After exploring the Ile de Cite and Notre Dame we walked across the bridge over the Seine to find the famous Shakespeare and Co.
So this bookstore was on my must-see list whenever I would get around to going to Paris. And it is a supercool place to visit. Rooms and rooms of wall to wall books, a book lover's paradise. Rooms seem to unfold into other rooms and there is no coherent floor plan, at least at first glance. Each room of books has its own unique character. Some rooms have high ceilings, others require you to stoop low. There are twisty staircases and ladders and little alcoves.
The whole thing seems organic and real, totally unlike the modern antiseptic mega bookstores you find on the strip malls in America. Those mega bookstores have really hurt the independent book sellers over the years. Fortunately some indies are making a comeback. Dallas has two that I really like, The Wild Detectives in Oak Cliff and Deep Vellum in Deep Ellum.
Shakespeare and Co was a highlight for me of our trip to Paris. My only complaint was that it was too crowded with tourists...I know...I was one of them. Maybe it was the time of day...after lunch. Maybe it's always that busy with people who make it an essential stop on their literary pilgrimages. I can't fault them, I was doing the same thing. I would just like to have been able to hang out for several hours in a hidden corner reading. Selfish wish I know. Alas, too much to see and do in the City of Lights to linger for too long. We spent quite a while there.
Of course I had to buy a book there. I debated what to get? One of the Lost Generation? The Beats? I went with one of my favorite authors who is also French. I mean if you're in France, at a famous bookstore, you got to buy Camus right? You can't go wrong with any purchase there, but I bought The First Man by Albert Camus. The clerk stamped my book book with the bookstore logo to prove I purchased it there. I will treasure it forever.
