells a single title each week
10. Bucharest's Carturesti Carusel
11. Buenos Aires's El Ateneo Grand Splendid
12. Lisbon's Livraria Lello
13. Maastricht's Boekhandel Dominicanen
14. Shanghai's Books over the Clouds
I've only been to two on the list - Strand Bookstore in NYC and Daikanyama Tsutaya Books in Tokyo and am now trying to figure out how I might make my way to these:
1. Berlin's Do You Read Me?!, Krumulus and Analog
2. Melbourne's Happy Valley and Readings
3. Marseille's Librarie Imbernon, which sells books on architecture, design and art in the Cite Radius designed by Le Corbusier
4. Sao Paolo's Livraria da Vila
5. Brussels' Cook and Book
6. Hay-on-Wye's Honesty Bookshop
7. Venice's Liberia Acqua Alta
8. Paris's Shakespeare & Company
9. Tokyo's Morioka Shoten that only sells a single title each week
10. Bucharest's Carturesti Carusel
11. Buenos Aires's El Ateneo Grand Splendid
12. Lisbon's Livraria Lello
13. Maastricht's Boekhandel Dominicanen
14. Shanghai's Books over the Clouds
January 4, 2021
What a fun, casual read, especially if you love books and cute little shops. It has inspired me to find a local bookstore in any city I’m in, during my travels and buy a book from them. It’s opened my eyes to all the big corporate stores & online stores...I will think twice about taking the easy route and buying from them. These unique stores need our business to stay in business. They all seem to be unique and the owners are so passionate about their stores and the people that come into them. They certainly connect with their community. This book has charming hidden bookstores that I’d want to spend all day in, as well as incredibly large stores with amazing architecture that makes them fascinating and intriguing as well. If you’re looking for a coffee table read, I would recommend Do You Read Me?
July 1, 2023
I enjoy a good coffee table book and if you love browsing in bookshops, who doesn’t, you’ll enjoy this. If money was no object, I’d be off like a shot with a copy of this tucked into my backpack and go visit them all. Bookshops from Australia to Warsaw and many many places in-between. The shops range from small to absolutely ridiculous in size and each one is unique. There’s a book barge that travels the waterways of France. A shop in Japan that sells copies of only one book at a time! They all call out to me. These days I try, for the sake of the author and their hours of writing, to read coffee table books. Each bookshop has a manageable blurb so I found it easy to pick up and read about one or two everyday and not feel overwhelmed. Nearly as good as being in the actual shop! 5 stars.
December 28, 2021
From a minimalist store that sells one book each week to a book barge to a children's book shop that has critters scurrying through the aisles, this was a delightful read. It was interesting to learn the stories behind independently owned bookstores around the world along with articles on "indies" during our current technological age. This would make an excellent coffee table book for any book lover!
April 6, 2025
©2020 Christmas gift
This "coffee table" book features 62 bookstores from around the world. Powell's is the only one I've visited. There is one that features only one title, which changes weekly. There is one which is completely in the dark with its 400 books each lit with its own light bulb. One is in a gothic church, one is thought to have been the inspiration for the Hogwarts School, one is a palace, one is a grand theater, and one is "in the clouds". The closest one is in Detroit.
This "coffee table" book features 62 bookstores from around the world. Powell's is the only one I've visited. There is one that features only one title, which changes weekly. There is one which is completely in the dark with its 400 books each lit with its own light bulb. One is in a gothic church, one is thought to have been the inspiration for the Hogwarts School, one is a palace, one is a grand theater, and one is "in the clouds". The closest one is in Detroit.
February 2, 2021
I want to go to Asia and South America now only because they have some jaw dropping bookstores, for example on the top floor of a sky scraper!
But there are original places to visit in Europe too. Maastricht for example, where an abandoned medieval cathedral has been beautifully refurbished to accommodate a huge bookshop. What a wonderful idea.
But there are original places to visit in Europe too. Maastricht for example, where an abandoned medieval cathedral has been beautifully refurbished to accommodate a huge bookshop. What a wonderful idea.
February 2, 2022
Beautiful book which introduces you to some of the most interesting bookstores in the world. I loved the narratives from some of the owners relating the ways they have kept their independent bookstores relevant and thriving in their communities. Now I need a road/plane/train/ship expedition to visit them all!
January 8, 2021
A book about some of the fabulous bookstores around the world. They are written about so lovingly that I really want to visit them all one day. All different, from the famous to the weird, with wonderful photos. Almost as good as going yourself.
November 29, 2022
So cool to read about the many book stores all around the world, so many I would love to visit! And also cool to see that at least I have been to so many listed in the United States , plus London and Paris.
A great book visually as well as to read.
A great book visually as well as to read.
September 22, 2020
A delightful journey. So many I would like to visit. One of my favorite things to do when traveling is find a local bookshop and come away with a souvenir. I can't wait to do that again.
December 13, 2020
If you love bookstores, and who among us here doesn’t, this is for you. A gorgeous book profiling bookstores around the world!
January 10, 2021
This was a beautiful book. Enjoyable read if you love bookstores and search them out in whatever city or town you go to. Lovely!
January 28, 2021
Many destinations have now been added to my bucket list.
February 5, 2021
Not a single bookstore from Canada?
February 13, 2021
Loved this book! I want to go to so many of the book stores featured. They look amazing!
December 8, 2021
Fun to see which stores I had visited.
March 16, 2023
The perfect coffee table book for bookstore addicts like myself.
April 25, 2023
There is no better gift than a book about fantastic bookstores around the globe. Amazing photos and well written texts are a perfect gift for those who love reading.
September 13, 2024
Dibaca di The Room 19. Kalau bisa inginnya dibawa pulang 😂
October 24, 2024
📖🌏🗺️📍🥰♥️🌻
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews