When we were in Taipei, one of our favorite trips was to visit the huge Page One bookstore at the base of the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101. Time moves on . . . Taipei 101 is now the second-tallest building, Page One has been downsized—and we don’t live there anymore. Oh well.
If you like books, and the places where they reside, Emily Temple at Flavorwire has served up some great photos of libraries and bookstores around the world. Books haven’t gone out of style yet. Here’s hoping they never do. These are some amazing places:
- The 25 Most Beautiful College Libraries in the World (January 1, 2012)
- The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World (January 31, 2012)
- 20 Beautiful Private and Personal Libraries (February 13, 2012)
- The 25 Most Beautiful Public Libraries in the World (April 16, 2012)
For the next collection of photos, I suggest the biggest and most cluttered used-book stores in the world. Any nominations?
By the way, did you know that today the US is celebrating World Book Night? Here, world means “the US, Britain, Germany, and Ireland.” Night means “day” and “afternoon” and “evening.” And book actually means “book,” as volunteers in the US are giving away 500,000 paperbacks (in Great Britain, they’re handing out 1 million). Anna Quindlen, World Book Night honorary chairwoman, says the event is “like an intellectual Halloween, only better. . . . We’re giving out books, not just Mars bars.”
(Bob Minzesheimer, “World Book Night Celebrates Reading with Paperback Handouts,” USA Today, April 22, 2012)
[photo: "Books," by Brenda Clarke, used under a Creative Commons license]
Thank you for your explanations on World and Night! It’s interesting how the west see the ‘world’ sometimes. I love Taipei and I love smaller, unique and personal little bookshops with their personalities. They are tugged in some small streets, run by interesting people. It was many years ago and I’m not sure these bookshops are still around.
I haven’t heard of 1 million books being given away in the UK. Must find out.
Thanks for stopping by. We saw several Mollie’s used bookstores open up in Taipei. Not big and cluttered, but useful—they had some English titles and we sold some books there before we left.