"I created this bookstore like a man would write a novel, building each room like a chapter, and I like people to open the door the way they open a book, a book that leads into a magic world in their imaginations." —George Whitman
In the age of Amazon and Netflix
Where you can get everything in just one click
One swipe of a finger
You can get your dinner
Immediate gratification is the name of the game
In our modern times
Who likes to take time?
Who walks into vintage stores and artisan shops
When with 1 click of a button
Your order is at the door?
Why walk 500 miles when you can drive
and reach your destination in just hours?
In one click of a button
They tell you who you are
You took an uber,
They say you do not own a car
If you ride a bus or train
You must be drained
It does not matter if you like to drive
or already own one
They sell you more cars to ride
In one click of a button
You donate books and clothes
Buy and sell collectibles
In one click of a button
Or swipe of a finger
They sell you houses with white picket fences
and three car garages
As if that is what you truly wanted
Never mind if you are completely happy and content
With the company you keep
Who treated you with love and respect
It does not matter if you lay
on the most comfortable bed
They tell you cannot sleep
Unless you buy their bed.
In one click of a button
They sell you Superbaby apps
Created by people
Who are always in competition
Instead of celebrating the individual's identity
You listen to the fools' aim for conformity.
For it gives you satisfaction
With just a click of a button
You get immediate gratification
In the age of Netflix and Amazon
Where you get anything you want
With one swipe of a finger
or a click of a button
I still go to bookstores
with my favorite companions
World's oldest bookstores :
1. Livraria Bertrand - oldest bookstore in the world founded in 1732 in Lisbon, Portugal. Holds the Guinness book of world record of World's oldest operating bookstore. Opened in 1732 by Peter Faure who turned over decades later the bookstore to the Bertrand Brothers. It is located in Lisbon's bohemian Chiado neighborhood.
2. Moravian Bookshop- oldest and first bookstore in America founded in 1745 located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Here is an article on Literary Hub about how America's oldest bookstore has survived across the centuries
3. Hatchards- the oldest bookstore in London, UK was established in 1797 by John Hatchard located in the famous Picadilly St.
4. Libarairi Galignani- located in Rue de Rivoli right in between Louvre Museum and Place de la Concorde in Paris, France was established in 1801.It is the oldest English language bookstore outside UK making it a hangout for the American, English expats and Paris artists and intellectuals.
5. Argosy Books- This 3rd generation family run antiquarian book store specializing in out of print rare books is located in New York city with it's warehouse in Brooklyn. It was founded in 1925. The likes of Jackie O and Bill Clinton frequented this iconic book store. This is where you go if you are an avid first edition collector or just like things that are old.
6. Shakespeare and Company- definitely not one of the oldest but I cannot write about bookstores and not include this personal favorite. I just cannot go to Paris without a "pilgrimage" to Shakespeare and Company. It opened in Paris's left bank right on the river Seine across Notre Dame in 1951. If you read Hemingway's A Moveable feast, this is not Sylvia Beach's Shakespeare and Co. established in 1919 were James Joyce, Earnest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T. S. Elliot, Ezra Pound, etc. gathered. The founder of the current Shakespeare and Co., George Whitman named it in honor of Shakespeare and the famous bookseller but continued to carry on the spirit of the original Shakespeare and Co. Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Anaïs Nin, Richard Wright, William Styron, Julio Cortázar, Henry Miller, William Saroyan, Lawrence Durrell, James Jones, and James Baldwin were among early visitors to this iconic bookshop.
Credit to the following sources: Shakespeare and Co., Argosy Books, Moravian bookshop, Hatchards, Librairi Galignani, oldest.org, lithub.com, https://lithub.com/to-john-lewis-whose-strength-and-sweetness-never-faltered/
Photographs: all photos were taken by the blogger
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