Where to enjoy a book
We’re dedicating our article to book lovers. Besides libraries, there are wonderful places where you can enjoy the reading of a book. Those who know how to appreciate a good story don’t need much and anywhere is a good place to dive into another universe. A park, a simple terrace or even your room turns into the best spot to non-stop reading. But there are also unique spaces that contribute to create a magic atmosphere, which intensifies the moment that helps us to abstract from the reality.
The famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company is one of those places we were talking about. Though it has turned into a very touristy place, the environment is still awakening the emotions from many readers. Its origin dates back to 1919, when the owner, Sylvia Beach, decided to open a bookshop specialized in English literature. Authors as Hemingway went there looking for forbidden books in the US or England. In 1941 the shop had to close because, as Beach tells, she denied selling a single book to a German officer, but the North American, George Whitman, opened a new Shakespeare and Company with the same spirit. Shelves full of books and narrow spaces, guards that bohemian and romantic atmosphere that surrounds reading.
There’s another place in Wales, not a bookstore this time, but a whole village: Hay-on-Wye, known as ‘The Town of Books’. In 1961 the bookseller, Richard Booth, opened his first second hand bookshop. The success was unbelievable and many more joined this initiative, turning the village into a literary referent. Furthermore, Booth transformed a close castle and a fire station into outdoor bookstores. He proclaimed himself the kingdom of Hay-on-Wye, in which he would be the king Richard Cœur de Livre. He is responsible for the celebration of the Hay Festival, a literary event in which artists, scientists and intellectuals exchange ideas and new visions from the world.
Redu is similar to Hay. It is a town from Belgium known as ‘The Book Village’. It was inaugurated in 1984 and nowadays receives the annual visit of 200.000 curious looking for the 24 different bookstores they have. All restaurants, exhibitions and activities that take place are related to books and its world, so it’s the perfect destination for a very literary holiday. The most important event is in August, the ‘Book Night’, where all the bookstores are open and they offer jazz, rock and classic music live concerts or theatrical performances.
A bit further, in Buenos Aires, is located El Ateneo Gran Splendid, one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, according to The Guardian. It is inside the old Grand Splendid theatre, preserving its original architecture. More than 120.000 books rest in the beauty of a reformed stage and theatre. However, the painted ceiling, the balconies and even the velvet curtain are untouched, propitiating a perfect decoration for a symbiosis of different arts.
Finally, Clementinum is the major architectonic complex from Prague and hosts the National Library and the Baroque Library, a space with 20.000 books dated before the XVI century. A tenuous light and a silence full of peace and spirituality become the perfect partners for the reading. It has a Mozart collection, texts from Tycho Brahe and Comenius, and historic copies from Czech literature.