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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2009 18:40:55 GMT
There are plenty of English language bookstores in Paris and quite a few classic bookstores also have sizeable English language sections. However, there are a couple of places more exceptional than others. Shakespeare and Company first opened in 1919, and its first incarnation remained open until 1941 when it was closed by the occupying army. It was one of the headquarters of the "Lost Generation" and was a hangout of Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and James Joyce. The owner, Sylvia Beach, was the first publisher of James Joyce's Ulysses in 1922. James Joyce was indirectly the reason for the bookstore being closed in 1941, when Sylvia Beach refused to sell a copy of Finnegan's Wake to a German officer. A new Anglo-American bookstore was opened by George Whitman in 1951 with the name Le Mistral. It attracted the "Beat Generation" and Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and William Burroughs lived in it. The name was changed to Shakespeare and Company upon the death of Sylvia Beach. Travellers still are housed among the books for a few hours of work, and this was written about it in another book: 'George Whitman has been running what he calls "a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore" for 50 years. His store has long been a literary hub, attracting the likes of Henry Miller, Richard Wright, and William Burroughs. More importantly, George has been inviting people to live in his shop from its very first days. There are now 13 beds among the books, and he says that more than 40,000 people have slept there at one time or another. All he asks is that you make your bed in the morning, help out in the shop, and read a book a day. After living here for five months, I was inspired to write my own book about the place.' The bookstore is now run by George Whitman's daughter Sylvia Whitman and is located directly across from Notre Dame.  The above photo is an 'official' photo, but I took these two below this afternoon.   Just a couple of blocks away is the very interesting Abbey Bookshop, run by Canadian Brian Spence. It may lack the history of Shakespeare & Co since it just opened in 1989, but it has just as much atmosphere. Abbey Bookshop stocks over 35,000 titles (5,000 purely Canadian ones) covering topics from literature, arts via philosophy and history to travel guides and books on francophone countries. The offer is a combination of both new and used books, exclusively in English. It is a subsidiary of Toronto's Abbey Bookshop and it is the only bookstore outside of Canada representing Canadian publishers. The owner knows his stock well and will help you find any book you need, regardless if they have it on stock or not.   |
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Post by bjd on Mar 17, 2009 19:35:34 GMT
As much as I like bookstores, I never go into Shakespeare and Co. It's claustrophobic and smelly and dark. Plus, on the rare occasions I ventured in there, I never found anything I wished to buy.
I went into Abbey Books for the first time last year after learning about it from Jazz. I found the guy extremely rude and snarky after I asked a question about his arrangements of books.
There is another Canadian run bookstore in Paris called The Red Wheelbarrow, on rue St Paul in the Marais. Small and crowded but the women in there are friendly. I now tend to buy my English books online, but if I want books in English while I'm Paris, I usually go to Brentano's on ave de l'Opéra.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2009 19:37:38 GMT
I prefer FNAC for my books, but I try to think of how visitors like to see these places!  |
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Post by bjd on Mar 17, 2009 19:49:34 GMT
You know, my local Carrefour store has now set up seats in the book section so that people can sit down while they read comic books (graphic novels?) or other books. But they don't get many tourists.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2009 20:18:07 GMT
Although FNAC was the first store to be full of people sitting on the floor reading books all day, it was the Extrapole chain that really installed the sofas and armchairs (like Borders in various countries) so people could just move in. Of course Extrapole doesn't exist anymore since Virgin Megastore bought them out, but they kept the lounge concept in most of their stores. Now Virgin Megastore France is owned by Hachette Livre (6th largest publishing house in the world), but there are rumors that FNAC will buy Virgin Megastore from them, if only to get their hands on the Virgin Megastore Champs Elysées location. Cruel dog-eat-dog world, even in literature!
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Post by Jazz on Mar 18, 2009 2:15:54 GMT
I've been to most of the english bookstores in Paris. Shakespeare's is not my favorite, but I enjoy it for its' history and I love to sit on the bench outside and look at the the Seine...and to wander over to Ilse Saint Louis... beautiful. Shakespeare's should be visited, at least once. Read "Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation', by Noel Riley Fitch. I first went to The Red Wheelbarrow when bjd recommended it, a friendly experience. There is another small, good bookshop in Montparnasse, Tea and Tattered Pages...a completely different range of books, with a small tearoom...worth the trip. My absolute favorite is the Abbey Bookshop, on rue de la Parcheminerie. ( the name of the street is so perfect!) www.bonjourparis.com/story/paris-used-bookstores-abbey-bookshop/ Brian loves and knows his books, but I understand, bjd, he can be abrupt. He and I have had a few passionate 'exchanges'. The shop itself is beautiful, tiny, stone walls, arched doorways, piles of books, and a treacherous winding staircase to the basement...there, you are in another century. He was chased out of Toronto by high rents and decided to go to Paris. Brian is welcoming to fellow Canadians. One night, I attended a reading at the Abbey by Stephen Clarke, author of 'A Year in the Merde'. It remains one of the funniest books I have ever read about Paris. Stephen read from his newest book, and Brian treated us all to wine and cheese. It was a beautiful evening. Thank you, Kerouac, for the two photos of the Abbey. I was without camera whenever I visited. Although my French is pathetic, I spend much time in French bookstores. I love their love and respect of books, and spend hours and hours in these bookstores. One morning, I had a delicious breakfast at Cafe Conti (play video, in the daytime it is quieter and their dog greets all visitors) www.pariszoomtv.com/place.asp?LNG=us&P=Le%20Conti As I wandered down to the Seine, I discovered a small but great bookshop, 'Le Couleur du Temps', at 24, rue Dauphine. I love the name. I have also spent hours with 'des bouquinistes' along the Seine...good conversations and a few special buys. |
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Post by Jazz on May 10, 2009 13:40:33 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 14:17:52 GMT
First ever literary festival? What could have given them such an idea?
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Post by lagatta on May 10, 2009 14:28:56 GMT
I don't have any reason to go to English-language bookshops when in Paris, but it would be different if I lived there. In my fantasy life, of course I'd be whisked over to London on the Eurostar if I wanted to browse English books, but in reality that takes a considerable budget. Yes, I've been to La Bellevilloise. It is a historic association de culture populaire that is still very much alive! www.labellevilloise.com/ There are olive trees growing in its courtyard - they aren't in their climate zone but I guess it is a sheltered spot for them. (Hope they didn't die last winter!) I don't believe I've been to any other other cafés. I'm not into manga, but all the others interest me very much. I have been to le Musée de la vie romantique and le Petit palais. A Parisian friend who has written (entre autre) about romanticism very much appreciated the current Blake exhibit. I'd love to get there but don't know whether I'll be able to get to Paris this summer. I definitely do NOT have the money for the flight, but there is a fair chance I'll be doing volunteer translation elsewhere in Europe, in which case I can afford the train. I'll be looking for a cheap but quiet place to stay for a few days in that case; I don't feel like staying with friends. As for other non-French bookshops in Paris, I often went to the Italian-language Tour de babel in le Marais - Tour de Babel, Librairie italienne 10 , rue Roi de Sicile, 4ième tel. 01 42 77 32 40 They have a much better choice of literary and scholarly books than the Italian-language bookshop here (which is a couple of blocks from my house) and often they are a little cheaper, if I'm going to Paris and can't get to Italy. |
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Post by Jazz on May 10, 2009 14:36:57 GMT
First ever literary festival? What could have given them such an idea? I have no idea. I immediately thought of the literary salons of the 17th and 18th centuries which I love to read about. |
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Post by bjd on May 10, 2009 15:35:19 GMT
I once went into Tea and Tattered Pages because I used to use my trips to Paris to buy books in English. There is only one very overpriced bookstore of English books in Toulouse. (Now of course, I don't do that any more.)
I tend to get my French language books from the library, so don't go into bookstores much except to browse. Can't say I have been in any of those in the article.
One that I did note down before going to Paris a couple of months ago was the Book Crossing afé called Le Petit Châtelet, 9 rue St Denis, 75001. Has anyone been there? I didn't get around to it, but will try to go next time I am in Paris.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 16:07:14 GMT
Never heard of it.
I confess that just about all of my English language books now come to me through Amazon.
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Post by bjd on May 10, 2009 17:03:15 GMT
I usually order through The Book Depository -- they're based in England and have free mailing to many countries. They often come out cheaper than Amazon.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 10, 2009 17:27:10 GMT
Is there no English-language library in Paris? The one here was started over 40 years ago by expatriates swapping their books amongst themselves. Then one of them with a large personal library died and his books were given to the group to start the library. The first librarian (who will be 90 this year) quipped to me that she'd read an engineering manual back then, just because it was in English.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2009 17:35:19 GMT
Yes, there are English language libraries in Paris. The American Library opened in 1920, for example.
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Post by auntieannie on May 12, 2009 18:51:00 GMT
Oh, FNAC! one of the highlights of my trip to Strasbourg (my first ever holiday without my parents... or any other "responsible adult". Just my cousin and myself. Oops! over 20 years ago now)
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 19:16:09 GMT
It made the news when FNAC Geneva opened specially just for the Saudi royal family. They happily paid the fine for the illegal opening.
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Post by koloagirl on Nov 9, 2010 23:16:41 GMT
Aloha from Kaua'!
I also enjoyed visiting (in addition to Shakespeare and Co., which I loved and where I did find some great books to purchase as well) - the Galignani bookstore (English, with some French books) at 224 Rue de Rivoli - they had a wonderful selection of Royalty subject books - I ended up purchasing several books there and then walking down the street to the Carte Postal at the Louvre and shipping them back to the U.S.
Malama Pono (take care),
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Post by lagatta on Nov 12, 2010 21:16:53 GMT
dear koloagirl - Welcome!
Of course we want to hear about Hawaii and other Pacific islands you have visited. Hawaii is a US State, so I guess it goes in North America, though it isn't on or near the continent? Or Oceania?
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Post by koloagirl on Nov 18, 2010 21:45:27 GMT
 Aloha from Kaua'i! Yes, I live on the northernmost island in the Hawaiian island chain - in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I love Kaua'i and have lived here for 13 years - I've lived in Northern California (San Francisco Bay Area as well as the Lake Tahoe area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains before here) - but this is my "last stop" and I've no intention of moving anywhere else. I've always been a Francophile but never had the opportunity to visit until this last March - spent 2 weeks at Maison Zen in Paris and loved every single moment of it. I'm excited to be going back next fall (late September) and even though I'm sitting here with my ceiling fans going and all the windows open as it is probably 80 degrees farenheit - I'm dreaming of Paris! So much I wasn't able to see and so much to look forward to on my next visit. I love this website and am so glad to have found it -along with many familiar faces from the Trip Advisor forum (I'm a DE for Kaua'i on the TA boards as well as a frequenter of the Paris TA forum)......mahalo for the warm welcome! Malama Pono (take care) Janet ;D
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Post by mich64 on Nov 19, 2010 0:51:01 GMT
I am glad to have had the opportunity to read this post.
Kerouac, thank you for the history of Shakespeare and Co. which is my favorite book store in Paris. I enjoyed your taking the time to show us and tell us about the English bookstores in Paris. I also have been to and enjoyed Le Coleur on rue Dauphine and when in the Louvre I spend as much time within the bookstore as with the Art.
Janet, I have visited Shakespeare and Co. on each visit to Paris and have purchased something for my nieces for their Christmas presents. I am such a fan, I always ask them to please stamp the inside of each of my purchases. The girls treasure their books and look forward to my next visit. (09/2011)
My sister and her husband can usually be found each Friday night in Chapters (like a Border's, probably owned by them?) sipping tea, reading while eating some cookies, having their "date night".
Cheers All, Mich
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Post by INParis on Nov 19, 2010 17:19:04 GMT
There is a english bookstore on Rue Cambon near place de la Concorde
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2010 17:59:47 GMT
Yes, but W.H. Smith doesn't have much character. It looks like a W.H. Smith anywhere in the UK.
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